Tennessee High survives overtime at Boone; Lady 'Blazers clinch Upper Lakes

GRAY — Tennessee High trailed by as many as 15 points on Friday night at Daniel Boone. But senior guard Braden Howard and the Vikings never panicked. Tennessee High forced overtime then executed down the stretch to earn a 61-58 victory over the Trailblazers. It also allowed the Vikings to earn a share of a fourth-straight Upper Lakes regular season title. "Tennessee High hadn't won a conference championship in 44 years until we did it four years ago," Vikings head coach Michael McMeans said. "Now we've won four in a row. It's pretty special to us. Something that's never happened." Following a tight first half, the Trailblazers (12-15, 3-4) used a 10-0 run to grow its five-point lead to 15 with five minutes to play in the third quarter. However, Tennessee High (22-6, 6-1) didn't back away. The Vikings got a layup from Cannon Swift to end the run, then methodically worked the deficit down to 11 points by the end of the third quarter. They then captured all of the momentum out of the quarter break courtesy of a 7-0 run to open the fourth. The 15-point deficit was whittled all the way down to one point heading into the closing minutes. With 1:54 left in the frame, Zach Johnson hit a layup to put Boone up by three points. However, Howard hit a clutch 3-pointer on the ensuing trip down to tie the game at 55 apiece. The Blazers worked the clock down and took a timeout with less than 20 seconds left. When they attempted to inbound, they were called for a five-second violation and a turnover. The Vikings, though, couldn't get either of their final two looks to fall in regulation. The two sides traded blows in the extra four minutes, and the Vikings led by one with 15 seconds left. Then Howard was sent to the free-throw line, where he made both shots to put Tennessee High up by three. They were the last two of his 24 points. Daniel Boone had one more look at the tie in the closing seconds. It never got a shot up, though as Howard knocked the ball away to clinch the win. "He's been unbelievable," McMeans said. "It's really great to see that happen because he's had that in him." Reed Miller added 16 points in the post for Tennessee High and Swift scored 11 more. For Boone, Jayden Williams led the way by matching Howard with 24 points. Johnson chipped in 11. Girls: Daniel Boone 73, Tennessee High 27 The Lady Trailblazers added to an already memorable regular season, clinching the Upper Lakes regular season title with Friday's win. "That was our goal at the start of the year," Lady 'Blazers head coach John Good said. "First win the conference and then set ourselves up for the district and everything. We did what we needed to do." Daniel Boone (24-2, 7-0) got off to a monster start in the clinching effort. The hosts went on an 8-0 run and followed it with a 10-0 run to go up 18-2 in the opening minutes. The Lady Blazers held a 30-8 lead following the first eight minutes. Tennessee High (19-9, 4-3) traded blows with Boone to open the second frame, but eventually surrendered another 10-0 run in the latter portions of the quarter. The Lady Vikings went into the halftime locker room trailing by 33 points. From there, the Lady Blazers coasted to the win. Class 3A Miss Basketball finalist Andrea Flores led all scorers with 21 points for Daniel Boone "I'm very blessed for that opportunity," Flores said of the week's announcement. "I'm very thrilled about it. Very excited to see how it goes. Just being able to be a finalist is amazing." Elsewhere, Laney Britton had 16 points and Aaliyah Story netted 11 more. The Addie Wilhoit-less Lady Vikings were led in scoring by Delaney Linkous' nine points. Up Next Daniel Boone will play at Cherokee on Saturday. Tennessee High will visit Morristown East in girls' basketball Monday, while the boys will be back in action on Tuesday against Sullivan East.