The Clear Creek Bobcats won the Mountain League basketball title on their home court.
The seventh-grade Cats hosted rival Fannin County for the championship last Friday. CCMS led for all of the game until the Rebels tied the score at the end of regulation.
CCMS outpaced Fannin in overtime to come away with a 52-49 win.
“It’s just been great,” CCMS coach Chad Miller said of the title run. “They’re a great group of kids. They’re young, eager and willing to work. With Boston (Teague) and Keegen (Bryant), and Bubba (Callihan) and some of the younger guys stepping up, we have a lot of guards who are going to be really good. They just need to grow a little bit. Over the next couple years they should be solid.”
Much of the game featured backcourt players. Rebels Jordan Richardson and Matthew Ponton combined to make all seven of Fannin’s three pointers and both finished with 19 points.
For the Bobcats, guards Bryant and Teague were there for 18 and 15 points, respectively. They both drove to the basket for points in the first quarter, while Connor Nelson was a formidable post presence and added four more.
The Rebels were determined to shoot three pointers whether they made them or not. They attempted 38 on the night and made just seven. Fannin missed its first 17 three-point attempts and finished 1/18 in the first half.
They did not make any in the third period either. However, they got hot when it mattered most.
CCMS led 20-16 at halftime and 35-24 entering the fourth. The Bobcats’ lead stood at 37-24 with 5:33 left in regulation, which is when the Rebels’ shots finally started to fall.
FCMS made five three pointers over its next six possessions to cut the Cats’ lead to 43-41. With 24 seconds on the clock, Ponton made his fifth three of the quarter to draw within a point, 45-44.
Fannin was forced to foul three times as quickly as it could. CCMS was not in the bonus and its last inbound passes was stolen. Ponton drove to the basket and was fouled as the buzzer sounded. He missed the first free throw but made the second to tie the game at 45-all.
In overtime, Fannin kept firing threes, but all seven shots missed the mark. Peyton Chancey made Clear Creek’s only shot from the field in overtime while Nelson, Bryant and Teague combined to make 5/10 free-throw attempts.
Fannin had a final possession down 52-49, but its final three-point fling at the buzzer did not hit anything but the court.
“Originally, I told them if they’re out that far just get a hand up,” Miller said of the Bobcats’ three-point defense. “I said as soon as they start getting hot we need to step out. We had some foul trouble with Bubba and a couple of guys and had to rotate some guys in. They got that chance at the end to send it to OT. We just kept fighting and doing what we had to do.”
Nelson added eight points on the night to go with eight rebounds, and Chancey scored seven and collected nine boards. Callihan was in foul trouble early, missed most of the first half, fouled out in the fourth and was limited to four points and six rebounds. Bryant grabbed seven rebounds.
A day earlier, CCMS survived White County in the semifinals, 38-36. Bryant led the way with 12 points and Callihan scored 11.
Clear Creek trailed 11-8 after a quarter. In the second, points came from Teague, Bryant, Callihan and Jaden Sevcech to build a 23-16 halftime lead. WCMS trimmed the Bobcats’ advantage to 29-23 with a quarter to play, but the Bobcats would not be denied as they came away with a two-point win.
Teague scored six on the day, Nelson had four, Sevcech added three and Chancey finished with two.
CCMS posted an 11-3 overall record on the season.