by darren reese
sun sports editor
ELIZABETHON – All good things must come to an
end.
Still, that didn’t make defeat any easier to take for the
Chuckey-Doak boys Tuesday night.
The Black Knights had the heart to
fight through adversity, but when the final horn sounded, they came up just short on the
scoreboard. Sullivan East rallied from a 12-point deficit to claim a 70-68 victory in the
Region 1-AA semifinal contest at Elizabethton High School.
“We just needed
one more (basket),” a teary-eyed Chuckey-Doak head coach Sam Broyles said after the game, almost in
disbelief. “Just one short.”
“I wouldn’t trade these guys for
anybody. They have played with so much heart this postseason. All the things we’ve been
dealing with this week, they didn’t make any excuses. They just went out there and gave it
everything they had.”
The loss brought to an end a magical postseason run
for the Black Knights – one that saw them win their first district tournament championship in 23
years and their first region tournament game since 2002.
The last two
games turned into a battle with adversity for Chuckey-Doak as junior guard Ben Gridley’s grandmother
passed away Saturday night and senior point guard Garrett Johnson suffered an ankle sprain that left
him at less than 100 percent.
Still, Gridley played in both region
games, and Johnson went the entire four quarters Tuesday night, showing the heart that made the
Black Knights true champions no matter what the outcome.
“They don’t have
any reason to hang their heads,” Broyles said. “Garrett can’t even walk and he’s out
there giving it everything he has. Just the heart of this team is
amazing.”
In the early going, it looked as though Chuckey-Doak’s
postseason magic would continue as they led by as much as 40-28 in the first half.
The hot start was helped by the performance of senior Cory Swinney, who was a perfect
7-for-7 from the field in the first half, including five made three-pointers. His 19
first-half points were part of a 30-point performance.
“It’s been a
long time since I’ve seen something like that,” Broyles said of Swinney’s first-half
streak. “When he gets going, he can shoot it with anyone.”
Sullivan East scored the final five points of the half to pull within 40-33 going
into the locker room.
Chuckey-Doak forced 11 turnovers in the first
half.
But as hot as the Knights were in the opening two quarters,
Sullivan East showed in the second half that it could fill it up as well.
The Patriots made four three-pointers in the third quarter, and stormed back to take
their first lead of the game when David Casaday made a basket with 26 seconds left in the third
quarter.
But Sullivan East really got hot in the fourth quarter,
making 7-of-12 field goal attempts, including key three-pointers from Austin Fleenor and Jordan
James.
Fleenor finished the game with six treys, and the Patriots
had 14 as a team.
His last one gave Sullivan East a 68-65 advantage with 1:45
left in the game.
The two teams went scoreless for the next minute and a
half, until Sweeney answered with a three to tie the game with 14 seconds left.
But five seconds later, Casaday was fouled on a successful lay-up on the other end to
put the Patriots up by the final margin.
He missed the ensuing free throw
attempt, but Chuckey-Doak was never able to get a potential game-tying shot off before turning the
ball over with 1.8 seconds left on the clock.
For more information and stories, see The Greeneville Sun.
