By Steve Williams
Bearden led much of the first half against Bartlett in their semifinal battle for a spot in the TSSAA Class 4A championship game Friday, but the score changed when the Panthers’ Brayton Williams hit a 3-point shot just before the halftime buzzer.
The Dawgs never led again and fell 71-61.
That one shot alone didn’t win the game. It just flipped the score. It was all of the other shots as Briarcrest ended up shooting 72.7 percent on field goals (24 of 33), 62.5 percent on 3-pointers (5 of 8) and 81.8 percent on free throws (18 of 22).
No wonder why Bearden had only 10 rebounds in the game. The Panthers hardly missed.
Dylan Jones (22 points) and Williams (20) were the 1-2 punch for Bartlett, which made its first trip to the state finals Saturday along with Walker Valley.
Bearden got 17 points from Justin Nordin, 16 from Carson Asbaty and 14 from Sean Capshaw as Coach Jeremy Parrott’s team finished with a 37-2 record.
Nordin leads Bearden’s win over Hendersonville
Bearden had their hands full with Hendersonville Beech’s big man Cutter Sisk, a 6-9, 250-pounder, in their 55-52 win in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
Sisk scored 33 points, including a free throw in the closing seconds that cut Bearden’s lead to two.
A large crowd of fans from Hendersonville, which is only 50 miles away, gave the Buccaneers an advantage, some thought.
Justin Nordin was a key player for Bearden with his 17 points, five assists and three steals. Carson Asbaty and Sean Capshaw chipped in 11 points each.
With Sisk in the middle, the Buccaneers shot 60.6 percent from the field, but made only two of seven 3-pointers and 10 of 20 free throws.
Beech finished the season 32-3.
