Tough season opener for Gate City boys at Dobyns-Bennett

KINGSPORT — Every team has to start its season against whoever the opponent is. All Gate City had to do was play Dobyns-Bennett, and it was held at the Indians' own Buck Van Huss Dome. "They are 10 games in and we are one game in," Gate City head coach Chris Fugate said. It was all Dobyns-Bennett in this one, as six Indians scored at least nine points in a 92-49 victory over the Blue Devils in front of a sizable audience on Tuesday night. "Playing in the dome, playing in their first game of the season," Dobyns-Bennett head coach Chris Poore said. "They are a lot better than what the score showed and it will be a lot more competitive later." Dobyns-Bennett improved to 8-3 on the season, with Elijah Thomas leading all scorers with 18 points, while Kaden Cutlip had five of the Indians' 11 3s to finish with 17 in the win. "I was proud of our guys for enforcing their will, playing a style that is very hard to play against because Gate City has got a good team," Poore said. "They are going to be fine and this will be a learning experience for them. We had these same bumps early in our season too." Gate City hung close early on, trailing 18-11 after one quarter, but the Indians dominated from that point, building a 45-22 halftime lead. "We are better than we showed tonight. We are learning, we are still young," said Fugate, who has only had his full contingent of players for about 10 days. "I have got nine kids on this team that will be back next year so we are all right. We just have to toughen up and go get the basketball. "We are good. That is not an excuse. They out-toughed us tonight." Dobyns-Bennett did just that, outscoring the Blue Devils 47-27 in the second half. Henry Hill added 16 points for the Indians, while Levi Webb had 10 and T.J. Maxwell and Garrison Jones tallied nine points apiece. "We love this team. We love the way they play, this team plays with a lot of energy. We have a lot of guys that we rotate, but no guy that goes in slacks, and that is what I like about it.," said Poore, who got scoring from 10 of his 11 players. "We have got to make sure that is consistent, that we get consistent effort. This team is skilled, they share the ball, they are unselfish and they play hard. There is nothing else we can ask out of them." Gate City was paced by Ollie Carpenter, who had 10 points, while Kaden Houseright and Zayne Reed added nine each and Parker Jenkins tossed in eight. All the Blue Devils (0-1) have to do next is face an early season Mountain 7 District road game on Friday at John Battle. It's early, but Fugate likes the potential of a team that narrowly missed reaching the Class 2 state tournament last sason, falling the regional semifinals to Virginia High by two points in overtime. "Our goal is always to go to the state tournament," Fugate said. "We have got a lot of stuff to fix." Dobyns-Bennett has played a difficult early season schedule, with its only three losses coming to a pair of schools from Georgia that are still unbeaten and Tellico Plains, one of the top teams in Tennessee. After traveling to Cherokee next Tuesday, the Indians will host its own Alpha Invitational and then take part in The Classic at Tennessee High. "We have played a really tough schedule. That is hopefully going to prepare us because it isn't getting any easier," Poore said. "We have the Alpha and The Classic coming up. It is going to be brutal, but these guys wanted that. We stacked it because they wanted to be challenged. We are going to live up to that." Poore said these Indians love to play basketball, and it shows on a daily basis. "This team practices great. Really, we have better practices than we do games," Poore said. "Tonight was a little different. Our effort tonight was really good, but our effort in practice has actually been better. These guys have just bought in. They are fun to coach, they love to play basketball and it's fun things. We enjoy it." Cherokee 60, Claiborne 50 NEW TAZEWELL — Elijah Carmack drained four 3-pointers for the Chiefs on his way to a game-high 18 points. Isaiah Jones netted 10 to reach double-figures. Kris Ford and Connor King each posted 14 points for the Bulldogs, while Drew Epperson added 10. Volunteer 60, Daniel Boone 47 CHURCH HILL — Jeremiah Jones led a balanced Falcon offensive attack with 19 points. Griffin Head poured in 16 and Colton Miller netted a dozen. Luke Lawerence posted 15 points and Jude Hensley scored 13 for the Trailblazers. Sullivan East 71, University High 64 JOHNSON CITY — Eli Hubbard went 8-of-13 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe on his way to game-high 22 points for the Patriots. Ike Deel buried two 3's to finish the night with 18 points. Logan Shuttle had 10 points. Mason Francis and Mekhi Yocum each had 14 points for the Buccaneers. Janson West netted 11. GIRLS Daniel Boone 62, Volunteer 29 CHURCH HILL — Andrea Flores accounted for half of the Lady Blazers' points in the third quarter as they went on a 20-2 run in the frame. She scored 10 of her 15 points in the period. Laney Britton led the scoring output for Boone with 19 points and Aaliyah Story chipped in 13. Elisabeth Byington was the top scorer for the Lady Falcons with nine points. Sullivan East 48, University High 21 JOHNSON CITY — The Lady Patriots held a 16-0 lead after the first quarter and that proved to be more than enough. Emma Whitaker and Sophie Johnson both scored 11 points for Sullivan East. Emma Linkous led the Lady Bucs with 11 points.