Reach out — Westview’s Travis Hayslett (right) scrambles for a rebound in the Chargers’ loss to Obion County Central Friday night. Hayslett finished with a team-high 14 points. | | By Rob Beam
Special to The Press
The local weather warmed up after a few days of extreme cold. Unfortunately for the Westview Chargers, the coldness continued inside the Obion County Central gymnasium on Friday night. The OC teams and visiting Westview squads looked to improve their district records, however the host Rebels swept the evening’s action.
In the opener, the Lady Chargers had difficulty getting shot opportunities against a tough Obion County defense. The result was a loss in the opener, 65-44.
In the nightcap, the Westview boys had just as many difficulties as their lady counterparts did in the opener. Both of the men’s teams came into the game with unblemished records in District 13-AA play. Westview sported a 3-0 record, while OC had a 2-0 mark. After a dominating performance, Obion County walked away with a 75-55 victory.
The first period saw both teams trying to feel each other out. Marcus Easley hit a couple of threes early for the Chargers to open up an early 8-5 advantage for Westview. OC fought back and was down one point with 21 seconds to go in the opening period. Holding for the last shot, an air ball was put up, however, Brady Boucher found himself in the right spot. Boucher grabbed the errant shot and stuck it in at the buzzer to give the host Rebels a 15-14 lead after one.
Riding the momentum from Boucher’s shot at the end of the first quarter until the end of the game, it was all OC. The Rebels took control and never relinquished it, out-scoring the Chargers 17-7 in the second frame. Looking for fastbreak chances, the Rebels scored on three breakaways for easy buckets. In the halfcourt set, the Rebels out-hustled the Chargers and found the open man for easy jumpers to cruise to a 32-21 halftime lead.
The third quarter was a wash as the Charger cut their deficit to seven, but OC had an answer with back-to-back threes. Westview still found itself down 10 going into the fourth, 48-38.
The Chargers did not get any closer as the Rebels kept the pressure on and kept the Chargers puzzled and confused on both ends of the court. Using aggressive tactics, Obion County out-scored the Chargers by 10 points, 27-17, in the final period to earn the victory.
The ladies game was much the same scenario as the teams both came in with one loss in the district race.
Westview seemed to control the tempo early and opened up a quick 5-0 lead on a Grace Ann Swaim 3-pointer. The Lady Rebels bounced back but a late three from B.B. Brooks for Westview tied the game at 15-all after one period of play.
The second quarter belonged to the Lady Rebels, Obion County used an aggressive switching man-to-man defense to keep the Chargers outside and covered for contested shots the rest of the night. OC started the period on a 6-0 run fueling a 28-17 advantage mid way through the period. The Lady Chargers had a tough time finding the range, only making four baskets in the period. This allowed Obion County to out-score Westview 20-10 in the period. The last bucket in the half for the Lady Chargers was one from downtown for Sara Olds to make the halftime deficit a 10-point difference, 35-25.
OC came out of the locker room ready to set the tone early in the second half with tough and physical defense. That rattled the Lady Chargers as a technical was assessed to Amber Rechis for slamming the ball after a tough play. The host squad used this to fuel their momentum and went on a 15-6 run the rest of the period to put the game well out of touch of the Lady Chargers.
Going into the final period leading 52-34, Obion County remained in control. With the game well in hand, both teams cleared their benches mid way through the quarter as Westview was handed a 65-44 defeat. Jan. 4 at Troy
GIRLS
Westview (44) — Grace Ann Swaim 18, Amber Rechis 8, B.B. Brooks 5, Megan Ables 5, Sara Olds 3, Cassie Moore 3, Amber Nanney 2.
Obion County (65) — Chassidy Fussell 25, Aubrey Reedy 19, Jana Roney 9, Gentry Reedy 5, Kacee Eaves 4, Courtney Butler 3.
3-pointers: Westview — Swaim (2), Rechis, Brooks, Ables, Olds, Moore; Obion County — Roney, G. Reedy.
Records: Westview 14-4 (2-2 District 13-AA); Obion County 14-1 (2-1 District 13-AA). BOYS
Westview (55) — Travis Hayslett 14, Ryan Banks 11, Marcus Easley 9, Cameron Boyd 7, Jacob Lloyd 5, Davelle Lloyd 4, Chris Fowler 3, Garrett Vincent 2.
Obion County (75) — Silvanus Lee 15, Nick Gilliam 14, Justin Owens 14, Brandon Smith 13, Cory Green 9, Brady Boucher 8, Matt Harner 2.
3-pointers: Westview — Easley (3), Boyd, Fowler; Obion County — Smith (3), Gilliam (2), Green (2), Lee, Owens.
Records: Westview 15-3 (3-1 District 13-AA); Obion County 11-4 (3-0 District 13-AA). |
