LEBANON -- Thirteenth-ranked University of the Cumberlands missed two crucial 1-and-1 opportunities in the final minute, but Cumberland committed a turnovers, missed two shots close-in and failed to get off a shot in the final 10 seconds, as the Patriots prevailed, 67-65, in women’s basketball action Wednesday afternoon in the Cumberland Classic at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center.

The University of the Cumberlands (11-3) trailed by a point at the half before running off a 15-3 spurt over the first five minutes of the second period. The Patriots maintained the lead for most of the rest of the half, with Cumberland (6-3) unable to pull closer than five points.

UC led by 10 with 5:19 remaining after a pair of free throws by Sonia Thompson, but Cumberland put together an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to one, led by a pair of buckets from Allysia Bailey, a 3-pointer by Tamara Gonzalez and Keshia Brown’s driving layup with 2:10 left in the contest.

Amber Neace, who led all scorers with 25 points and was named the tournament MVP, answered with a 15-footer off the glass, but Bailey knocked down two more foul shots to keep the Bulldogs within a point.

Neace then grabbed an offensive rebound on the next trip down the floor and was fouled, hitting 1-of-2 free throws. Cumberland tried to find Gonzalez after a timeout, but Haley Ratliff made the steal and was fouled, but she missed the front end of a 1-plus-1.

Brown then drove to the lane for the Lady Bulldogs and found Simone Ryan for a layup, but the sophomore missed the shot, grabbed her own rebound and missed a much tougher opportunity. Cumberland fouled Stephanie Quattrociocchi, but she too missed a 1-and-1 chance, giving CU another shot.

But Bailey dribbled around and the Lady Bulldogs never got off a shot to either tie the game or win it.

Brown led Cumberland with 17 points, while Bailey posted 14 points and Gonzalez adding 13. Gonzalez earned All-Tournament accolades after her 28-point performance the night before in a victory over Tennessee Wesleyan.

Quattrociocchi scored 13 points for UC, while Lauren Wombles and Thompson both netted 10. Wombles also earned All-Tournament honors after scoring 17 points in Tuesday’s victory over Martin Methodist.

Cumberland shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and led by as many as six at 26-20 after a pair of free throws from Bailey with 5:22 left in the period. The Bulldogs committed nine turnovers, which led to 13 UC points in the half, and the Patriots scored 20 points off turnovers in the contest.

But the home team did a good job defensively against the Patriots in the first half, limiting UC to just 40 percent shooting (13-for-32). Neace scored 12 points for the visitors, including a 3-pointer with just three seconds left in the half to cut the Cumberland advantage to 33-32 at intermission.

Cumberland next opens TranSouth Conference play at Lyon College January 7 and plays host to Freed-Hardeman Saturday, January 9 at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center.

2009 Cumberland Classic All-Tournament Team: Whitney Robison, Martin Methodist; Lindsey Jackson, Tennessee Wesleyan; Lauren Wombles, Univ. of the Cumberlands; Tamara Gonzalez, Cumberland Univ.; and Amber Neace, Univ. of the Cumberlands (MVP)

HIGH HAS 22 FOR BLUE DEVILS
LAFAYETTE -- Post man Cameron High lit up the scoreboard for 22 points Tuesday to power Lebanon High to a 72-56 win over Upperman in the semifinals of the Nera White Tournament hosted by Macon County High. LHS improved to 8-6 overall heading into Wednesday night’s finals against Westmoreland -- a 55-46 winner over host Macon County in the other semifinal contest. Ryan Beadle nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for the Blue Devils while Justin Bridges had 14 -- including a pair of treys.

Mt. Juliet 82, Clarksville 68
NASHVILLE -- Teraes Clemmons went off for 37 points Tuesday, leading Mt. Juliet to an 82-68 triumph over Clarksville in the consolation round of the Father Ryan Christmas Tournament. Caleb Chowbay finished with 13 and Ethan Gross added 12 for the Bears. Vaughn Cornelia scored 12 points, Brandon Shepard five. Mt. Juliet improved to 11-2 with the win and moved into the tournament’s fifth place game Wednesday afternoon vs. Shelbyville Central.

Wilson Central 47, Brentwood 39
SMYRNA -- Wilson Central rallied from eight down at intermission to post a 47-39 win over Brentwood in the Bulldog Christmas Classic Tuesday at Smyrna High. Dee Oldham’s 13 points paced the Wildcats, who improved to 4-4 with the victory. Zane Vandlandingham and Matthew Dompreh each had nine points and Jordan Lee finished with six. Wilson Central was scheduled to wrap up the Classic Wednesday vs. Hunters Lane.

Friendship 59, MT Christian 44
LEBANON -- Hardie Sorrels scored 15 points and pulled in seven rebounds to lead Friendship Christian to a 59-44 win over Middle Tennessee Christian in Tuesday afternoon’s consolation round of the Mid-State Christmas tournament at the Bay Family Sportsplex.

The victory upped Friendship’s record to 8-3 overall -- heading into a fifth place game Wednesday afternoon against Gordonsville. Isaac Wilson added 13 points for the Commanders while Dalton Patterson scored 12 and Cameron Hill adeed 11 -- including three 3-pointers.

GIRLS Lebanon 74, Summertown 50
LYNNVILLE -- Junior Marissa Jennings fired in 26 points Tuesday as Lebanon defeated Summertown 74-50 in the Richland Classic. The Devilettes led 39-28 at intermission and improved to 10-4 on the season. Anna Stafford recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

GIRLS Friendship 30, Westmoreland 18
LEBANON -- Friendship Christian limited Westmoreland to just nine point in each half to post a 30-18 victory Tuesday in the consolation bracket of the Mid-State Christmas Tournament. The Lady Commanders (4-8) were led by eight points from Traci Allison.

GIRLS Greenbrier 53, Watertown 44
CROSS PLAINS -- Watertown’s Tigerettes fell to 5-8 Tuesday with a 53-44 loss to Greenbrier in the East Robertson Classic. Sarah Page led WHS with 9 points and Hayley Clark added eight.

LADY BEARS REACH SEMIFINALS
GREENEVILLE -- Mt. Juliet used a strong third-quarter surge to power past Rogers (Ark.) 51-37 Tuesday in the second round of the GreenBank Ladies’ Classic at Hal Henard Gym.

The win upped Mt. Juliet’s record to 11-1 on the season and sends Coach Chris Fryer’s team into the tournament semifinals Wednesday night against Cosby (Va.). Mt. Juliet held the Lady Mounties (9-3) off the scoreboard for close to five minutes to start the third stanza in building a double-digit spread and never looked back.

Mt. Juliet held a narrow 13-10 lead after a quarter and increased the margin to 22-15 at the half. A 9-0 run to start the third gave the Lady Bears a solid cushion with the advantage growing to as much as 20. The fourth period featured essentially basket-swapping.

The Lady Bears improved their shooting significantly in the second half (52.4 percent) and finished 20-of-46 for the game for 43.5 percent. The Lady Mounties were held to an 11-for-28 shooting effort (39.3 percent). The game was a well-played one as Mt. Juliet committed a mere eight turnovers to14 by Rogers.

Post Caya Williams fired in 21 points for the winners, burying 10-of-14 shots. She also added a game-high seven rebounds. Helen Mitchner added nine, all on treys. Britt Bell dished out a game-high six assists and finished with seven points.

South Greene 61, Wilson Central 45
GREENEVILLE -- Twenty first half turnovers helped spell doom for Wilson Central Tuesday night in a 61-45 loss to South Greene in the second round of the GreenBank Ladies’ Classic. South Greene has advanced to the semifinals of the Ladies Classic for the second straight year, beating the team that has won the past two Classic titles.

Wilson Central dropped the Rebels in overtime in last year’s championship game. South Greene held a 26-14 halftime edge. They quickly spread the lead to 20 early in the third. Wilson Central clawed back to get within 13 with 3:30 left in the period, and had a chance to get closer but missed on a one-plus free throw opportunity.

The Rebs (9-3) responded with a 3-point play by Shelby Hicks and two more free throws by Hicks to get the lead back to 41-23, and the Wildcats couldn’t make another serious run.

Taylor Peterson had 15 points and nine rebounds for Wilson Central (6-5). Sydney Vanlandingham added 10 points. With the loss, Central was dispatched to the consolation bracket where they were scheduled to play Maryville Wednesday afternoon.

QB GURCHIEK AND PUNTER EMMETTS

Two more Wilson County prep athletes have been honored by the Tennessee Sports Writers’ Association for all-state recognition in football.

Mt. Juliet High teammates Reed Gurchiek and Tyler Emmetts have been named to the 6A all-state team by the TSWA. The pair helped lead the Golden Bears to a record of 9-2 this past season. They join local Class 2A athletes Lee Maasen of Friendship Christian, Nick Lennox and Dalton Phillips of Watertown as the only Wilson Countians to be named all-state.

Gurchiek, the Golden Bears quarterback, posted 2,222 yards of total offense this season, passing for 1,505 and rushing for 717. He accounted for 31 touchdowns, 15 throwing and 16 rushing. He was a finalist for Class 3A Mr. Football and was voted District 9AAA Most Valuable Player.

Emmetts was a true multipurpose kicker for the Golden Bears, handling kickoffs, PAT and field goal duties along with punting. As a senior, Emmetts punted 16 times for an average of 41.6 yards, converted 10-of-13 field goal attempts (a long kick of 46 years) and was 48-of-51 on PATs (94 percent).

By TOMMY BRYAN
Three Wilson County athletes have been named Class 2A All-State in football by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. The premier all-state team in the prep ranks, the team is chosen by members of the TSWA following nominations from its statewide membership. Local honorees include:

Watertown senior defensive lineman Nick Lennox, a two-time member of the squad. Lennox was in on 74 tackles as a senior, 46 solo, and 11 tackles for loss.

Joining him on the all-state team was his quarterback Dalton Phillips. A four-year starter for the Purple Tigers, Phillips accounted for more than 2,000 yards in total offense -- throwing for 1,781 yards and rushing for 304 yards. He threw for 14 TD’s and ran for nine, completing 127-of-234 attempts, a percentage of 54.2 percent.

The other quarterback on the team was Friendship Christian’s Lee Maasen. The District 8A Co-MVP, Maasen accounted for 31 touchdowns -- 15 rushing and 16 passing. Maasen completed 79-of-126 passing attempts (62.7 percent) for 1,514 yards -- an average of 19.2 yards per completion -- with only four interceptions. He rushed for 1,056 yards on 115 carries -- an average of 9.2 per attempt. He was also named as one of 13 members of the Tennessee Football Coaches Association Class 2A team.

Tennessee Sports Writers Class 2A All-State Football team
Coach of the Year: Kevin Creasy (Trousdale Co.)
Offense
QB - Lee Maasen (Friendship Christian)
QB - Dalton Phillips (Watertown)
RB - Ben Beasley (Boyd Buchanan)
RB - Bryce White (Riverside)
RB - Tyler Edwards (Trousdale County)
RB - Davey Templeton (Rockwood)
WR - David Woodard (East Robertson)
ATH - Jabriel Washington (Trinity Christian Academy)
ATH - Jeff Inman (Rockwood)
OL - Ian Walls (Rockwood)
OL - Cody Newman (Riverside)
OL - Tyler Harper (Oliver Springs)
OL - Devin Caldwell (Boyd-Buchanan)
OL - Zach McEwen (McKenzie)
K - Josh Lenoir (Trinity Christian Academy)
Defense
DL - Nick Lennox (Watertown)
DL - Jake Lockert (Boyd-Buchanan)
DL - Dallas Gregory (White House Heritage)
DL - Ronald Harris (Mt. Pleasant)
LB - Tacola Seay (Trousdale County)
LB - Matt Crowe (Boyd-Buchanan)
LB - Josh Carroll (Adamsville)
LB - Evan Rogers (McKenzie)
LB - Whitt Siton (Signal Mountain)
DB - Joey Cox (Trousdale County)
DB - Clinton Babb (Boyd-Buchanan)
DB - Chris Harness (Rockwood)
DB - Dylan West (Oneida)
DB - Sam Woodard (Oneida)
P - Austin McKinney (McKenzie)