It took Dorian Berry and Overton a minute to find their groove Tuesday, but the Bobcats posted a 21-point fourth quarter to earn a hard-fought 57-52 comeback win over the visiting Brentwood Bruins.
“The kids fought hard and never gave up,” former Overton girls basketball coach and first-year boys coach Todd Douthit said. “We had to figure some things out, and we did.”
Brentwood (0-4) got out to a hot start, taking an 18-9 lead after one quarter on the back of a nine-point outburst by Linden Hardee. But Overton (1-3) responded by holding Brentwood to a combined 18 points in the second and third quarter while completely taking Hardee out of the game and silencing him until the fourth quarter.
Hardee finished with a team-high 14 points.
Overton was still trailing 27-23 after two despite an eight-point second quarter from Berry, who added five more in the third to help the Bobcats pull things even at 36-36.
The Bruins jumped back ahead 45-41 with just under four minutes left, but Overton responded with a 10-0 run, highlighted by a very deep 3-pointer by Berry that gave the Bobcats a three-point lead and put them ahead for good.
“Great shooters knock shots down,” first-year Brentwood coach Greg Shirley said. “He got hot and knocked shot after shot down.”
The junior point guard finished the night with a game-high 26 points while fellow Bobcat Tavarius Travis added 11.
“I feel like tonight gave everybody, the crowd, our team, our coaches confidence that we know how good we are,” Berry said. “We just have to stick with it and keep that mindset.”
For Douthit, it’s his first win as a head coach since leaving the girls team to take over the boys team this summer.
For Shirley, it’s back to the drawing board in search of that elusive first win.
“We’re continuing to learn about each other,” Shirley said. “We will get it turned around, but right now we’re still struggling without a doubt.”
Girls
Brentwood 62, Overton 25: Brentwood looked to have a tough game on its hands after one quarter, leading Overton by just two with a 15-13 advantage after one, but the Lady Bruins outscored the Lady Bobcats 47-12 over the next three quarters.
Overton (0-3) managed just five buckets after the first quarter, and Brentwood (3-0) sat its starters for most of the second half.
Cameron Courage led the way for Brentwood with a game-high 12 points, all of which came in the first half, and her sister Sam Courage added nine.
White County 67, York 60 (OT): Hannah Leftwich led all scorers with 18 points, as White County outscored York 11-4 in overtime. Brooke Copeland and Emily Sewell both scored 16 for York.
Midway 63, Monterey 56. Midway (2-0) made a second-half comeback to get the victory against Monterey (0-1). Abby Bertram scored a game-high 31 for Monterey, but Midway had four players with at least 10 points.
Kenwood 46, East Hickman 45. Kenwood (3-0) rallied in the second half after only scoring four points in the first quarter to sneak by East Hickman (1-1). Tatum Gribbins was the high scorer for East Hickman with 16 points, while Kimia Carter led the way for the Lady Knights with 17.
Boys
Pope John Paul II 74, CPA 68: Ryan Hatten scored a team-high 21 points to lead JPII over CPA. Jalon Cambridge and Devan Cambridge each scored 15 points for the Knights. Michael Mayernick led all scorers with 25 points and three 3-pointers for CPA.
Red Boiling Springs 87, Madison Academy 58: Chance Asberry led Red Boiling Springs (2-1) to a blowout victory over Madison Academy (3-2) , tallying 47 points to break the school record from 1998 for points scored in a game, and with nine 3-pointers made, he tied the school mark for threes in a game.
White House 94, Gallatin 83: Bradley Cole hit seven 3-pointers, with a total of 28 points, to push White House to 3-2 on the year. Zyun Mason led Gallatin with 19 points.
Cane Ridge 75, Ravenwood 63: Kyree Elder scored a game-high 29 points and hit three 3-pointers to lift Cane Ridge.
Reach Sam Brown at 615-259-8232 and on Twitter @SamBrownTN.
Basketball