PORTLAND The Station Camp High boys basketball team served up an early helping of defense in its District 9-AAA Tournament semifinal game against rival Beech.
The top-seeded Bison held the fourth-seeded Buccaneers scoreless in the opening quarter and never looked back in a 47-30 victory on Saturday evening at Portland High School.
Station Camp High senior guard Sawyer Taylor releases a 3-pointer in front of Beech senior Caleb Walton as Buccaneer head coach Darrin Joines (right) reacts during second-quarter action. Taylor scored 11 points in the Bison’s 47-30 victory.
Station Camp (30-1) led 10-0 after the opening period, holding Beech (16-14) without a point for the game’s first 9:24.
“It’s the best we’ve played in a while,” said Bison senior guard Sawyer Taylor, who scored 11 points. “That’s one thing the coaches have been pushing us to work on in practice. With all the offensive weapons we have on our team – Yalen (Reed), Keaton (Dotson), Chase (Freeman) and Kody (Eden) down low – we can score, but it comes down to stops to determine whether we’re going to win the game.”
Beech senior forward Noah Chatman scored the first Buccaneer points with 6:26 left in the first half.
Beech High junior Heath Pentecost drives to the basket as senior teammate Caleb Walton (42) screens Station Camp senior Hayden Baldwin during first-quarter action.
“I thought the guys really focused in on the defensive end, and they did a great job of defending for sure,” Station Camp head coach Seth Massey said. “You’ve got to play great defense to win this time of year.”
Beech head coach Darrin Joines added, “I thought, early in the game, that we were a little impatient, but then, we got passive. Then, we did okay. We attacked at the right time, but that’s part of the process.”
The Bison led 22-10 at halftime as Taylor had seven points in the first half to lead all scorers.
Eden left the game with 1:20 remaining in the first half after being hit with an inbound pass in the groin area, but he returned to begin the second half. He led all scorers with 15 points.
“These guys have been here a lot,” Massey said. “I think they played with some maturity tonight, especially on the defensive end.”
Station Camp extended the lead to 18 points (30-12) with an 8-2 run to begin the second half.
“It’s been our nemesis a little bit, scoring, but we competed well,” Joines said. “We just have to make some more shots. To beat (Station Camp), you’ve got to make more shots.”
Station Camp High senior Yalen Reed attempts to block the shot of Beech sophomore Ty Dean as Bison senior Sawyer Taylor looks on during first-quarter action.
One area the Buccaneers did find success in was generating second chances with offensive rebounds.
“We gave up 14 offensive rebounds tonight, and that’s too many,” Massey said. “We’ll have to clean that up if we want to continue to play well and advance.”
Senior forward Caleb Walton led the Buccaneers with 10 points, with six of those coming in the fourth quarter.
It was Station Camp’s lowest offensive output of the year and the only time the Bison failed to score 50 points in a game this season.
The 30-point output also represented a season-low for the Buccaneers.
“They had a difficult time scoring against us,” Joines said. “It’s not like we have to do a ton more except hit shots, and (Station Camp) had a lot to do with that. They’re big.”
The Bison also earned another home game to begin the Region 5-AAA Tournament next week.
Station Camp High senior guard Keaton Dotson releases a 3-pointer during second-quarter action. Dotson scored six points.
“I think it’s more fun than anything (to have another home game),” Taylor said. “It’s just fun to be able to play one more game at home.”
Taylor said that even as a senior, he’s learning about postseason play from his teammates.
“Just from watching, you can see the maturity and calmness,” Taylor said. “I was nervous, just because I’d never been past (the first round of the district tournament). Just looking at them with the maturity and calmness and the leadership that the seniors and juniors displayed, that helped.”
The Bison won both meetings during the regular season, a 61-52 triumph at Beech on Dec. 4 and a 58-51 victory at Station Camp on Jan. 21.
The Bison advanced to face third-seeded Mt. Juliet in Tuesday evening’s championship game, while Beech fell into Monday evening’s consolation game against second-seeded Lebanon.
Reach Chris Brooks at cbrooks@tennessean.com or at 615-575-7118. Follow him on Twitter @CB_SumnerSports.
BEECH (30) – Caleb Walton 10, Ben Buhrow 8, Noah Chatmon 6, Nelson Smith 6.
STATION CAMP (47) – Kody Eden 15, Sawyer Taylor 11, Chase Freeman 8, Yalen Reed 7, Keaton Dotson 6.
Half: 22-10, Station Camp. Three-point goals: Beech 0, Station Camp 3 (Dotson 1, Freeman 1, Taylor 1). Records: Beech 16-14, Station Camp 30-1.