Station Camp High junior point guard Chase Freeman dribbles around the perimeter during first-quarter action. Freeman scored eight points.
PORTLAND For the second consecutive game, Station Camp High’s boys basketball team held a team to its lowest point total of the season.
It helped give the top-seeded Bison their third consecutive District 9-AAA Tournament championship as they rolled to a 60-37 victory over third-seeded Mt. Juliet on Tuesday evening at Portland High school.
The Bison (31-1) outscored the Golden Bears by an 18-6 margin in the second quarter, building a 30-14 lead by halftime.
Mt. Juliet (22-8) never got closer than 13 points in the second half.
“We’re playing great defense,” said Station Camp senior forward Yalen Reed, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player. “Defense was the emphasis coming into every game we’ve played so far. When we get stops, we feel like that brings the other team down to where they can’t do anything, and it locks them up. When you can’t get anything on the offensive end, it feels like you can’t get going. That’s what wins games, defense.”
Station Camp High senior forward Yalen Reed drives past Mt. Juliet senior Tyler Faulkenberry during second-quarter action. Reed, who was named the District 9-AAA Tournament Most Valuable Player, scored 17 points.
The Bison held Mt. Juliet to single-digit point totals in each of the first three quarters, and despite scoring 17 points in the final period, the Golden Bears managed less than 40 points for the first time all season.
“They are locked in defensively,” Station Camp head coach Seth Massey said. “We have found our thing, and that’s guarding. Defensively, we’re playing our best ball of the year. Offensively, as long as we’re taking good shots, I’m fine.”
Reed scored a game-high 17 points, hitting four of Station Camp’s 10 3-pointers. Classmates Keaton Dotson (13 points) and Sawyer Taylor (11) connected on three 3-pointers each.
Station Camp High senior guard Keaton Dotson drives past Mt. Juliet junior Trey Pruitt during first-quarter action. Dotson scored 13 points during the Bison’s 60-37 victory in Tuesday evening’s District 9-AAA Tournament championship game.
“It was great,” Reed said. “I got in a flow, and it was a great night to be in the flow and shooting the ball well. Everybody else shot well too. It was awesome.”
Dotson ended the first half by connecting from long range with four seconds left in the period. Taylor ended the third quarter in similar fashion, doing so with an off-balance 3-pointer from the right wing that gave the Bison a 50-20 lead.
Reed and Dotson sank back-to-back 3-pointers as part of an 8-0 run over a 34-second spurt in the second quarter to give Station Camp a 25-12 advantage.
“I thought we moved the ball well, and we were unselfish,” Massey said. “We caught fire in the second quarter.”
The Bison continued the onslaught in the third period, scoring the final 12 points of the quarter and holding a 20-6 edge in that frame.
Junior J.R. Sanders led the Golden Bears with nine points.
Station Camp won both games between the two teams during the regular season, a 59-53 victory at Station Camp on Jan. 15 and a 61-55 triumph at Mt. Juliet on Feb. 9. The Bison have now won five consecutive games against the Golden Bears.
The victory also set a school record for wins in a season with 31, breaking last year’s mark of 30.
“We’ve got guys who have bought into the process,” Reed said. “We’ve been working hard to get where we’re at since day one. I love being a part of this program, and nobody cares who gets the credit. That’s the awesome thing about us. We go out there and play and do what we’ve got to do.”
In addition to Reed, juniors Chase Freeman and Kody Eden were also named to the all-tournament team.
Station Camp High junior Chase Freeman elevates for an interior shot against Mt. Juliet junior J.R. Sanders during second-quarter action. Freeman scored eight points.
Station Camp hosts Clarksville Northwest on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. in the Region 5-AAA Tournament quarterfinals. The Vikings suffered a 62-55 loss to Rossview in the District 10-AAA Tournament consolation game on Tuesday evening.
The winner faces either Kenwood or Lebanon in the semifinals, slated for Tuesday evening at Clarksville High School.
Reach Chris Brooks at cbrooks@tennessean.com or at 615-575-7118. Follow him on Twitter @CB_SumnerSports.
MT. JULIET (37) – J.R. Sanders 9, Tyler Faulkenberry 8, Christian Bell 5, Austin Brown 4, Trey Pruitt 4, Brian Aiken 3, J.C. Crawford 2, Hunter Tudor 2.
STATION CAMP (60) – Yalen Reed 17, Keaton Dotson 13, Sawyer Taylor 11, Chase Freeman 8, Thomas Zazzaro 8, Kody Eden 2, Jonathan Gillard 1.
Half: 30-14, Station Camp. Three-point goals: Mt. Juliet 4 (Faulkenberry 2, Brown 1, Sanders 1), Station Camp 10 (Reed 4, Dotson 3, Taylor 3). Records: Mt. Juliet 22-8, Station Camp 31-1.