Station Camp High junior forward Kody Eden shoots in front of Lebanon sophomore Eddie Jackson during first-quarter action. Eden scored a career-high 21 points in the Bison’s 78-69 victory over Lebanon in Tuesday evening’s Region 5-AAA Tournament semifinal contest.
CLARKSVILLE Station Camp High’s boys basketball team did some homework in preparation for Tuesday evening’s Region 5-AAA Tournament semifinal game against Lebanon.
It appeared as if the third-ranked Bison studied well, capturing a 78-69 victory over the Blue Devils at Clarksville High School’s William Workman Gymnasium.
“The guys put in a hard week’s work getting ready for a lot of different defenses,” Station Camp head coach Seth Massey said. “You’ve got to be ready for everything. It’s a lot of information to absorb, but they did it. They’re the ones that executed it. We didn’t want to get in a three-point-shooting contest with them.”
Juniors Kody Eden and Chase Freeman combined for 41 points, with Eden scoring a career-high 21.
“(Lebanon’s offense) runs all sets, and we spent about an hour just going through all the sets in man and zone (defenses),” Freeman said. “We just had to prepare for anything, because they might put in new stuff.”
Station Camp High junior guard Thomas Zazzaro dribbles around the perimeter as Lebanon senior Tay Jackson defends during second-quarter action. Zazzaro scored two points.
The Bison – the District 9-AAA Tournament champion – also did plenty of damage at the free-throw line, connecting on 30 of 34 attempts. Lebanon was mired in foul trouble for most of the second half.
Sophomore Noah Mulaski fouled out with 5:24 left in the game, and four others finished with four fouls as Station Camp’s early attacking strategy paid off later on.
“I felt that’s what led to the lead in the first half,” Massey said. “That’s kind of what we wanted to do, isolate and go at a couple of guys.”
Station Camp ran out to a 13-2 lead over the first five minutes, with Eden providing five of those points.
Lebanon – the No. 3 seed from District 9-AAA – hit three 3-pointers near the end of the period to cut the Bison lead to four points (17-13) after one quarter.
However, Station Camp (33-1) pulled away late in the second quarter, building a 40-25 lead by halftime.
“I thought we attacked the basket well and got to the line,” Massey said. “Give (Lebanon) credit. They shot the ball well. We expected a great game from them and got it. Congrats to them on their year. They gave a great game.”
Station Camp High junior point guard Chase Freeman drives past Lebanon junior Cameron Oliver during first-quarter action. Freeman scored 20 points.
Lebanon (24-8) kept the margin within 10 points for most of the fourth quarter due to its outside shooting, hitting five 3-pointers in the period to finish with 14 in the contest.
“At the end, they were hitting every one of them,” Freeman said. “They were getting offensive rebounds, and we didn’t block out.”
Seniors Yalen Reed (14 points) and Keaton Dotson (12) also scored in double figures for the Bison.
Both teams had difficulty shooting early on in the dimly-lit gym.
“It was tough shooting at first, because it was so dark,” Freeman said. “We adjusted though.”
Six Blue Devils scored at least eight points, led by junior Cameron Oliver’s 18-point effort.
“We felt like we knew what to expect from Lebanon, a familiar opponent,” Massey said. “The guys did a great job. I can’t say enough. You can coach all you want to and get guys in positions to make plays, but they’ve got to make the plays.”
Station Camp claimed a 69-64 win over visiting Lebanon on Jan. 8 and swept the regular-season series with a 65-53 victory at Lebanon on Feb. 2.
Station Camp High senior Keaton Dotson (14) and junior Kody Eden contest a shot from Lebanon junior Cameron Oliver during second-quarter action. Dotson scored 12 points, and Eden poured in a career-high 21 points.
The Bison have won the last 11 meetings with Lebanon. The Blue Devils’ last victory came on Jan. 31, 2011, a 65-44 win over the visiting Bison.
With the victory, Station Camp advanced to the region final for the second consecutive year and earned the program’s third sectional berth (also in 2006-07 and 2014-15). The Bison advanced to face Mt. Juliet – a 54-41 winner over Springfield in Tuesday evening’s other 5-AAA semifinal – in Thursday evening’s championship game.
Regional champions host one of the eight Class AAA sectional games on Monday evening, while the region runner-up squads will be forced to play their sectional games on the road.
Reach Chris Brooks at cbrooks@tennessean.com or at 615-575-7118. Follow him on Twitter @CB_SumnerSports.
LEBANON (69) – Cameron Oliver 18, Noah Mulaski 15, Eddie Jackson 11, Tay Jackson 9, Kobe Neuble 8, JaKeese Turner 8.
STATION CAMP (78) – Kody Eden 21, Chase Freeman 20, Yalen Reed 14, Keaton Dotson 12, Sawyer Taylor 9, Thomas Zazzaro 2.
Half: 40-25, Station Camp. Three-point goals: Lebanon 14 (Mulaski 5, Oliver 4, Neuble 2, Turner 2, Jackson 1), Station Camp 5 (Dotson 2, Reed 1, Freeman 1, Taylor 1). Records: Lebanon 24-8, Station Camp 33-1.