GALLATIN Few high-school basketball coaches get a bucket of water dumped on them after big wins, but Station Camp High boys basketball head coach Seth Massey was drenched after Monday evening’s Class AAA sectional contest against Independence.
His Bison were in the mood to celebrate – at least for a little while – after earning the school’s first trip to the state tournament thanks to a 67-64 victory over the visiting Eagles.
Station Camp High seniors Yalen Reed and Hayden Baldwin celebrate with the student section following the Bison’s 67-64, sectional victory over visiting Independence on Monday evening.
The Bison learned from the disappointment of last year’s sectional loss to visiting Brentwood.
“Last year, we took time to reflect on that game against Brentwood, and we knew that this year we would give everything we had to win,” Bison senior Keaton Dotson said. “We weren’t nervous. We were determined.”
Station Camp High junior forward Kody Eden elevates for a first-quarter layin as Independence senior Malcolm Walker defends during Monday evening’s Class AAA sectional contest. Eden scored a team-high 18 points in the Bison’s 67-64 victory.
Station Camp (35-1) could not celebrate until it survived a flurry of three-point shots from Independence shooters over the final 12 seconds, with junior Grayson Murphy, senior Pierre Watkins and junior Greg Miller all misfiring in the final seconds as the Eagles (27-4) tried to force overtime. Miller’s 40-foot heave at the buzzer hit the right side of the basket, allowing Bison supporters to exhale and rejoice.
“(It) may have been the biggest crowd we have ever had,” Dotson said. “It was unbelievable from start to finish the energy that was in the gym tonight.”
The final play, a sideline inbounds with 1.5 seconds left, was designed to find Murphy, but even with two screens enabling him to get loose, the Bison defense didn’t allow the junior guard to get his hands on the ball.
“We were not going to let (Murphy) catch,” Station Camp head coach Seth Massey said. “We wanted somebody else to shoot it. If Murphy would have shot, it probably would have gone in.”
Murphy poured in 30 points, with 16 of those coming in the fourth quarter. The final period saw the Eagles outscore the host squad by a 33-26 margin. It was not a pace that Massey wanted to see.
Station Camp High junior point guard Chase Freeman dribbles into the lane during first-half action as Independence junior Grayson Murphy defends. Freeman scored 10 points.
“I did not want that up-and-down game a whole lot with (Independence),” Massey said. “I wanted it a little slower and to pound it inside. That fourth quarter, when it got desperation time, you saw what they’re good at, transition and offensive rebounding. After (watching) 10 or so games on film, I felt like that’s what they did the best.”
Murphy hit four of Independence’s nine 3-pointers, three of which came in the fourth quarter.
“He’s a full-out stud,” Bison point guard Chase Freeman said of Murphy. “He knows how to play basketball. It was tough guarding him. We just wanted to contain him as much as we could.”
Early on, Station Camp senior Yalen Reed made it a point to control the boards, but he found himself in foul trouble, collecting his third foul 53 seconds into the third quarter. He sat out for the remainder of that period and had only played 28 seconds of the fourth quarter before collecting his fourth foul.
Station Camp High senior guard Sawyer Taylor dribbles to the basket as Independence junior Greg Miller defends. Taylor scored seven points.
Reed fouled out with 2:08 to play, but Independence senior forward Malcolm Walker was also in foul trouble, committing his fourth infraction with 5:23 left in regulation.
Junior forward Kody Eden led the Bison offensively, scoring 18 points. Fourteen of those came in the second half while Reed was on the bench.
Unlike last year’s sectional contest – a 60-46 loss to Brentwood in which the Bison relinquished a second-half lead – Station Camp only trailed for eight seconds, a 5-4 deficit in the first quarter. The Bison led 17-10 after one quarter and 29-22 at halftime.
“That was one of our points of emphasis, get a lead and keep it,” Freeman said. “We had to put our foot on the gas and not let up.”
Dotson backed Eden’s production with 16 points, and Freeman scored 10.
The Bison are slated to play in one of four Class AAA quarterfinal games on Wednesday, March 16, at Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center.
Station Camp High senior guard Keaton Dotson releases an interior shot in front of Independence senior Patrick Murphy during first-quarter action. Dotson scored 16 points.
Freeman said that he would allow it to sink in before getting back to work.
“This is one of the best nights of my life, but we’re not done yet,” Freeman said. “We’re 0-0, and we’re worried about the next day. We want to enjoy it tonight, but tomorrow it’s the past, and we have to start working on next week.”
Reach Chris Brooks at cbrooks@tennessean.com or at 615-575-7118. Follow him on Twitter @CB_SumnerSports.
INDEPENDENCE (64) – Grayson Murphy 30, Malcolm Walker 11, Patrick Murphy 10, Greg Miller 6, Pierre Watkins 5, Corbin Daughtery 2.
STATION CAMP (67) – Kody Eden 18, Keaton Dotson 16, Chase Freeman 10, Yalen Reed 8, Thomas Zazzaro 8, Sawyer Taylor 7.
Half: 27-22, Station Camp. Three-point goals: Independence 9 (G. Murphy 4, Miller 2, P. Murphy 2, Watkins 1), Station Camp 2 (Dotson 1, Taylor 1). Records: Independence 27-4, Station Camp 35-1.