LYNCHBURG — You live by the three you sometimes die by the three but on Wednesday perimeter shots worked out for the Moore County’s Raiders.
Coach Justin Brown may have wanted his good guys in Columbia blue to attack in the paint but his players saw opportunities and took them – sometimes just seconds after crossing the center line. The Raiders got hot from the perimeter – swishing nine from behind the line to lift them to a 53-31 victory over the Cornersville Bulldogs and a spot in the District 9A Championship game, originally schedule for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. That game will now take place next Tuesday, February 22 to accommodate the rescheduling of the Girls 9A Championship game from Thursday to Friday due to the threat of severe weather in Lynchburg.
On Wednesday, Moore County and Cornersville battled it out trading the lead multiple times in the first period. Will Harder hit three-point shots to both begin and end the first period. Harder scored six of Moore County’s eight first stanza points with Alex Copeland contributing the other two. At the end of the first eight minutes, Moore County and Cornersville knotted at eight each. The second period felt like much of the same with both team trading baskets. Around the three-minute mark, Copeland hit his own trey to pull the Raiders ahead 16-12, prompting a Bulldog time out. Moore County went into the break clinging to a two-point lead, 18-16.
Moore County scored their big offensive period out of the break – scoring 21points in the third while holding Cornersville to just 10. Copeland and Will Baker hit back-to-back treys to pad the Raiders lead to 26-16 midway through the period. Keller Morey ended the scoring with a how-did-he-do-that midrange floater for the final Moore County points of the third. Going into the fourth quarter, Moore County led Cornersville 39-26.
Coach Brown put in his JV squad midway through the fourth much to the delight of the student section. Will Parker, Sawyer Parks, Emery Bryan, Peyton Hill, Brantley Hill, Blakely Bobo, and Cooper Dickey all saw district tournament playing time. Parker came off the bench and scored two points. At the final buzzer, Moore County notched a 53-31 victory.
Will Harder led with 19 points including four three-point shots. Alex Copeland followed closely with 18 including three three-point shots. Will Baker scored eight including two three-point shots. Colton Bateman, Keller Morey, Will Parker, and Peyton Martin each contributed a basket each. Eli Welch led for Cornersville with 15 points. •
{The Lynchburg Times is the only locally owned newspaper in Lynchburg and also the only woman-owned newspaper in Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}