LOCAL SPORTS | Eagleville — The third time is the charm. After a loss at Huntland and a frustrating two point loss last Friday agaisnt Fayetteville, the Moore County Raiders snagged their first District 8A victory on Tuesday — beating Cornersville by a final score of 53-48. The W places Moore County at fourth and drops winless Eagleville to last place. Fayetteville currently leads in district play with a perfect 4-0 record.

The Raiders came into the Eagleville game hot off the Fayetteville loss last Friday night. Moore County managed an impressive 21 point second period to pull ahead 31-29 at the break. They led for much of the third period before the Tigers battled back. With 28 seconds left to play in a tie ballgame, a Raider foul sent Fayetteville to the line. They swished both — securing the win.

Raiders lead first period. Eagles lead second period.

Eagleville scored the first points of the game with a drive inside for a layup. Alex Copeland answered with a quick score. The Eagles scored on their next possession to pull ahead then Will Baker swished a trey to give Moore County a one point lead. On the next two plays, unanswered points by Keller Morey and Baker gave the Raiders a 9-4 advantage midway through the first period. Two straight Eagles scores got them within one point, then with less than a minute to play in the first, Baker swished another three point shot to give Moore County the 12-8 lead.

Moore County scored just four points in the second period — all by Alex Copeland. Eagleville scored on their opening possession. That three point shot cut the Raider lead to just one point. Moore County’s Copeland answered but Eagleville scored on the following possession to pull back within one. The next Raider shot missed, the Eagles rebounded inside, and then drove to the basket for two points and their first lead of the game. Copeland scored the only other basket of the second period. As time expired, Colton Bateman fouled a shooting Eagle player. His two charity line points gave Eagleville at three point halftime advantage: Moore County 16, Eagleville 19.

Raiders score go-ahead points midway through the fourth period

There were four lead changes in the third quarter. The Raiders outscored the Eagles 18 to 13. Alex Copeland, Will Harder, Will Baker, Keller Morey, and Peyton Martin all got on the board. With Eagleville leading by one and 17 seconds remaining in the third Colton Bateman swished a buzzer beater three to give Moore County a two point lead, 34-32.

The first couple of minutes of the fourth period played out much like the third with four lead changes. Then finally around the four minute mark, Will Harder snagged two points to earn back the lead. Points by Colton Bateman, and Keller Morey helped build the lead to six points. With 38 seconds remaining, Will Baker hit one of his two shots from the line to seal the Moore County win.

Will Baker led for Moore County with 14 points followed by Alex Copeland with 11. Other contributing Raiders were Will Harder, Keller Morey, and Colton Bateman with eight points each, and Peyton Martin with four points. Keydon Bassham led for Eagleville with 17 points.

The Raiders play their district home opener against Cornersville on Friday. Tip off will follow the girls game. It’s the first of four straight home games. They rematch with Huntland on January 28, Fayetteville on February 1, and Eagleville on February 4 in Lynchburg. If you can’t attend in person, the Moore County Sports Network will broadcast the games live with commentary by MCHS Athletic Director Josh Deal and former MCHS football and baseball star Kyler Parker. The Lynchburg Times will also live blog the games on their Facebook page. •

{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.}