EAGLEVILLE, Tenn. — It was another storybook ending for the Moore County Raiders, who seem to be finding their lucky streak right at the right moment.
With less than two minutes to play and trailing 49-47, Moore County’s Will Baker saw a lane open up, dribbled past an Eagles defender and made the jumper to tie the game. Then, Moore County fouled Eagle Adrian Serieri on their next possession. He made one of two to make it 50-49 with 1:29 to play.
After a bit of a game of “keep away” Moore County’s Dawson White got tied up with not one but two Eagles resulting in a jump ball that went the Raiders way. With 56 seconds on the game clock, Keller Morey passed in the paint to Alex Copeland who went up for a jumper to give Moore County a one-point lead with 44 seconds remaining. Following an Eagleville time out, Rhett Deaton nabbed a rebound and put it back up for two points to give the Eagles back the lead with less than 19 seconds to play.
Moore County quickly called time out then Dawson White inbounded the ball to Alex Copeland who then found Will Baker waiting on the right side. He uses the backboard to finesse the ball in for two points and the lead as his bench erupted with 8.8 seconds to play. The Eagles got two shots at the game-winning basket but neither would drop. As time expired, Moore County earned a 53-52 district win that put them securely in third place with one game remaining in the regular season. They play Cornersville at home on Tuesday night.
It’s the second last minute victory for the Raiders in the past two weeks. On January 23, they beat Cannon County 44-43 thanks to a buzzer beater 3-point shot by Keller Morey in the final seconds. {To read our full coverage of that game, click here.}
Punch, counterpunch kind of game
It was a back-and-forth battle for the full 32 minutes. Moore County got the edge in the first period off points from Keller Morey, Alex Copeland, Will Baker, and Wes Clifton. They combined for 15 points while holding the Eagles to just eight first period points.
The Eagles used 3-point shooting to battle back in the second period. All but four of their second period points came from the perimeter. Eagleville held Moore County to just nine second period points – all scored by Alex Copeland. Copeland drove in for a layup with 1.8 seconds remaining in the first half to tie the game 24-24.
Moore County came out of the break swing. They scored 17 – including treys by Keller Morey, Dawson White, and Will Baker – while holding the Eagles to 13. At the end of the third period, Moore County maintained a four point lead, 41-37.
The Eagles attempted a comeback in the fourth – outscoring Moore County 15-12 but it wasn’t enough. At the final buzzer, Moore County got the key district road win. 53-52.
Alex Copeland led with 22 points
Alex Copeland led for the Raiders with 22 points. Will Baker also scored double digits with 11 points. Other contributing Raiders were Keller Morey (8 points), Wes Clifton (7), and Dawson White (5). Peyton Martin was not available for the game. CJ Goers led for Eagleville with 13 points.
Moore County scored 30 points from the floor and another 21 from the perimeter. For comparison, the Eagles scored 16 from the floor and 21 from the perimeter. The Raiders were just two of two (100 percent) from the free throw line. The Eagles scored 15 of 16 (99 percent) from the line. Moore County had seven first half fouls and eight second half fouls. The Eagles were called for just four fouls in both the first and second half.
Moore County (9-11, 3-4) currently sits in third place in District 9A behind Fayetteville (11-8, 7-1) and Huntland (14-12, 5-2). The Raiders play Cornersville (6-15, 0-6) on Tuesday in their final regular season game. Fayetteville has complete district play and Huntland plays Eagleville on Tuesday. Cornersville and Eagleville face off Monday night in a make-up game. •
{The Lynchburg Times is an independently-owned, community newspaper located in Lynchburg, Tennessee the home of The Jack Daniel Distillery. We focus on public service, non-partisan, rural journalism. We cover the Metro Moore County government, local tourism, Moore County schools, high school sports, Motlow State Community College, as well as whiskey industry news and regional and state stories that affect our readers.}