HUNTLAND, Tenn. — Slow and steady wins the Raiders versus Huntland rivalry race.
Moore County jumped out to an early 16-13 first period lead in Huntland on Friday but couldn’t hang on down the stretch. The Hornets outscored the Raiders in the second and headed into the locker room leading 31-26. They carried that momentum into the third period building their lead to 11 points. The final score was Moore County 51, Huntland 63.
It was the second meeting for the two district rivals. The Raiders also lost to Huntland in their first match up in Lynchburg. It was a back-and-forth, punch-counterpunch game between two closely matched teams that was decided in the final seconds. In the final period, Huntland got the ball back with six seconds remaining. A Hornet shot, snagged his own rebound, and then put the ball back up as time expired. His final basket gave the Hornet a 58-56 win. {To read our complete coverage of that game, click here.}
On Friday, the Hornets’ difference maker was their inside game. The Hornets earned 46 points from the floor and just six points from the perimeter. By comparison, Moore County earned 28 points from the floor and 12 from the perimeter including two treys each by Alex Copeland and Dawson White. Moore County shot 11 of 18 (61 percent) from the line. Huntland shot 11 of 20 (55 percent) from the line.
Will Baker led for Moore County followed closely by two other double-digit scorers: Dawson White with 12 points and Alex Copeland with 11 points. Other contributing Raiders were Keller Morey and Peyton Martin with five points each and Wes Clifton with two points. Eli Wiggs and Braylen Phillips led for Huntland with 16 points each.
The loss drops Moore County to an 8-10 overall and 2-3 district record. They currently sit in fourth place in District 9A play with three games remaining on the regular season schedule. The win improves Huntland’s record to 14-10 in the regular season and 5-1 in district play. They are currently tied for first place with Fayetteville. Those two teams will rematch on Friday, February 3 in Huntland.
The Raiders play at Fayettevile on Tuesday and at Eagleville on Friday before playing the final regular season game against Cornersville at home on February 7. •
{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.}