By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
The Raiders led by 12 at the half and trailed by as many as six in the fourth but Moore County managed an impressive win over the #9 Class 2A team in the state, who beat the Raiders 83-39 on December 8. Alex Copeland and Peyton Martin combined for 45 points to help lift the Raiders to a 66-62 non-district win over Summertown on Saturday in Lynchburg.
Moore County pulls ahead in the first half
Moore County and Summertown matched each other point-for-point in the first period. The Raiders used points by Brantley Hill, Alex Copeland, and Dawson White to tie the Eagles 13-13 at the end of the first period.
In the second period, a determined Raiders squad battled back to manage a 12-point half time lead.
Alex Copeland started the second quarter scoring with a right side jumper for two points to earn back the lead. Summertown missed on their next shot on goal and Tucker Smith quickly rebounded then passed to a waiting Gavin Wise who went up for two to stretch the lead to four, 17-13.
Summertown answered with two put-back points to narrow the gap to three, 17-14. Moore County turned over the ball, then sent Eagle Sawyer Sherman to the line from the perimeter. He hit one of three to pull it back to a one-point game. Three possessions later, the Eagles Jackson Barrett managed a right side layup to earn the lead. A Wes Clifton trey earned it right back, 20-18. Peyton Martin went inside for two and then Copeland added a exclamation point trey with 3:31 to play in the half, 25-20.
Summertown managed just one more point over the next three minutes – one from the line from Eagle Bennet while Martin put up four and Copeland added two more to make it 31-20. In the final seconds, the Eagles fouled Martin and he made both to make it 33-20 at halftime.
The Raiders put the game out of reach with less than five seconds remaining.
The lead Moore County built up in the first half held up down the stretch, but Summertown battled back in the third period. They put up 21 points while holding Moore County to just 13. The Raiders went into the fourth quarter with a narrow four-point lead, 46-42.
Moore County and Summertown paced each other in the final period with 20 points each. The Eagles managed to pull ahead with 4:56 to play when Kurt Burleson drove inside for two down the right side, made the basket, and drew the “and one” foul. He made it to give the Eagles a one-point lead, 49-48. Bennett made two on their next possession to build that lead to three. Burleson swished one from the perimeter to give Summertown three more, 54-48 with 3:47 to play.
Copeland, Martin, and White went to work in the next minute. Copeland made two from the line and swished a trey to pull the Raiders back within one, 54-53. The Eagles answered, then Martin went up strong for two. Summertown answered with a trey to stretch the lead back to four, then a determined White went down the right side for two more. The Eagles missed on their next shot. Copeland got the rebound, went down the floor, shot, missed, got his own rebound, and went back up for two points to tie the game with 1:47 to play.
Gavin Wise blocked the next Eagle shot and the ball ricocheted to Copeland who passed to White. He went up for two to give Moore County a 61-59 lead with 1:05 to play – prompting a Summertown time out.
The Eagles answered to tie the game at 61-61 with 46 seconds remaining – resulting in another time out. They then chose to foul Copeland who went to the line and made one of two to give Moore County a narrow one-point lead. He then stole the inbound ball, and passed to Clifton who dished to Martin underneath. He was mauled – sending him to the line. He made one of two to make it 63-61 with 29 seconds to go. Eagleville then called another time out.
Out of the break, Summertown missed from the perimeter and Wise went up for the rebound. The Eagles then fouled Copeland on Moore County’s next play and he hit one of two to make it 64-61 with 10 seconds remaining. Clifton fouled Leyton Sherman on the next play. He made one of two to make it 64-62 with 7.2 seconds remaining.
The Eagle again fouled Copeland who made both shots to put the game out of reach with five second to play. Moore County walked away with a 66-62 win.
Alex Copeland led all scorers with 27 points followed by fellow double-digit scorers Peyton Martin with 18 and Dawson White with 13. Brantley Hill and Wes Clifton swished a trey each and Gavin Wise added a basket.
Both the Raiders and Raiderettes will tip off against non-district Whitwell at MCHS on Tuesday in preparation for travelling for a district rematch against Fayetteville on Friday.•
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