Sweetwater’s season came to a close Saturday night, losing 67-46 to Tyner Academy in the Region 2-2A quarterfinals.
The Wildcats (10-17) kept pace through most of the first quarter but struggled to continue against potent Ram shooters.
“They did okay. We ran into a Tyner team that was on fire and they shot the ball well. We struggled to score a little bit and they slowly pulled away from us,” first-year Sweetwater coach Joe Allen said.
The Rams (23-5) saw two scorers — Darius Brewster and Rodney Henderson — finish with 21 points each while Kohl Ward supplied 12. Sweetwater matched Tyner for parts of the first period, but the Rams began to pull away with 19 points to the visitors’ nine.
By halftime, Tyner led 18.
“We tried a little bit of both (of matching intensity and slowing the game). But they came out on fire. They made a lot of baskets and they were contested baskets. I don’t feel like we gave anything away, they just made things,” Allen said.
Ward led the opening quarter with eight points, powered by two 3-pointers, followed by more scoring in the second period. Henderson knocked down three field goals in both the first and second quarters.
Sweetwater found two baskets in the first frame, both coming from seniors Chris Alford and Campbell Hicks.
Alford added a 3-pointer in the second quarter and tallied nine points by halftime.
“We did some good things and we also did some things we could have done better at. I am just proud of them and I have been proud of them all year long,” Allen said. “I want to thank the parents for their support and the kids for all their hard work. I hate it for the seniors that it is over.”
Freshman Nolan Dacus stormed out in the second half with three jumpers and nine points. He finished as Sweetwater’s second-leading scorer behind Alford’s 13.
Hunter Daffron’s six made free throws helped him to eight points followed by six from Hicks, five from Bryson Burgess, three from Cunningham and two from Demarth Upton.
“We will be young again next year and with young teams growing pains come. We will continue to keep working at it and build towards the future,” Allen said, “A lot of young players love the game of basketball and will continue to try to compete, but it is hard to compete as a freshman and sophomore against juniors and seniors.”
The night was destined for emotions, with Sweetwater playing in a round that has ended its season five years in a row. Add that former Sweetwater head coach Jeremy Henderson is an assistant for the District 4-2A champion Rams.
“I think (we blocked it out), but as a 16- or 17-year-old kid it is hard to understand and deal with it a little bit,” Allen said.
Sweetwater graduates five seniors: Alford, Hicks, Upton — as well as Parker Holt and Blaine Watson.
“They are all exceptional young men who work hard. They tried their best, sometimes they were outmanned,” Allen said.
Holt and Watson were sidelined with injuries earlier in the season.
“Losing Parker was a big bomb. For the last few years he has been the center of this team — averaging 15 or 17 points a game,” Allen added. “We lost a lot of games by less than that margin. I think he would have been a huge asset for us, but that did not work out.
“I hate that for Parker. Your senior year … that is not the way he wanted to go out.”
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