• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds


 







Wildcats escape with 72-68 win at Karns

Posted at 10:00 am January 6, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Wildcats-Higgins-Pass-Karns-Jan-5-2016

Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) scored a game-high 18 points during a 72-68 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KARNS—Karns threatened to tie the game in the final minute and possibly upset the fourth-ranked Wildcats, but Oak Ridge escaped with a 72-68 win over the Beavers on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge led by as many as 16 points with more than six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Karns whittled the lead down to two points, 70-68, with 1:04 remaining. Quincey Sibley of Karns, who finished with 11 points total, scored 10 of them in that 20-6 run, which lasted five minutes.

After a timeout with 45.7 seconds left, Oak Ridge (18-1, 6-0 District 3-AAA) had the ball with the two-point lead. But the Wildcats turned it over with 35.9 remaining.

That gave the Beavers, who were most productive in their 23-point fourth quarter, a chance to tie the game and possibly even take the lead.

Advertisement

But the Beavers (9-4, 5-2) were unable to score after the Wildcats’ turnover, and Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones came down with a defensive rebound. After a battle for the basketball underneath the net, the Wildcats gained possession with 15.8 seconds left.

Karns then fouled Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins, who had a game-high 18 points, on a pass inbounds coming out of a timeout. Higgins hit both free throws, giving the Wildcats a four-point 72-68 lead with 14.6 seconds on the clock and essentially putting the game out of reach for the Beavers.

Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance. It was the Wildcats’ first match since playing four games in the high-intensity Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when Oak Ridge finished fifth.

“We didn’t play with great effort,” Green said after the narrow Tuesday night win at Karns. “Give Karns credit. They played a lot harder than we did. We didn’t compete.”

He said Oak Ridge played “loose with the ball,” had a crucial turnover late in the game, and missed wide open shots.

“If you play hard and you’re competing, you tend not to make those kinds of mistakes,” Green said.

Advertisement

Oak Ridge was most productive in the first half, scoring 44 points in the first two quarters compared to 28 in the final two. The Wildcats had six of their eight three-pointers in the first quarter. They had none in the second half.

It was a relatively slow-paced game for Oak Ridge. Green said the Wildcats didn’t get many defensive stops, which meant they were unable to play their normal faster-paced game.

In addition to Higgins’ 18 points, junior Anthony Gibson had 16 for the Wildcats, and senior Javien Johnson had 11.

Karns was led by junior guard Taylor Everett and Cartez Campbell, who had 15 each. Jordan Coffin scored 12 for the Beavers, and Sibley added his 11.

The Wildcats have two district games coming up at home. Oak Ridge will play Halls (5-11, 1-5) at Wildcat Arena at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 7, and Campbell County (9-7, 1-4) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 12.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Wildcats-Anthony-Gibson-Jan-5-2016

Oak Ridge junior Anthony Gibson (14) finished with 16 points for the Wildcats before he fouled out during a 72-68 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Wildcats-Johnson-Shoots-Karns-Jan-5-2016

Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson (11) scored 11 points for the Wildcats during a 72-68 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Wildcats-Johnson-Loose-Ball-Karns-Jan-5-2016

Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson (11) battles for the basketball with Quincey Sibley of Karns (12), who scored half of the points for the Beavers during a 20-4 run in the fourth quarter of a 72-68 loss to the Wildcats on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Advertisement



Wildcats-Jones-Karns-Jan-5-2016

Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) scored seven points for the Wildcats during a 72-68 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Wildcats-Johnson-Block-Karns-Jan-5-2016

Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson (11) goes for the block against Jordan Coffin (20) of Karns but gets called for a foul during a 72-68 win over the Beavers on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Wildcats-Bush-Karns-Jan-5-2016

Oak Ridge junior E.J. Bush (2) scores for the Wildcats during the second quarter of a 72-68 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Wildcats-Gee-Drive-2-Karns-Jan-5-2016

Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) drives for a layup during a 72-68 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Aaron Green, Anthony Gibson, Arby's Classic, Beavers, Campbell County, Cartez Campbell, E.J. Bush, Geevantay Gee, Halls, Javien Johnson, Jordan Coffin, Karns, Oak Ridge, Quincey Sibley, Tajion Jones, Taylor Everett, Tee Higgins, Wildcats

Advertisements

 

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Recent Posts

  • Controlled burns start this week on DOE land
  • Current status of city facilities due to COVID
  • Rep. Fleischmann tests positive for COVID
  • Oak Ridge man charged with second robbery
  • Mason, an IDB member, community volunteer, dies of COVID complications
  • Tammy Dunn appointed Oak Ridge city attorney
  • Which Wich closes
  • Obituary: David Lane Mason
  • Snow possible early Friday
  • Drone class to take flight this spring at Roane State

Recent Comments

  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Tracy Powers on Planning Commission to consider Main Street apartments, plan revisions
  • johnhuotari on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • Levi D. Smith on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • samuel hopwood on Housing: Apartments proposed on former AMSE site
  • Matt Bailey on Robin Smith named Oak Ridge police chief

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2021 Oak Ridge Today