Wolverines Pick Up Three Wins
By EDDY GIFFORD
Sports Writer
Photo by Eddy Gifford – Wolverine senior Zack Counts goes to the basket as he helped the Wolverines to three big wins last week.
The Wolverine basketball team hosted the Trion Bulldogs on Tuesday, Jan. 10 in a big region game as both teams were looking to break into the top four teams that would advance them to the state tournament if they were there at the end of the season.
The game started with both teams struggling to score but Dade managed to build a five-point lead at the end of the quarter, 10-5.
The Wolverines got the offense in gear in the second quarter and built their five-point first quarter lead to 14 by the end of the first half, outscoring Trion 17-8 to lead 17-13.
Dade continued to build on their lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 16-11. At the end of the third quarter, the Wolverines’ lead was 19, 43-24.
In the fourth quarter, Trion came to life and started making shots that did not fall for them in the first three quarters and cut into Dade’s lead.
With just over two minutes left in the game, the Bulldogs had battled back a trailed by just six points.
The Wolverines rallied back in that final two minutes and in spite of being outscored 20-9 in the fourth quarter pulled out a hard-fought win, 52-44.
Brody Cooper led the Wolverines with 18 points and also grabbed nine rebounds while Jace Anderson scored nine points. Levi Moreland grabbed 12 rebounds for the Wolverines while scoring four points.
Trion 05 08 11 20 44
Dade 10 17 16 09 52
Bryson Shrader 6, Demetris Walker 4, Kade Pardue, Brody Cooper 18, Zach Counts 7, Jace Anderson 9, Ben Williams 2, Conner Wilburn 2, Levi Moreland 4, Braylan Jones.
The Wolverines traveled to Pepperell on Friday night to face the Dragons in a region contest.
Dade battled all night before a rowdy crowd and led by two points at the end of the first quarter, 11-9.
The Dragons took the lead in the second quarter when they outscored the Wolverines 11-7 to lead 20-18.
Dade came out strong in the second half and regained the lead sparked by Ben Williams and Cooper and at the end of the third quarter they were up 31-26.
In the fourth quarter, Cooper led the Wolverines with nine points, hitting four of four free throws and the Wolverines went on for a big region win 50-42.
Cooper led the way with 16 points while Levi Moreland scored 13.
Dade 11 07 13 19 50
Pepperell 09 11 06 16 42
Bryson Shrader 5, Demetris Walker, Carter Christianson, Kade Pardue 2, Brody Cooper 16, Zach Counts 2, Jace Anderson, Ben Williams 7, Conner Wilburn 5, Levi Moreland 13.
On Saturday, the Wolverines hosted the Sale Creek Panthers in a non-region game.
Both teams got off to a good start with the visiting Panthers, taking an early lead and at the end of the first quarter they were up 17-15.
Dade’s defense played well all night and thanks to that, they outscored Sale Creek 17-8 to take the lead at the end of the first half, 32-25.
A wide open third quarter with 41 total points left the Wolverines with a big 54-44 lead.
Dade dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Panthers 18-7 to come away with an impressive 72-51 win – their fourth in a row.
Cooper led the way with 23 points while Bryson Shrader, Moreland, and Baydan Jones scored 11 points each. Kade Parue and Ben Williams were strong off the bench as well.
Sale Creek 17 08 19 07 51
Dade 15 17 22 18 72
Bryson Shrader 11, Demetris Walker, H Garmany, Carter Christianson Kade Pardue 7, Brody Cooper 23, Zach Counts 4, Jace Anderson, Ben Williams 5, Conner Wilburn, Levi Moreland 11, Braylan Jones 11.
The Wolverines travel to Chattooga on Friday night.