By Staff
Kim West
Franklin County Times
RED BAY – The Tharptown B-boys shook off a cold shooting performance from 3-point range to beat East Franklin 41-22 Monday night in the opening round of the Franklin County Tournament at Red Bay High School.
Tharptown finished 4-of-22 from long distance, including 0-of-8 during the first quarter, as East Franklin held an early 4-1 lead thanks to a shot in the lane from Clay Harris and a long jumper by Skeeter Benford. But Brian Prince, who finished with a game-high 16 points, scored a fast-break layup and Kade Oxendine drained a jump shot to put the Wildcats ahead 5-4 entering the second quarter.
East Franklin was held scoreless for nearly six minutes until Evan Reeve hit a short-range jumper that ended a 15-0 Tharptown run with 2:05 remaiing in the second period. The Wildcats shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range during the quarter, including two early treys from Prince and one by Jacob Flannagin just before halftime to put Tharptown ahead 21-8.
Benford, who led East Franklin with eight points and four steals, cut Tharptown's lead to nine points with a 3-pointer to open the third quarter and a running shot from long distance.
But the Wildcats responded with a 6-0 run as Anthony Gray, who finished with eight points and eight steals, came up with a fast-break score off a steal and a putback, and Prince added a layup.
The Rebels (3-8) were unable to cut into Tharptown's lead in the final period as the Wildcats led by as many 19 points.
Fifth-seeded Tharptown (4-7) will play No. 1 seed Belgreen at noon Saturday.