Bears maul Indians

By JOAN HARMON/Correspondent

The Rural Retreat Indians played host to the Bland County Bears Thursday night in a non-district match-up. When the final horn had sounded the Bears had chalked up a 52-32 victory.
Both teams started off slow, but Kyle Kennedy opened the scoring with a trey. Moments later, Shawn Robertson hit from the lane as BC led 5-0.
Jared Dix lit up the scoreboard for RR with a power move, but Robertson hit a three point play putting the visitors up 8-2. Jake Whalen hit a free throw and a baseline jumper, but Robertson and Jacob Musser hit baskets for the Bears.
J.C. Crockett scored on a bank shot from the paint, but Kris Kennedy hit a pair of free throws as Bland led 14-7 after a period.
The second quarter saw Bland expand its lead behind Kyle Kennedy, Tyler Estep and Korey Kennedy. Trey Huffard tickled the twin for a three and Crockett hit before the buzzer as RR trailed 27-12 after a pair.
Coach Michael Brown made adjustments at the break; the Tribe came out strong for the second half and played even basketball with the Bears. David Harmon scored on three free throws, but Robertson hit a three and had help from Estep and Josh Pennington. Crockett scored on a nice pass from Whalen, Huffard went coast to coast and Harmon added a pair as Bland County led 38-23 after a trio.
The final eight minutes saw Dix, Huffard, and Harmon score points for the Indians, but Kyle Kennedy, Josh Shrader, and Kory Kennedy answered for the Bears as Bland County took the win.
The Indians played much better basketball in the second half as Dix and Crockett are to be commended for their fine defensive efforts. On the offensive end, Whalen and Huffard showed toughness and scored points. David Harmon led the Indians with a team high 10 points while Robertson had a game high 15 for BC.

RR Scoring: Harmon 10, Huffard 8, Crockett 7, Dix 4 and Whalen 4
Bland Scoring: Robertson 15, Kory Kennedy 8, Kris Kennedy 7, Estep 6,
Pennington 3, Shrader 2 and Mercer 2.

In J.V. action, Coach Casey Williams got his first high school win as the RR JV beat Bland 39-33.
RR Scoring: Stepp 11, Thompson 8, Bridges 7, Hall 5, Shumate 4 and Martin 2.