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Motlow Bucks Extend Winning Streak to 12
The Motlow State Bucks cracked the National Junior College Athletic Association Top 25 poll this week and celebrated with an 85-66 win over non-conference opponent Gadsden State Tuesday night, thanks in part to the first triple-double recorded by a Motlow player this season and the setting of a school record that has stood for 43 years.
The Bucks (18-3, 7-2) have now won 12 consecutive games stretching back to a loss on the road at Chattanooga State Dec. 2, tying the fourth-longest winning streak in school history. Motlow will travel to Gallatin to face TCCAA rival Volunteer State on Saturday, then return home for a rematch with Chattanooga State on Friday, Feb. 3, at 7:30 p.m. inside Copperweld Arena.
The win in Gadsden capped off a strong showing on the road over the weekend, where the Bucks beat Southwest Tennessee 74-72 Friday night in Memphis and followed that up with a 78-63 win over Dyersburg State Saturday in Dyersburg.
BUCKS 74 SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE 72
The Saluqis took the Bucks to the wire Friday night, but Motlow overcame a difficult shooting night from the floor and won the game at the free-throw line, connecting on 23-28 attempts. Motlow led 37-30 at the half and neither team led by more than seven points.
After the intermission, Southwest took the lead 51-49 with just over 12 minutes left to play. The home team extended their lead to 65-60 with 4:10 remaining, but the Bucks scored the next seven points and never trailed again.
Rashawn Fredericks led four double-digit scorers for Motlow with 17 points and added five rebounds and two steals, including connecting on 4-5 three-point shots. Javion Hamlet had 15 points with eight assists, Aleks Zecevic scored 12 with five rebounds, and Jalen Bell continued to provide a spark off the bench with 11 points and four rebounds. Isaiah Hart scored eight with five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
BUCKS 78 DYERSBURG STATE 63
The final score is not indicative of the dominance of the Bucks Saturday in Dyersburg, as Bucks’ head coach J.T. Burton gave extended playing time to all 11 members of his squad. Motlow led 34-25 at the half and was never threatened in the final 20 minutes. Motlow shot 50 percent from the floor and continued its solid work at the charity stripe, connecting on 14-17 attempts.
Hamlet, who leads the nation with an average of 8.3 assists per game, scored 15 points with 11 assists and three steals. Bell had 12 points with eight rebounds and two steals, and Ross Plunkett hit three 3-pointers and scored 11.
Fredericks pulled down 10 rebounds with six points and Zecevic added 10 boards with eight points. Hart scored eight and filled out the stat sheet with eight rebounds, five steals and four assists. Kevonte Corley scored six and had five rebounds and four blocked shots.
BUCKS 85 GADSDEN STATE 66
Hart, a 6-2 freshman who played his prep basketball at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, was simply unstoppable in Motlow’s win in Alabama Tuesday. The Bucks led by only one, 35-34, at the half after trailing by eight, before Hart took over the game. Free throw shooting was critical once again for Motlow as they connected on 21-24 attempts.
Triple-doubles are rare at Motlow State, and Hart’s was especially impressive with 12 points, 11 assists and 10 steals. The 10 steals are the most by a Motlow player in school history, breaking Adonis Miller’s record of nine that has stood since 1974.
Bell was solid once again with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Hamlet scored 21 points with seven assists and two steals. Corley had 10 points and eight rebounds while Zecevic added 10 points and five boards. Fredericks had five points with eight rebounds, four blocked shots and two assists. Damarcus Williams added six points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Titans GM Jon Robinson Looking for Talent and More at Senior Bowl.
Jon Robinson has watched film, and plenty of it.
Even before heading to the Senior Bowl today for the start of week-long practices that begin on Tuesday, the Titans general manager has already written at least 100 reports on college prospects for this year’s NFL Draft.
Robinson has also observed a large number of prospects in person, during stops to college stadiums before NFL games. During the fall, he attended matchups like Florida State-Miami, Alabama-Texas A&M, Illinois-Northwestern, Florida-Vanderbilt and Tennessee-Nebraska, just to name a few. Last week, he was on hand for East-West Shrine Game practices in St. Petersburg, Florida.
So Senior Bowl week is hardly the beginning of the process leading up to April’s NFL Draft. The NFL Combine, set to begin in late-February in Indianapolis, is also in the horizon, along with college pro days and pre-draft visits to Saint Thomas Sports Park.
“The Senior Bowl is really the best of the best (of the senior class), the guys that go there,’’ Robinson said. “It is a chance to watch them in 1-on-1 settings against the best competition, a chance to sit down and talk to them, get to know them as people, start to dive into their football knowledge and see how they are going to fit in your program. We get verified measurements on those guys.
“I would say it is not the start of the process, but really getting to some finality with the process.”
Over 100 seniors will take part in practices from Tuesday-Friday here this week, followed by the game on Saturday.
During the course of the week, Robinson and others wearing the Titans fireball logo — from coaches to scouts to others in personnel — will spend time with every one of them. Last year, the Titans ended up drafting four players who participated in the Senior Bowl — MTSU safety Kevin Byard, Penn State defensive lineman Austin Johnson, Massachusetts receiver Tajae Sharpe and Arkansas offensive lineman Sebastian Tretola.
The exposure provides teams a chance to get an initial read on the players, Robinson said.
But Robinson said he looks for things on the practice field he can’t gauge in interviews.
“We spend time with each guy there, and get a baseline interview with those guys, answer some questions we may have from our scouts visits in the fall, information we have on the players,’’ Robinson said.
“(On the field) I look for competition. How competitive are they in that setting? Do they step up? Are they leaders in the front? Are they coachable? What is their body language like? How do they perform when called upon? How do they react with a good play? How do they react to a bad play? All of that factors into a decision we make on a player.
“We’ve already formed opinions on the players,’’ Robinson continued. “The Senior Bowl is just another exposure. We already have evaluations based on their respective performances at their colleges. The schemes are more basic, you can’t really run a complicated scheme. But if a guy is blowing a coverage in a basic scheme then you know you may have issues there.”
The Titans are scheduled to make eight selections in the NFL Draft, including two in the first round and two in the third round. The team has one selection in rounds 4-7 as well.
Robinson, who drafted four offensive players and six defensive players in last year’s draft, knows the Titans have needs on both sides of the football at the start of the 2017 offseason. Robinson didn’t name specific needs for his team, but he’s looking for certain players again in this year’s draft.
“I think we are going to take a similar approach that we took last year,’’ Robinson said. “We are looking for good football players, we are looking for competitive football players. It is kind of the same message: We want the most competitive 90-man roster that we can heading into minicamp and then training camp as possible.
“There’s some positions we addressed last year that we still want to add competition to that position. There’s positions that we maybe didn’t focus on that we maybe want to add competition to those positions as well. I think there’s good football players on this team and we just have to get a few more.”
2/25/17-Hope outreach Activities
Hope Outreach Free Dinner
Tuesday, February 28 6 p.m.
(At Trinity Baptist Church, 1513 McArthur St.)
Hope House Open
1517 McArthur St.
Thursday, February 2 (10 a.m. till 12 p.m.)
Thursday, February 9 (4-6 p.m.)
Thursday, February 16 (10 a.m. till 12 p.m.)
Saturday, February 25 (10 a.m. till 12 p.m.)
Clothing, food, and other supplies available. Haircuts will only be offered
on the Saturday outreach. All other supplies will be available at all
outreach days. Households can only receive supplies once a month.
1/25/17–Street Temporarily Closed in Manchester-NOW OPEN
The Manchester City Street Department is working on North Waite Street from Highway 55 to Bobby Lane Drive. This portion of the street will be closed for repairs until further notice. As of 12:30PM the street has been re-opened.
Raiders Win, Lady Raiders Fall on Tuesday Night in Huge Basketball Doubleheader
Abby Morgan of Lady Raider basketball[Photo by Demarco Moore – Manchester Times]
In the girls’ game, it was a disastrous 2nd quarter that saw the visiting Lady Cats outscore Coffee County 16 to 6 to steal the momentum and earn a season sweep over the Lady Raiders. Lawrence County carried that momentum over into the second half as they powered to the huge win. Lawrence County hit eleven 3 point baskets in the game while forcing 19 Coffee County turnovers.
The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Abby Morgan who finished with 13 points as she was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game. Alliyah Williams finished with 8 points and Holli Smithson added 5. The loss drops Coffee County to 14 and 6 on the year and 4 and 4 in district play. Coffee County remains in 3rd place in the district tied with Franklin County.
Tyrese McGee of Coffee County basketball[Photo by Demarco Moore – Manchester Times]
The Red Raiders were led in scoring by McGee and Stephen Sullivan who each finished with 16 points. Garrett Eldridge added 11 points and Grant Sadler finished with 9. For his offensive and defensive spark, Tyrese McGee was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game. The win improves Coffee County to 19 and 4 overall and 6 and 2 in district play. It also pulls the Red Raiders into a first place tie in the district. The Raiders win also marks the first Red Raiders team to reach 19 wins since 1990 when Coffee County finished the season with a record of 19 and 8.
The Raiders and Lady Raiders will return to action on Friday night when they travel to Fayetteville for a district doubleheader with Lincoln County. The girls’ game will tip off at 6: 00 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you all the action. Our live coverage will begin at 5:50 with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental Pregame Show.
CCMS Red Raiders Season Ends in CTC Tournament Quarterfinals
Hayden Hullett of CCMS Basketball
The Red Raider basketball team of Coffee County Middle School put their 5 game winning streak on the line Tuesday night when they opened play in the Central Tennessee Conference postseason tournament. Coffee County, who had won 6 of their last 7 games opened tournament play against North Franklin. Despite a strong 2nd quarter rally, the Red Raiders saw their season come to an end in a 44 to 29 loss to the Gators.
After trailing by 8 points after the 1st quarter, Coffee County outscored North 11 to 4 in the second period to head to intermission down by a point. At the half, the Gators tweaked their press defense as put up 21 points in the 3rd quarter to put the game out of reach.
Coffee County was led in scoring by Jaxon Vaughn who finished with 20 points. Trevor Horne added 4 points while Hayden Hullett and Kyle Farless each chipped in 2 points. The Red Raiders wil end the season with a record of 11 and 8 overall.
The Lady Raiders will return to tournament action on Friday night when they have their semifinal match up against the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between North Franklin and West Tullahoma. That game will tip off at 5:00 PM and will be held at Tullahoma High School.
Buffalo Ends Predators Win Streak in Overtime
The Predators blew the chance to string together their longest win streak of the season Tuesday night when Buffalo rallied for a 5-4 overtime win at Bridgestone Arena.
The loss snapped Nashville’s win streak at three games. The Predators had gone 4-0-1 on a road trip that ended Sunday.
Defensive collapse: The Predators’ defense gave Buffalo fits through most of regulation, but suffered a meltdown late. After James Neal gave Nashville a 4-2 lead midway through the third period, the Sabres scored three goals over a span of 7:35. The Predators left Brian Gionta wide open from the left of the net, and he closed the gap to 4-3 with a goal with 5:50 remaining. Kyle Okposo then tied it with 1:05 left. Jack Eichel scored the game-winner on a breakaway from left of the goal with 2:25 remaining in overtime.
McLeod comes out swinging/scoring: In his first game in Nashville, Cody McLeod, a wing/enforcer acquired from Colorado on Jan. 13, wasted little time dropping the gloves. He got into it just six minutes in with Buffalo’s Marcus Foligno. McLeod knocked Foligno’s helmet off with a left cross to the head. It was McLeod’s 11th fighting major of the season, which is tied for the most in the NHL. Then, late in the second period, McLeod scored a go-ahead goal.
Forsberg stays hot: The Predators were called for a second delay penalty after McLeod fought with Foligno. Early into the penalty kill, Filip Forsberg, who has been on fire, broke free for a shorthanded wrister off the right post to put Nashville up 1-0. It was Forsberg’s 12th goal in 18 games, which is the most in the NHL.
Up next: Predators play again at Bridgestone Arena Thursday against Columbus at 7 PM. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network.
Pete Weber’s Postgame Report
1/26/17 — Lou Ann Ramsey
Graveside services for Lou Ann Ramsey, age 50 of Manchester, will be
conducted on Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 3:30 P.M. in Morrison Cemetery
with Brother Benny Benjamin officiating. The family will receive friends
on Thursday from 12:00 P.M. until 3:00 P.M. at Coffee County Funeral
Chapel. Lou Ann passed away on January 20, 2017 at Erlanger Medical
Center in Chattanooga, TN.
Lou Ann was an only child of Alex and Louise Ramsey of Morrison, TN. She
was born to the older parents and lost her father, Alex, who she adored
when she was only eleven years old and her mother passed in 1997. Lou Ann
was of the Baptist faith and attended church when she was growing up in
Morrison. She was quiet and stayed to herself, but most everybody who
knew her, loved her. She loved anything to do with the water; including
fishing, boating or swimming. Lou Ann also loved going to Florida and
Disneyworld. At home, she enjoyed the ponies and goats, but really loved
the little Chihuahua house dogs. She enjoyed watching the Hallmark
Channel and reruns of The Golden Girls and Frazier. During her life, she
worked from Home Health to Tempco in Manchester as a supervisor. She
later worked at Carrier air conditioning plant in Morrison.
She is survived by her sisters, Elaine Ramsey Lockheart (C.H.) of
Smithville, TN and Julie Hinson (Mike); special friend, Sue Wildes.
Coffee County Funeral Chapel is honored to serve the Ramsey family.
1/25/17 — Timothy Dean Winton
Timothy Dean Winton age 52 of Pelham, Tennessee won his battle with cancer when he went to be with Jesus on Monday, January 23, 2017 at 4:37 a.m. surrounded by his family.
Born in Winchester on November 13, 1964 he was an amazing Godly family man. He told his nurses that he wanted to continue the fight so that he could just be with his family and he was very excited that his son and daughter-in-law were planning to adopt his first grandchild and he would be called Poppy.
Tim graduated from Tennessee School for the Blind in Donelson, Tennessee in 1984, he was born legally blind, however he never allowed that little inconvenience to limit him in anyway. He was always a hard worker and a good provider for his family.
Survivors include his son, Zachary (Sierra) Winton; step-son, Michael Myers; mother, Frankie Winton; sisters, Patricia Fuqua and Gayle (Jerry) VanHooser; brother, Mike (Vicki) Winton; nieces and nephews, Melissa King, Troy King, Heather King, Heath (Jessica) Winton, Josh (Lindsay) Winton, Nathan (Jill) Myers, Ryan (Misty) VanHooser, Alice (Nick) Roberts and a host of great nieces and nephews and special friends, Jeff Roach, Annette and Christian Williams, Hazelene Byrum and Sharon Winton. Tim is preceded in death by his loving wife, Teresa Winton.
Funeral services will be 2:00 P.M. Wednesday in the funeral home chapel with Brother Jack Nance, Brother Ray Winton and his son, Zachary officiating. Burial will be in Bethel Cemetery. The family will receive friends Tuesday 5-9 P.M. at the funeral home. On line condolences may be made at: www.cumberlandfuneralhome.net.
Tim was a big supporter of the Grundy County Lions Club. The family asks that in lieu of flowers memorials be made to the Grundy County Lions Club in memory of Tim Winton, C/O Whitney Brown, Treasurer, 1470 Colony Road, Coalmont, Tennessee 37313.
Arrangements are by Cumberland Funeral Home
1/24/17 — Birthdays
Birthdays:
Elizabeth (Margie) Gipson — Pizza Winner!
Susie Derryberry, 69
Colton Poetting, 8
Cameron Poetting, 8
Katie Earle