Olivia Vinson of CCMS basketball

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams welcomed South Franklin to the CCMS gym on Thursday night in a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio.  The Lady Raiders used their stifling press defense to race to a 49 to 11 win.  The Red Raiders mounted an incredible 2^nd half comeback before falling 41 to 37 to the Trojans.

In the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders scored the first 12 points of the game to build a lead they would not relinquish.  In the second half, the Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Trojans 31 to 6 to grab the conference win.   Olivia Vinson was the leading scorer for the Lady Raiders as she finished with 12 points earning the Crazy Daisies player of the game award.  Maggie Crouch and Alivia Reel also added 12 points each for Coffee Middle.  Abby Mahaffey chipped in 7 points for the Lady Raiders.

Dayne Crosslin of CCMS basketball

In the boys’ game, South used their speed and quickness to overwhelm the Red Raiders in the first quarter and build a 16 to 5 lead.  From that point on, the Red Raiders outscored the Trojans in every quarter, cutting the deficit to 2 points with 8 seconds remaining.  South was able to hit a pair of free throws to ice the game and stall the miraculous Coffee County comeback.  Dayne Crosslin led the Raiders in scoring with 10 points as he was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game award.  Hayden Garr added 8 points and Jacob Holder and Jackson Shemwell each finished with 6 points.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders will travel to Tullahoma on Monday night for a conference doubleheader with East.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM.

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

Rachel Butler of Temple Baptist Christian School with her parents on Senior Night

In the first volleyball/basketball doubleheader for Senior Night, the Temple Baptist Christian School Lady Eagles and Eagles welcomed Landmark Christian School to the E.C. Bailey Gym on Thursday night.  The Lady Eagles scored a 3 set sweep over the visitors from Louisville, KY.  In the basketball game, the Eagles had no answers for the size advantage held by Landmark

Cody Swayze of Temple Baptist Christian School with his parents on Senior Night

as Temple fell 76 to 36.

In the volleyball game, the Lady Eagles got off to a rough start in the first set before scoring 20 of the last 22 points of the first set.  That momentum carried over into the 2^nd and 3^rd sets as the Lady Eagles won by set scores of 25 to 5, 25 to 9 and 25 to 13.  Temple’s lone senior Rachel Butler had a phenomenal final game for the Lady Eagles as she finished with 23 kills, 5 aces and 4 assists.  Lauren Davis finished the game with 6 kills and led the team in assists with 15.  Lexie Stewart had 13 assists and 3 aces and Grace Butler added 3 aces and 4 kills.

In the basketball game, the Eagles fell behind by 20 points in the first quarter.  After an evenly played 2^nd quarter, Landmark pulled away in the 2^nd half to get the win.  Temple’s lone senior Cody Swayze led the Eagles in scoring with 26 points.  Mich Gloden added 6 points and Alex Gloden finished with 3 points.

Between games, Rachel Butler and Cody Swayze were recognized in the Senior Night Ceremony with their parents.  Temple coach Jeff Stewart, along with Butler and Swayze, will be guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about their careers.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard live each Saturday from 10 to 11 and is broadcast from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Eagle basketball team will be back at home on Monday night when they play host to Faith Christian out of Jamestown.  That game will tip off at 5 PM.

Anna Johnson of Westwood basketball

The Westwood basketball teams made the long trek to Eagleville on Thursday night for a pair of games at the Eagle’s Nest.  A strong second half by the Lady Eagles dropped the Lady Rockets 53 to 26.  The Eagles pulled away late in the game to roll to a 50 to 22 win in the boys’ game.

In the girls’ game, Westwood trailed by 5 points at the half before an ice cold shooting performance in the 2^nd half led to the Eagleville win.  The Lady Rockets were held to 1 point in the 4th quarter in the loss.  Anna Johnson was the leading scorer for Westwood as she poured in 16 points.  Maddie Sullivan added 7.

Brayden Dixon of Westwood basketball

In the boys’ game, Westwood was outscored 16 to 6 in the 3^rd quarter as the conference leading Eagles rolled to the win.  Westwood was led in scoring by Brayden Dixon who had 15 points.  Jayden Carter chipped in 4 points for the Rockets.

Westwood will now be off until Tuesday, November 27^th when they travel to Liberty.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM.

A whopping 46 shots on net just aren’t supposed to equal only one goal.

Yet that’s where the Nashville Predators found themselves after managing to solve Coyotes’ netminder Darcy Kuemper just a single time during a 2-1 loss in Arizona on Thursday night at Gila River Arena. The defeat is Nashville’s third consecutive and their second straight in regulation to conclude their five-game trip at 2-2-1.

In the previous two games on the excursion – a shootout loss in Anaheim, followed by a 5-4 defeat in San Jose – the Predators said they didn’t deserve to win. Thursday was a different story, but sometimes, that’s just the way it goes in the NHL.

“It was a good effort,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We played hard, we had a lot of shots, a lot of chances, but their goalie played really well and they’re a good team… I thought we played really hard, and it just didn’t go our way tonight.”

The game stands as a second consecutive example of what could have been for the Predators. After beginning their five-game road trip with 2-0-1 record and a 8-0-1 combined mark away from home, Nashville has now dropped two straight in regulation – and in Thursday’s game, they couldn’t get their myriad of chances to convert.

“It’s not a night where you can look and say we didn’t get to the goalie,” Preds center Nick Bonino said. “We had a good net-front power play, a lot of 5-on-5 chances, especially the last half of the game… Sometimes that happens. We liked the attempts we put forth, we just have to finish.”

Michael Grabner gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes with a shorthanded tally, and then Jason Demers doubled the score when he beat Pekka Rinne early in the second stanza.

But in the third period, on their 39th shot of the game, the Preds broke through as Bonino potted his first of the season to give Nashville life with less than eight minutes to play in regulation.

If there’s an easy positive to select from Thursday’s loss, it’s Bonino’s first of the year. The 30-year-old forward has vocally expressed his frustration at 18 games without a goal, but after finding twine against the Yotes, hopefully, he can serve as one of the offensive fill-ins as the club is without top forward Viktor Arvidsson for the next several weeks.

“He was really strong tonight,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Bonino. “He’s got some good games on this road trip, and he’s working really hard… He’s played really well, doing the right things, so it was nice to see him get on the board. Maybe that gets him going.”

From here, the Preds will look to turn things around when the host the Kings on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena, a chance to build off of an effort that saw their power play create more than it has in recent memory.

Combine that with the effort through three periods, and the Predators feel it won’t be long before they’re back in the win column once more.

“Tonight, we played a lot better and had a lot more chances,” Josi said. “It was just one of those nights and it happens throughout the season. We just have to keep doing the same things the next game, and hopefully it’ll go in.”

Prior to Thursday’s game, the Predators announced forward Viktor Arvidsson would miss the next six to eight weeks with a broken thumb. In addition, the team also placed defenseman P.K. Subban on Injured Reserve and activated defenseman Dan Hamhuis from IR.

Forward Austin Watson returned to the Nashville lineup after serving an 18-game suspension to start the season. Watson recorded an assist and led the team with five hits in 11:41 of time on ice.

Forward Calle Jarnkrok also returned for the Preds after missing three games with a lower-body injury.

Nashville now returns home to host a three-game set, beginning on Saturday night when the Los Angeles Kings come to Bridgestone Arena.