The Temple Baptist Christian School basketball team made the short trip to Shelbyville on Tuesday night to take on their closest rival Victory Baptist Academy.  Breaking an 8 year losing streak to the Patriots, Temple got a 51 point performance from Cody Swayze in a 79 to 70 win.   The JV team lost by a score of 68 to 20.

In the varsity game, Victory stormed out to an early lead before Temple charged back to tie the game at the half at 36.  Trailing by 4 entering the 4^th quarter, the Eagle outscored the Patriots 26 to 13 in the final frame to capture the win.  Swayze poured in 20 of his game high 51 points in the 4^th to power the Eagle comeback.  Sam Floyd added 8 points while Mich Gloden and Trace Woodard each scored 7 for Temple.

In the JV game, Victory outscored Temple 21 to 2 in the 2^nd quarter to seize control of the game.  Alex Gloden was the leading scorer for Temple as he had 13 points.  Sam Floyd added 5 points and Nathan Baker chipped in 2 points.

Temple will return home on Thursday night for a special Senior Night event.  The Lady Eagle volleyball team and the Eagle basketball team will both be in action on Thursday night at the E.C. Bailey Gym.  Landmark Christian Academy of Louisville will be the opponent for each team.  The Lady Eagle volleyball team will take on Landmark at 4:30 PM followed by the Senior Night ceremony.  Following the Senior Night program, the Eagles will square off against Landmark in a varsity basketball contest.

Filip Forsberg

Tuesday night will be remembered by the Nashville Predators more for what it could have been, rather than what it was.

Visitors to SAP Center for the evening, the Preds erased a flat first period that saw them fall behind 3-0 by scoring the next four to take the lead in the third period. Two goals in 13 seconds flipped the narrative back to the Sharks, however, as San Jose used Joe Thornton’s 400th career goal to claim a 5-4 victory.

The regulation loss on the road was the first of the season for the Predators. Nashville’s record stands a 13-4-1, with San Jose delivering two of the losses, each by a final score of 5-4.

“Lousy first, good second, back and forth in the third,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Tuesday’s outing. “We made some mistakes there at the end that cost us, and we had plenty of looks and chances to make it 5-3 or even go back to tie it again, but it didn’t bounce for us.”

The game’s first 40 minutes delivered a tale of polar opposites. The opening period saw the Preds surrender three goals and 18 shots, but then they countered with three of their own in the second stanza.

Marcus Sorensen, Joe Pavelski and Antti Suomela all tallied for San Jose in the first, but Craig Smith got his team on the board in the second when he slid home a loose puck at the 4:43 mark. Less than a minute later, Filip Forsberg converted on a breakaway, and then he beat Martin Jones once more before the period was out to even the score at three all.

“It was a bad start, that’s really the only way to explain [it]… but after that, this group is all about just trying to bounce back, and the second period was good,” Forsberg said. “What they did to us in the first, we did to them in the second. There was obviously a lot of regret in the room after the first and we came out and showed that in the second.”

In the end, taking the lead in the third period is what stings the most for Nashville – considering the final score. Winger Rocco Grimaldi potted his first as a member of the Preds to give them their first lead of the evening as he deked out Jones on a breakaway chance.

Later, Jones flashed leather to deny Smith on a 2-on-1, and after the Predators could not extend their lead with a late power play chance, the Sharks struck and struck quickly to surge back ahead.

The Preds continued to press until the final horn, but they were unable to find a fifth goal.

“We came in after the first and we knew it was not acceptable for the best team in the League,” Grimaldi said. “We came out, and we showed why we’re on top right now. We had a great second and a great third, and just because of that first period, it ended up biting us in the end.”

Notes:

Forward Calle Jarnkrok missed his third consecutive game with a lower-body injury.

The Predators conclude their five-game road trip on Thursday night in Arizona before returning home to Bridgestone Arena on Saturday to host the Los Angeles Kings.

Marcus Lacey, a redshirt-freshman from Madison, Ala., announced his arrival to the junior college basketball world Friday night, scoring 26 points with 16 rebounds during Motlow’s 76-71 loss to Georgia Highlands[Photo by Jeff Reed Photography]

The Bucks (0-0, 1-3) are coming off a pair of close road losses to solid basketball programs. Motlow traveled to Rome, Ga., this past weekend, falling to the host school Georgia Highlands 76-71 Friday night, then dropping a 77-76 overtime decision to USC-Salkehatchie Saturday afternoon.

This coming Friday is the first night of conference play for all teams in the TCCAA. Both Columbia State and Jackson State are 2-1 on the season. Jackson State, formerly known as the Generals, has changed its athletics name to the Green Jays.

Motlow’s Marcus Lacey, a redshirt-freshman from Madison, Ala., was spectacular for the Bucks in Friday’s loss to Highlands, scoring 26 points on 10-15 shooting and hauling down 16 rebounds along with four steals and three assists.

The Bucks trailed 40-32 at the half and struggled to make up the difference in the final 20 minutes. Motlow shot 41.4 percent from the field but hit only 6-23 three pointers. Highlands wasn’t much better, shooting only 46.2 percent from the floor, but connected on 26-34 free throws while Motlow hit 17-24 from the foul line.

Darius Harding added 17 points and six rebounds for the Bucks, with Josh Greer scoring 11 and pulling in seven boards. Leo Castillo scored 10 points and had seven rebounds, and Josh Endicott scored seven with six rebounds.

Saturday against Salkehatchie, Motlow trailed 31-27 at the half but fought back and ended regulation tied at 66. The two teams swapped the lead back and forth through the overtime, with the Saluqis making the play at the end to get the win.

USC-Salkehatchie shot the ball well, hitting 50.8 percent from the field, while the Bucks struggled at 38.8 percent, including 6-21 from the three-point line. Motlow was solid again at the free-throw stripe, connecting on 18-23 attempts.

Castillo hit 8-15 from the field, including 3-5 three pointers, and led the Bucks with 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds, and notching four steals and three assists. Endicott scored 13 with nine boards, Bryce McBride scored 11 with three assists and two steals, Greer scored 11 with three rebounds, Lacey had seven points and seven rebounds, and Kin Webster scored six with seven rebounds.

Freshman Katie Thomas (15) and sophomore Janna Lewis (32) combined for 43 points to lead the Motlow Lady Bucks to a 79-63 win over Central Georgia Tech[Photo by Jeff Reed Photography]

Motlow (2-1) hosted and beat Central Georgia Tech 79-63 last Thursday, and is scheduled to host the Martin Methodist College JV team Tuesday, Nov. 13. Following Friday’s home game against Jackson State, the Lady Bucks will be on the road for the next three games and will not return to Copperweld Arena until Dec. 1.

Sophomore Janna Lewis recorded her second double-double of the young season against visiting Central Georgia Tech, scoring 26 points and adding 10 rebounds. Katie Thomas, a freshman from Lynchburg, connected on 5-10 three-point shots and scored 17 points along with three steals, two assists and two rebounds.

Starasia Bell-Freeman added 11 points and five rebounds, Tanisia Murphy scored nine points, while Dominique Fields and Azhane Bacot had five points each and Taylor Holcomb added four points.

Motlow jumped out to a fast start, leading 25-18 at the end of the first quarter and 44-32 at halftime. The Lady Bucks connected on 46.2 percent of their shots from the field, including hitting 7-22 three pointers and 24-35 free throws.