After earning a split at the Quality Inn Classic in Niceville, Fla., the Motlow Bucks will open Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) play when they travel to Jackson to face the Jackson State Generals on Friday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. The game will follow the women’s opener, scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.

The Bucks (2-1) cruised in their first game in Niceville Friday night, handing Lincoln Trail, Illinois, a 95-48 defeat. Saturday the Bucks, ranked No. 9 in the preseason National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll, dropped an 81-64 decision to the host team, Northwest Florida State, ranked No. 2 in the preseason. Motlow opened the 2017-18 campaign with a 79-60 win over No. 18 Georgia Highlands last Wednesday.

Isaiah Hart led four double-digit scorers with 21 points against Lincoln Trail. Hart connected on 5-6 three-point shots and 7-10 shots from the field. The Murfreesboro sophomore also added three rebounds, four assists and three steals.

All 14 players who dressed got into the scorebook as the Bucks surged to a 48-22 halftime lead. Motlow shot 51.4 percent from the floor, including 44.8 percent from behind the three point line and connecting on all six of its free throw attempts.

Derrick Rayford scored 13 and added three assists and two steals, Rashawn Fredericks scored 10 with eight rebounds and three blocked shots, and Leo Castillo added 10 points on 4-5 shooting and had three boards and two steals.

Dillon Smith led the Bucks in rebounding with 10 and added eight points, three assists and two steals. Nick Marshall scored six points and had nine rebounds, David Fraser had five points with four rebounds, and Zaire Swaby added four points and blocked three shots with three boards.

On Saturday, the Bucks faced one of the nation’s most established powerhouse programs in Northwest Florida State. The Raiders could hardly miss as they opened the first half by hitting 11-14 three pointers on their way to a commanding 51-24 halftime advantage. The Bucks hit just 9-26 shots in the first half, although a better second half left them with a 37.9 shooting percentage for the contest.

Smith, who has been Motlow’s most consistent scorer in the first week of the season, connected on 5-8 three pointers and 7-12 shots to lead the Motlow scoring with 19 points and three steals. Rayford added 17 points and hit 3-4 from three point range, while Fredericks had nine points and led the Bucks with five rebounds.

Hard dished out eight assists, with Kevonte Corley adding three, but the Bucks only tallied 13 assists for the game. Motlow ended up shooting 37 percent from three-point range and shot 62.5 percent from the free throw line.

After their trip to Jackson Friday night, the Bucks and Lady Bucks will head to Columbia, where they will face Columbia State on Saturday. The women’s game is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. with the men to follow.

Both Motlow teams will play their home opener Wednesday, Nov. 15, at Copperweld Arena. The Lady Bucks will host the Martin Methodist College JV at 5:30 p.m., and the men will host the Cumberland University JV at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free to all Motlow athletic contests on the Moore County campus.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics on social media at MotlowSports.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders of Coffee County Middle School hosted their first home basketball games of the year on Tuesday night taking on White County.  The Raiders and Lady Raiders each raced out to big halftime leads in the sweep of their Sparta rivals.  The Lady Raiders won 33 to 18 while the Red Raiders won 40 to 34.

The Lady Raiders held White County to 6 first half points as they raced out to a 17 to 6 halftime lead.  Coffee County held the Warriorettes to 6 field goals in the game to capture their 2^nd conference win of the year.  Marley Perry led Coffee County in scoring with 13 points.  Alivia Reel and Kiya Ferrell each added 6 points.

The Red Raiders charged out to a 10 to 4 lead in the first quarter on their way to a 9 point halftime cushion.  Coffee Middle was able to hold off a 2nd half charge by the Warriors by converting 7 of their final 12 free throws.  Connor Shemwell led the Raiders in scoring with 16 points.  Ethan Baker added 7 points and Aiden Abellana added 6 points.

Both Coffee County teams travel to Rockvale on Thursday night for 2^nd round action in the Rockvale Tip-Off Tournament.  The Red Raiders will play at 5 PM as they take on Walter J Baird.  The Lady Raiders will take the floor at 6:15 taking on Christiana.

The Eagles of Temple Baptist Christian School opened the 2017-2018 season at home on Tuesday night as they welcomed Victory Baptist to the E.C. Bailey Gym.  Both the JV(grades 6 thru 9) and the varsity (grades 9 thru 12) teams fell to the visitors from Shelbyville.  The JV lost 31 to 21 while the varsity dropped a 56 to 33 decision.

It was missed offensive opportunities in the 2nd half which doomed the Eagle JV in the first game of the doubleheader.  Trailing by 4 at the half, Temple saw the visiting Patriots open the 3^rd quarter on a 9 to 2 run.  The Eagles were led in scoring by Alex Gloden who finished with 19 points.  Isaiah Baker chipped in 2 points.

In the varsity game, it was offensive rebounding and 3 point baskets that powered Victory Baptist to the wire to wire win.  The visiting Patriots were able to convert 2^nd chance opportunities in building a 7 to 0 lead in the 1^st quarter.  Victory also drained nine 3 point baskets as they pulled away for the win.  The Eagles were led in scoring by Cody Swayze who finished with 17 points.  Freshman Alex Gloden added 11 points.

The varsity Eagles travel to Jamestown on Thursday night to take on Faith Christian School  The opening tip is set for 6 PM.

Calle Jarnkrok scored the game-winner, and the Nashville Predators concluded their four-game road trip by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets by a 3-1 final on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena.

It’s Nashville’s third consecutive victory, bumping their record to 8-5-2 on the season and giving them six out of a possible eight points after a successful swing across the country.

Facing Columbus on the second half of a back-to-back for the home team, Nashville scored first, and after allowing their first and only goal early in the third, the Preds buckled down to place another in the win column.

“It was a gutsy win,” Nashville defenseman Matt Irwin said. “[Pekka Rinne] was great when we needed him to be, and timely goals – they tied it up, but we felt like we were still right in it and the goal at the end by [Jarnkrok] was all we needed.”

After a scoreless first period, Irwin broke the tie with his second goal in three games as he took a feed from Viktor Arvidsson and picked the top corner on Joonas Korpisalo. But early in the third, Pierre-Luc Dubois took advantage of a Nashville turnover and beat Pekka Rinne on a breakaway to even the score.

Then, with less than six minutes to play in regulation, Miikka Salomaki drove to the net and Jarnkrok pounded the rebound home to give the Preds a 2-1 advantage, the final lead they’d need for the night. Viktor Arvidsson iced it with an empty-netter before it was all over, and combined with another stellar effort in net from Rinne – his second consecutive 35-save performance – the Predators found another way to get the job done.

“First of all, Peks, he was unbelievable,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “I thought we got better and better and everybody just worked hard and found a way.”

Six of Eight:

It didn’t start the way they wanted, but it sure finished up just fine.

After falling to San Jose in the first outing of their four-game trip, the Preds concluded with three consecutive wins in Anaheim, Los Angeles, and finally in Columbus on Tuesday.

Thanks to timely scoring, clutch goaltending and a bit of snarl, Nashville found a way to defeat two of the West’s better teams in Southern California before heading east to keep the Blue Jackets from collecting their 10th win of the season.

Not a bad few days away from the home front.

“I thought that the guys did what we had to do on the road here, so it was good,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “And we walk away with six points. Six out of eight, on a road trip this early, we’ve played a lot of road games so far, for me, it’s good to be in the spot we’re in and go home and look to win some games at home.”

It may be early in the season, but there’s no denying a road trip of this caliber, especially with the success Nashville found, can certainly do something for a team moving forward. The hope is that this past week will do the same this time around.

“There’s been times in past seasons where this West Coast trip has been a season-changer for us, and hopefully it’s this time around, too,” Rinne said. “You play some of the top teams in the League and you come away with six points, so we have to be satisfied and it’s nice to go home now.”

The Predators will return to the friendly confines of Bridgestone Arena for five of the next six in their home building beginning on Saturday night versus Pittsburgh.

And they can’t wait to see the Gold once more.

“This road trip, for me, was about doing the right things,” Laviolette said. “It’s good that it’s over. We’ll go home now and get in front of our fans and in our building and try to win some home games.”

Notes:

Kyle Turris, who was acquired on Sunday by Nashville, did not play on Tuesday in Columbus due to the immigration process as he arrives from Canada. Turris hopes to make his debut on Saturday in Nashville.

Defenseman Anthony Bitetto and forward Pontus Aberg were scratched on Tuesday night against the Blue Jackets.

With their four-game road trip finished, the Preds return home to host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena, the first meeting between the two teams in Nashville since the 2017 Stanley Cup Final.