WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & SportsOoltewah, Lookout Valley stay in district lead with wins

Owls close to district title after 61-57 win at Cleveland
CLEVELAND (WRCB) -- Andre Moton scored 14 points and Mikhail Creech controlled the paint to help Ooltewah survive a late Cleveland rally for a 61-57 road victory in a key District 5-AAA matchup on Friday night.

The victory moves the Owls (22-3, 9-2 in district) to within one win of the district title. At 9-2 in league play, a victory over McMinn County on Tuesday will wrap up the regular season championship.

Bradley Central, who beat Rhea County on Friday to improve to 8-2 in district play, sits a half-game behind Ooltewah after being forced to vacate a win earlier this season.

Cleveland (13-8, 8-4) was eliminated from the regular season district race with the loss.

Creech was a one-man wrecking crew in the paint all night, reaching double figures in rebounding in the first half. The high-flying forward, who signed a football scholarship with Austin Peay earlier this week, finished the game with 14 rebounds and eight blocks.

The Owls built up a double-digit first-half lead and were up as many as 16 in the third quarter, but the Blue Raiders had trimmed it down to three by the opening minutes of the fourth.

The game stayed close the rest of the way, with a Jahrod Rhodes tip-in pulling Cleveland to within 59-57 with 17.7 seconds to play. But Antonio Jackson sank two free throws five seconds later that would provide the game's final margin.

Rhodes scored 15 to lead Cleveland.

Lookout Valley holds off Van Buren to break tie atop 5-A
TIFTONIA, Tenn. (WRCB) -- William Long hit the go-ahead layup with 49.6 seconds to play and added two more free throws down the stretch to lift Lookout Valley to a huge 47-43 win over visiting Van Buren County in a first-place showdown in District 5-A on Friday night.

The victory gives the Yellow Jackets (19-5, 9-1 in district) sole possession of the top spot in the district with three games to play, and avenges their only league loss of the season. Van Buren beat Lookout Valley 57-54 in Spencer earlier this season.

The Eagles were almost able to do it again.

Tucker McDonald's 3-pointer gave the visitors a 43-42 lead with just under a minute to play, but it lasted all of seven seconds. Long raced down off the in-bounds pass and sliced right through the Van Buren defense for the go-ahead layup plus a foul. He missed the free throw, but the Yellow Jackets wouldn't trail again.

Long added two free throws after an Eagles' turnover before Delaney Heathington closed it out with the final free toss. Heathington sprinted up the court and ripped off two cartwheels and a back flip as the buzzer sounded to celebrate the win.

Long led all scorers with 22 points. Spencer Hitchcock topped Van Buren with 18 points, while McDonald chipped in 10.

Other high school scores from Friday night:

Boys Basketball
Brainerd 74, East Ridge 61
Polk County 59, McMinn Central 47
Tellico Plains 75, Sequoyah 65
Sequatchie County 71, Bledsoe County 47
Tyner 66, Hixson 57
Soddy-Daisy 53, Walker Valley 39
Bradley Central 58, Rhea County 43
Austin-East 45, Howard 43
Dade County 73, Gordon Central 51
Gordon Lee 64, Excel Christian 54
LaFayette 66, Ridgeland 58
Chattooga 68, Sonoraville 57
Ringgold 56, Heritage 44

Girls Basketball
Cleveland 49, Ooltewah 39
Walker Valley 52, Soddy-Daisy 40
Brainerd 74, East Ridge 8
Whitwell 55, Marion County 50
Tyner 56, Hixson 21
McMinn Central 66, Polk County 40
Bradley Central 67, Rhea County 30
Sequatchie County 65, Bledsoe County 54
Tellico Plains 44, Sequoyah 36
Calhoun 60, LFO 28
Cartersville 63, Murray County 56
Dade County 59, Gordon Central 18
Darlington 64, Trion 43
Gordon Lee 61, Excel Christian 34
Northwest Whitfield 64, Cass 38
Sonoraville 86, Chattooga 45