Mavs drop district opener
The Anderson County Mavericks lost their District 3-AAA boys basketball opener Dec. 3 as the visiting Central Bobcats rallied in the second half to win 51-49 at the AC gym.
The Lady Mavericks were dominated by the Lady Bobcats in the girls’ game, losing 64-19.
After the Mavericks were up by five at halftime, 29-24, the Bobcats put together scoring streaks of seven and eight points during stretches of the third period before taking a 41-40 advantage into the final eight minutes,
The Mavs were ahead 46-43 with 4:21 remaining to play as Luke Lowery, Connor Martin and Eli Varner made either key baskets or free throws. After a Central three-pointer tied the game at 46, Martin made another three to put the Mavs up 49-46 with 3:24 to go. That was the last time AC scored as Central made key baskets and free throws from that point forward as the Mavs had to foul, enabling Central to convert important free throws.
AC still had a chance to win or tie at the end, but a missed shot with three seconds to go and a Mav foul sealed the Central win.
Martin made six treys on the way to a team-high 20 points. Lowery added three treys and Carter Jett hit one from long range.