The Bearden High School boys’ basketball team advanced Saturday night into the championship game of the prestigious Arby’s Classic holiday tournament in Bristol.
The backcourt tandem of Ques Glover and Trent Stephney made sure of that.
Glover scored 25 and Stephney 18 to lead the Bulldogs past Wenonah (Ala.), 69-61. Bearden will take on Carmel Christian (N.C.) at 6:30 p.m. Monday for the championship.
Bearden (11-3) didn’t exactly cruise into the finale. It fell behind by nine points after one quarter and got out-rebounded 40-29 against Wenonah. But Bearden’s defense forced 24 turnovers and got 10 steals to negate its inefficiency on the boards.
SEMIFINALS GAME 25: Final – Bearden defeats Wenonah 69-61. Bearden will play Carmel Christian Monday at 6:30pm for the Arby’s Classic Championship. Wenonah plays Buford, GA Monday at 5pm for third and fourth. #ArbysClassic pic.twitter.com/8DcWB8aObE
— Arbys Classic (@arbysclassic) December 30, 2018
Glover went 8-for-15 from the field and made all eight of his free-throw attempts. Stephney went 4-for-11 from the floor and made eight of 10 foul shots. The rest of Bearden’s six-man rotation struggled, however, at the free-throw line — going 6 of 15.
Kordell Kah had six points and six rebounds in his return to action, having served the mandatory two-game suspension, per TSSAA rules, for the double-technical he received in the 61-60 loss to Maryville on Dec. 14.
Tennessee signee Drew Pember is still sidelined with injury.
Bearden’s opponent Monday, Carmel Christian, is 20-0 this season and won a 2A state championship a season ago. Carmel is led by 6-foot-5 shooting guard Donovan Gregory, an Appalachian State signee who averages 19.3 points per game.