Seymour prepares for Second Season; District accolades announced

The second season is about to begin in high school basketball.
Both the Seymour Eagles and Lady Eagles wrapped up regular-season play Tuesday night by hosting non-conference county foe Sevier County. The Lady Eagles capped a 22-7 regular season with hard-fought 59-52 win over the Bearettes, while the Eagles saw their late-season win-streak end at one with a 48-40 loss to the Bears thanks to a deciding Sevier County second quarter scoring spurt.
The heat gets turned up for both Seymour teams later in the week when the District 3-AA Tournament begins at Austin-East High School.
The Eagles will face the Carter Hornets on Friday while the Lady Eagles, who earned a first-round bye, will face the winner of the Fulton-Carter game on Saturday in the semifinals.
The Lady Eagles automatically receive a bid in next week’s Region Tournament while the Eagles must win the Friday night quarterfinal affair to extend their season at least into next week.
Both Seymour basketball programs were featured prominently when the regular-season All-District Teams were announced on Thursday.
Leading the way was head coach Randy Moore, who picked up another District Coach of the Year nod for the girls after leading the Lady Eagles to a tie for the regular season district crown with Austin-East despite the loss of key members from last year’s state tournament squad.
Moore, among the most decorated prep coaches in Tennessee in any sport, has already collected a handful of coaching accolades for his work guiding the Lady Eagles. Since taking over duties as the head coach of the girls, as well as the boys team, four years ago, Moore has turned the Lady Eagles into arguably one of the five-best girls high school basketball programs in East Tennessee year-in and year-out.
The Lady Eagles’ leading scorer, senior post Megan Peterson, was given the coveted District Player of the Year honor.
A workhorse on the court, the aggressive Peterson averages a little over 17 points per game to lead the district. Peterson has turned in multiple single-game efforts of scoring 30 points or more this season.
Peterson was joined on the All-District Team by her teammates, and senior classmates, Jennifer Wilson and Tiffany McCroskey.
Seymour Eagles’ leading scorer, senior guard Derrick Lee, was joined by junior post Zach Pace on the Boys All-District Squad.
Lee has earned a reputation as one of the top 3-point marksmen in East Tennessee during his high school career. Even though his Eagles have struggled this year with him being one of only two seniors on the team, he has nevertheless notched a memorable final prep season because of his remarkable offensive skills.
Pace, on the other hand, has emerged this season as the most improved player in the area and could very well be the top individual player in the county next year during his senior season.
When Pace faced Sevier County senior All-District 4-AAA selection James Feezel Tuesday night it turned out to be the senior that led his team to the victory thanks to a big second quarter.
Seymour, which sank five treys compared to just one total 3-pointer made for Sevier County, led 12-11 at the buzzer signaling the end of the first quarter but then saw the visiting Smoky Bears close the first half out with a 16-7 run that left the Eagles in a 27-19 halftime deficit.
From that point on, the game was as even as it could get. Both teams each scored 10 third quarter points and 11 fourth quarter points, allowing Sevier County to hold on for the 48-40 win.
Feezel finished with 18 points and Alex Pate added 10 for the visitors. Pace led Seymour with 17 points while Lee finished with 13. No other Seymour player scored more than four points in the game.
The Lady Eagles, led by Wilson’s 22 points and Peterson’s 17 points, built a 34-22 halftime advantage and held on down the stretch for a 59-52 win.
Sevier County trimmed it to 46-36 at the start of the fourth and made a late run to trim it under double-digits.
Kendal Baxter led the Bearettes with 13 points and Amber Trail added 10 points.