Both Seymour basketball teams, the Eagles and the Lady Eagles defeated the Pigeon Forge Tigers and Lady Tigers on Senior Night .
Both teams mounted tremendous comebacks in the fourth quarter to give the Seymour home crowd on Senior Night something to cheer about.
The boy’s team had an incredible fourth quarter scoring 31 points to overcome a 13 point Tiger lead to win by a score of 60-49. It was a 31-8 Seymour run.  The ‘Water Bugs’ were at their best producing several layups created by intense defensive steals.  ‘Water Bugs’ is a nickname Seymour Coach Brian Jessie gave his quicker players.
The girl’s team came from behind down the stretch, relying on clutch free throws and good shooting to defeat the Lady Tigers by a score of 55-52.
The Lady Eagles comeback was mild compared to the Eagle’s which was nothing short of astounding.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Eagles trailed 43-30.  The game seemed all but over, but Seymour never gave up.
“The kids just had the will. They didn’t want to lose on senior night for these seniors,” Coach Brian Jessie said.
They proceeded to go on a 19-0 run taking the lead by a score of 49-43 halfway through the fourth quarter.  The ‘Water Bugs’ were the key to the comeback.
“My five little guards, they got us out of a mess against South-Doyle, and I guess I’m dumb for not putting them in earlier;  Max Harrell, Logan Jenkins, Alex Lambert, Sam Thomas and Garrett Hillard.  We can extend and get after you a little bit with the quick guards.”
The first quarter ended with the Tigers on top 15-10.
At the half, Pigeon Forge was still in control at 27-17.
They widened the lead even more in the third quarter to 41-29. Then the fun began in the fourth quarter.
Coach Jessie had this to say, “I was very proud of the kids who continue to show a ‘never say die’ attitude.  It’s important to close out a game on a strong note as well as the season.  The ‘Water Bus’ were at it again.  We thought about going quick but we don’t have the numbers to go quick for four quarters.  It’s nice to have that little weapon (quick lineup) in your back pocket.”
Coach Jessie was asked if peaking at this point of the season was a good thing and he responded “You always want to play your best basketball at the end of the season.  It’s a silver lining to us coming on a little late (in the season).  On the other hand, you do want to take pride in how you play all season.”   Seymour was led in scoring by Tyler Tilson with 17, Skylar Brown 11 and Alex Lambert with 8.  Seniors Wes White and Garrett Hillard added 7 each.
Seymour will be either a 7 or 8 seed in the District Tournament.
The Lady Eagles improved their record to 17-9 with a win over the Lady Tigers (18-5).
The lead swapped back and forth throughout the game.  The scoring started slow and defense was intense with Seymour leading 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
At the half, the Lady Tigers had taken back the lead 22-21.  The lead had swapped back and forth several times.
By the end of the third quarter, the Lady Tigers had increased the lead to 39-34.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Pigeon Forge held a 43-37 lead.  That is when momentum took a turn toward the Lady Eagles.  Jordan Ballard hit a three and a two point basket to cut the Lady Tiger lead to 44-42.
With 5:10 left in the game, Shae Brown hit another three to give Seymour their first lead in a while.
Over the final 1:47, Lady Eagles Cowan, Ballard and Seagle converted 6 of 8 free throws to seal the win.
Seymour Coach Andy Rines had this to say, “We played well at times and not so well at times.  We found a way to get tough in the fourth quarter and pull it out.  We hit some big shots and we finally hit some free throws.  We were able to generate some points off our defense.  We didn’t do a good job at guarding part of the night, but we did create turnovers.  Both teams were in foul trouble during the game.  That hurt us because we like to play aggressive.  We found a way to gut it out.  We beat a good team.  Pigeon Forge is a good team.  We knew it would be a close game. We knew we had a fight on our hands but we found a way to get it done.”
The Lady Eagles were led in scoring by Casie Cowan with 20 (putting her over 1,000 career points), Clark 11, Brown 10 and Ballard 9.

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