Sevier County teams snap losing skid

An early Christmas gift was in the cards for the Sevier County High School basketball teams Tuesday night when both the Smoky Bears and Smoky Bearettes snapped matching six-game losing skids with victories over visiting Jefferson County at Sevier County’s Burchfield Gymnasium. First it was first-year head coach Stacy Marine’s Smoky Bearettes (2-6) who reversed their fortune with a 47-43 win over the Lady Patriots. The Jefferson County girls team seems to have hit a wall after starting the season impressively by winning six of its first seven games. Tuesday’s loss to Sevier County was the fifth consecutive Jefferson County setback since the first week of December. The Smoky Bearettes, who were led by Kendal Baxter’s 13 points, experienced their first taste of victory since knocking off Alcoa in a Hall of Fame game in November. Jessica Tharpe had 12 points for Sevier County. Amanda Feeney and Amber Trail, who had 11 and 10 points, respectively, rounded out four Smoky Bearettes who scored in double figures against the Lady Patriots. Despite their sluggish start to the season, the Smoky Bears boasts arguably the county’s top player in senior James Feezel. Feezel scored a team-high 17-points, and made his last two be the difference in the closely-contested match-up With the contest knotted up at 38-38 at the end of regulation, the Smoky Bears got the final possession in a back-and-forth overtime period. The athletic 6-foot-4 Feezel timed his jump perfect and tipped a missed Sevier County jumper back through just before the buzzer to lift his team to a 46-44 victory. Feezel’s last-second tip-in gave the Smoky Bears their first victory since defeating Chuckey-Doak 53-45 on November 25 in the Greenville Thanksgiving Tournament.