Bryce Dupre reports into game in an earlier game this season for Rhea County Eagles.(Photo:GaryBolden/RCM)

Eagles Win 86-67 Over East Hamilton and Will Face Bradley at Bradley with 6 pm tip

Evensville, TN 2/24/24 -- Rhea County Eagles basketball advanced to 4A Region 3 semifinals with their 86-67 win over East Hamilton in a game played at Rhea County on Saturday, 2/24/24. Akin, Geer and Dupre led the way for the Eagles with 24, 22 and 19 points respectively. With the win Eagles will play on Tuesday, 2/27/24 at Bradley Central High School(Host for Region). Bradley comes off a 65-34 win over Cleveland and is on a roll. Bradley has won six in a row and 15 of 16 since losing to Gulf Breeze in a holiday tournament in December 2023. The only loss during the streak was an upset 51-50 loss to Cleveland, a team they beat handily in the region tournament on Saturday, 65-34. The Eagles have a better record and have played tougher schedule. The Eagles have a 28-6 record and Bradley has a 21-8 record. Bradley gets the advantage of home court in this one and owns wins over the other 3 teams in district 5, Walker Valley, McMinn and Cleveland. Records go out the window in playoffs as one team will move on in the tournament and the race to make the state tournament. In related news, Walker Valley takes on McMinn in the second game of the night at Bradley(7:45 pm tip) after both won their opening games. # 3 seed McMinn won 56-53 over District 6 # 2 seed Howard and # 1 seed Walker Valley won 85-29 over # 4 seed Ooltewah.

Rhea 86 East Hamilton 68

The Eagles sprinted out to 7-0 lead and it was East Hamilton going 10-2 to take the lead 10-9 with 2:19 left in quarter on their way to 13-9 lead. The Eagles took the lead back 14-13 and Kyler Akin hit a buzzer beater to push Eagles' lead to 22-15 after one quarter. Braylon Geer and Bryce Dupre led the Eagles in the quarter with 8 and 6 points respectively, while splitting 4 three-point baskets.

Six three-point baskets in the second quarter helped the Eagles to push their lead to a high of 20 points, and they held a close to 20 point lead throughout the quarter before finishing 51-32 after two quarters. The 29 point quarter was fueled by Dupre(10), Geer(8) and Akin(6) and each accounted for two 3-point baskets.

The Eagles continued to enjoy a sizable lead in the third quarter with the largest lead at 22 points early in the quarter, at 54-32. East Hamilton made a run late in the quarter with a splurge of 3 consecutive three-point baskets during a 14-4 run to come within 69-58 at quarters in, with a 26-18 edge in third quarter points. Rhea pushed the lead back up to 17 at 82-65 and finished with the 86-69 win.

Rhea County Scoring: Kyler Akin 24, Braylon Geer 22, Bryce Dupre 19, Sam Stumbo 6, KeShawn Smith 6, Caleb Carr 4, Hank Logsdon 3, Cooper Brackett 1.