The Coffee County Middle School Red Raider basketball team opened up play in the CTC basketball tournament on Tuesday night. Seeded as the #2 team in the conference, the Raiders squared off against the Trojans of South Franklin. Coffee County got their 3rd win of the year over South with a 40 to 29 victory.
The Red Raiders led throughout the game but could never put away the pesky Trojans from South. Coffee Middle missed six point blank shots in the 1st half but still took a 19 to 8 lead into the locker room at intermission. Leading 29 to 14 going into the 4th quarter, Coffee County saw South score 15 points in the final frame in a furious rally that came up short. The Red Raiders were led in scoring by Cooper Reed who finished with 17 points, including a pair of important 3 point plays in the 4th quarter. Ethan Hargrove added 12 points and Jackson Shemwell netted 6 for Coffee County.
The Red Raiders will advance to Thursday’s semifinals. Coffee Middle will tangle with the winner of the Wednesday night’s game between Warren County and North Franklin. Thursday’s game will tip off at 7:30 PM at Warren County High School. The Lady Raiders will also be in action on Thursday night. The girls’ game will precede the Red Raiders’ game and get underway at 6:15 PM at Warren County High School.
