Coffee County made a furious comeback, including 21 points in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t overcome a 19-point halftime deficit in a 54-50 loss to East Tullahoma Monday night at Tullahoma High School.
The Raiders spent most of the night at the free-throw line, hitting 16-of-27 at the charity stripe.
Cole Pippenger led the way for the Raiders with 15 points. Colter Neel added 8, including a perfect 4-for-4 night at the free-throw line. Evan Kirby added 12 points in the post, Brady Wright 9 and Brennan Young 6.
The Raiders actually outrebounded East on both ends of the floor, pulling down 14 offensive boards and 13 defensive boards to the Panthers’ 10 each. Turnovers were an issues for CMS, especially in the first half. The Raiders turned it over 16 times – 11 in the first two quarters.
CMS outscored East 34-20 in the second half. Keegan Taylor led both teams in scoring with 16 points for the Panthers.
The Red Raiders return to the floor Thursday in another CTC conference game at South. The Raiders’ first home game will be Monday, Nov. 2. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and that game will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio as part of the Hometown Sports Series on Thunder Radio, presented by Mid Tenn Turf.
