KNOXVILLE — The first time the two teams squared off, Powell watched Scott High storm back from a large second half deficit to win in Huntsville.
The second time around, Powell just narrowly avoided a repeat.
The Panthers built a 15-point lead against the Highlanders, only to see Scott High battle back to tie the game at 47 late. But then Powell went on a 9-2 run to secure what wound up being a 56-52 win over the Highlanders.
Trey Morrow finished with 27 points, but they didn’t come easy. The senior had only a single 3-pointer in the first quarter, as Powell was jumping out to a 23-8 lead behind 10 points from Austin Heard and eight more from Bryce Jardret.
After that, Morrow began to score more consistently. He also finished with a season-high 15 rebounds to record yet another double-double in what has been a long line of them for his career.
But Powell was successful in limiting Scott’s other top scorer, Luke West, to only three points, something no other team had accomplished this season.
Grey Todd had what might have been his best high school game, finishing with 13 points and working the high post effectively. But it was not hardly enough on a night when Ayden Greene scored 21 for Powell.
After falling behind by as much as 15 points in the first half, Scott High managed to trim the gap to seven points before Powell closed the first half with a 12-point lead, 36-24.
The Highlanders slowly trimmed the lead in the second half, and charged back from down nine to begin the fourth quarter to tie things up with an 11-2 run. Morrow, Todd and Dalton Prewitt all hit 3-pointers to power the late run, which ended with the score tied at 47.
But Scott High missed out on an opportunity to take the lead, and Greene — who had missed four consecutive free throws — banked home a 3-point shot to give his team a 50-47 lead that it would not relinquish.
Morrow hit a half-court buzzer-beater to make the score a bit closer at the end.
SCOTT (52): Morrow 27, Todd 13, Jeffers 3, Brumeett 3, Prewitt 3, West 3.
POWELL (56): Greene 21, Heard 14, Jardret 10, Walker 7, Walls 4.
