Redhound Upset

The Corbin Redhounds didn’t allow the undefeated Knoxville Catholic Fighting Irish to dictate the tempo of its game Friday night. And as a result Corbin handed the Irish their first loss of the season, 66-52 at Gilliam Gym.
“I was worried about this team and actually got to go down and watch them play,” said Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski. “I knew a little bit about them. They are a very patient team and came in 5-0 and had not scored over 45 points. You could see why in their first possession.”
“We talked to our team about playing with that patient,” said Pietrowski. “A lot of times you can get rushed on the offensive end when you have had to guard for 35-40 minutes. You can increase the speed of the game with a quick shot which isn’t always true.”
“I was very proud of this team,” said Pietrowski. “We extended our lead throughout the game, we got it to six, then to ten and kept building from there. It was a really good victory over what I think is a very quality team.”
Corbin (2-1) did jump out to a 6-0 lead as Ryan Tate scored the first two baskets of the game while freshman Josh Crawford added the third for a 6-0 lead.
The Irish tried to climb back into the game but a three-point play by Ryan Swim and a put back by Crawford saw Corbin take a 14-7 lead at the end of the first period.
A basket by Deke Barley to open the second quarter gave the Redhounds a 16-7 lead in the game. Corbin was able to hold on to the lead but the Irish did pull within 21-18 on back to back plays by Tremain Brown.
However, Corbin answered when Swim scored inside and Crawford followed with a three-point play and a 26-18 lead with 1:39 in the half.
The teams traded baskets with Josh Hamlin scoring on a steal at mid-court and Brown going to the basket for Catholic.
A couple of Corbin turnovers early in the third quarter resulted in a Pietrowski timeout. “We missed a couple of box-outs but the kids responded. With Kyle French being out early that hurt us on the boards.”
“But Clint Cashen stepped in and got us some rebounds,” Pietrowski said.
The Redhounds responded with a 9-4 run and led 39-31 before the Irish would score once again. Tate hit the long ball while Crawford and Cashen went inside. Corbin led 41-35 at the end of three.
A basket by Swim off an assist from Crawford and a bucket by Josh Smith pushed the Redhounds into a double figure lead and made Knoxville play catch-up even more.
The Redhounds actually picked up the pace and outscored the Irish 25-17 in the final quarter. The biggest lead came when Swim scored inside to make it 63-45. The Redhounds had concluded a 7-0 run as Swim and Cashen scored all the points.
Pietrowski praised the play of big man, Ryan Swim. “He did good. We talked about a couple of adjustments at half-time. He stepped up tonight.”
“He’s excellent rebounder when it works at it,” said Pietrowski. “I thought he did that tonight and still had a big game with 16 points. If we could get that out of him every night, it’s going to make us a much better team.”
“It was a real good team win,” Pietrwoski said.
The Redhounds traveled to Oneida Baptist for a Tuesday night game but will take on the defending state champion, South Laurel Cardinals in London Friday night.
“We want to go on the road and prove ourselves,” said Pietrowski. “I love to play in front of crowds that are a little rowdy.”

Corbin 66, Knoxville Catholic 52
Catholic 7 15 13 17- 52
Corbin 14 14 13 25- 66
Catholic (52) – Partin 13, Walden 5, Smith 2, Ponzurich 2, Brown 19, Abraham 8, Frnklin 3.
Corbin (66) – Hamlin 7, Tate 12, Crawford 17, Swim 16, Barley 2, Smith 2, Cashen 10.