Chris Lofton made a signature return to the Pilot Rocky Top League on Monday, scoring 49 points.
Alas, Lofton's ChoiceSpine team couldn't overcome the size and brawn of HT Group, falling 121-120.
Lofton hit a fade-away 3-pointer from the corner with 40 seconds left to give Spine (0-3) a 120-119 lead, but Wayne Chism tipped-in Jon Primm's miss with 3.1 seconds left for the game winner at Bearden High School.
"It's fun to be back in the Pilot Rocky Top League,'' said Lofton, who connected on 8 of 14 of his 3-point shots and hit 14 of 15 free throws. "I got some good looks and my teammates were looking for me.''
Not until the 12:15 mark of the first half - that's when Lofton scored his first points of the game.
But Lofton, who's playing in the NBA summer league for the Boston Celtics, was playing to win. Lofton and Renaldo Woolridge of HT Group had a violent collision at half-court on an inbounds pass in the final moments that resulted in Woolridge splitting his chin and leaving the game.
"I was just going for the loose ball,'' said Lofton, who checked on Woolridge when the collision occurred and again after the game.
Chism led HT Group (2-1) with 36 points while 6-foot-9 Boo Jackson had 26 points and Jon Primm added 26.
Chism and former Vol post C.J. Black had a heated battle that grew very physical at times.
"It was physical, but you've got to step back and think about it sometimes,'' said Chism, who hit the floor hard more than once and caught some elbows. "They took me out of the game, but I came back and played through it. I used to get mad, but I've learned.''
Cameron Tatum had 27 points for Choice Spine.
"I got hit in the jaw about five times,'' Tatum said. "There was no point going to the hole. But I guess this is getting us ready for the SEC.''
Ray's 123, First Tennessee 99: Ron Slay scored 23 points and Jon Higgins added 21 as Ray's (1-2) upset previously unbeaten First Tennessee (2-1).
Ray's opened the game with a 10-0 run.
Bobby Maze led First Tennessee with 40 points, and Emmanuel Negedu and UT-Chattanooga's Ricky Taylor added 13 apiece.
C.J. Watson had double-digit assists to go with his 14 points while Steven Pearl had 13 points and Kenny Hall 12.
News Sentinel 120, Richardson Construction 108: Scotty Hopson scored 43 points to keep the News Sentinel (3-0) undefeated despite Tyler Smith's (35 points) best efforts for Richardson Construction (1-2).
News Sentinel unloaded a 3-point barrage with Hopson, JaJuan Smith, Skylar McBee, Alex Oliver and Zach Hyatt.
JaJuan Smith finished with 28 points, Brian Williams had 13 and McBee 11.
The Sentinel trailed 86-81 with 9:34 after a Tyler Smith dunk.
A Michael Blue bucked triggered a 15-0 run that put News Sentinel in control.
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
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Comments » 17
PrideOfTheSouthlandBand writes:
I hope Hopson stays as hot as he has been in the prtl. This I hope is a sign of things to come.
FWBVol writes:
I doubt if Chism will face to many players this year that are more physical than former Vol post player C.J. Black.
rclarkfork#639958 writes:
Sounds like games are getting physical....good to see, can only toughen up the bigs going against CJ Black and the guards battling CJ Watson....the better the competition, the more improvement we should see.
1stPoliceJustSayNoToPosting1st writes:
What a horrible ending, the ball should have been in C-Lo's hands, what's so hard about that? C-Lo is still sick, man I miss watching him play at TBA.
golfballs03 writes:
It's great that we're getting our former Vols back here to play! I wish I could see these games
bugman (Inactive) writes:
physical = season injury. there's no doubt the lofton. smiths, watsons, hopsons are giving it 30-40%.
ubershamu312 writes:
I love this. What other SEC teams have old players playing in an organized league against current players and getting them ready. There's no better practice than this, and Pearl knows it. I miss C.J. Black, last year's team could have used a player like him.
kiffownsfla writes:
Must not be much defense if they are scoring 30 to 50 points a game I would hate to see what meeks would hang on them if he was thier 150? lol GO VOLS
JCforUTVols writes:
this league is to improve individual skills, cpb has shown how to win in the SEC. what has CJC done in the SEC?
Most 19-22 year olds have dreams of being in the NBA? let them go for it! I'm tired of all the bashing going on over these kids. Win or lose I enjoy watching them do their best Go Vols
TkelynN writes:
We should have Kevin O'Neill as our defensive coach... with Pearl's offense and O'Neills defense we would win every game by at least 30 points.
Bigger_Al writes:
Nooooooooooooooooooo! O'Neill devotes most of practice to defense, which is why his offense was arguably the ugliest in the history of College Basketball. We're fine with Pearl Ball.
BigOrangeCrazy writes:
You're spot on about the ugly offense. But O'Neill spent most of his time cussing Aaron Green. Defense was a distant second. lol
Thank God he is gone!
Go BallerVols!
JamminVol11 writes:
These guys are playing hard in this league. Elbows are flying and tempers are flaring because they want to win. They want to go further than last year. Defense is better this year with CJ in the middle. He could definately teach the younger guys and is doing so and I see them holding Patterson in check.
BTW...how was the NIT last year?
Volumnus writes:
Are they acutally playing defense? I am out of town this year and won't be able to see the games. Last year they did not give many minutes to the kids who played D.
JamminVol11 writes:
They are. Chris Lofton and Woolridge diving for balls on the floor. CJ Black and Chism shoving and throwing elbows. Maze and Tatum going for steals and shutting the other guards down except for Watson. The LMU players are playing defense and getting playing time. The ETSU guys are doing the same. It seems like everyone was told to work on D. No one gets a free shot to the basket. Tatum has been cleaning the floor on a regular basis to the point he might stop penetrating.
creepykev#228270 writes:
CJ won't let them have anything easy in the middle he fouls them if he can't stop them. Man I had forgotten how pretty Lofton's shot is. Hey, who knew he could dunk? He was doing it in warm ups.
4114 writes:
When does footbal start....?
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