July 2, 2008

BEARDEN HIGH SCHOOL (WVLT) -- Tyler Smith began the Pilot Rocky Top League season as the number one draft pick, and he ended it on the number one team.

HT Group defeated Ray's, 133-126, in Wednesday's finals, ending an undefeated season with an up-tempo, down-to-the-wire victory.

"I'm just happy to get a win," Smith said. " We got us a championship. It was up-tempo, like we're used to playing Tennessee basketball."

Smith scored 37 points, pairing with ETSU guard Courtney Pigram, who tallied 45, to lead the team to victory. Pigram's NBA-range three-point shot with less than 30 seconds left broke a 124-124 tie and put HT Group ahead for good.

The Ray's squad featured several notable performances in the loss. Incoming point guard Bobby Maze scored 39 points, while star signee Scotty Hopson had 36 and sophomore big man Brian Williams scored 25.

"Tyler was talking trash before the game," Hopson said, "but I guess he got the best of me.

"He got the bragging rights."