Summit storms back to oust Franklin in overtime

By CHIP CIRILLO | Photos by STEVE WHEELER

Summit coach Josh Goodwin isn’t sure what to make about all these comebacks lately.

For the second time in as many nights, the Spartans rallied from a double-digit deficit in a 74-68 overtime win at Franklin.

Summit (18-2, 7-0 District 11-AAA) overcame a 13-point deficit one night after falling behind by 16 in a last-second win at Brentwood.

“I don’t know if it’s us just being great at comebacks, I think it’s us not coming out and executing in the first half,” Goodwin said. “And probably some of it’s being tired. You play Brentwood and Franklin back-to-back it’s going to wear on you.”

Demontay Dixon, a 6-foot-9 forward who got his first offer from East Tennessee State recently, led the Spartans with 26 points.

The junior had four dunks, including two alley-oops in the second quarter.

“We need to start off faster instead of just having to claw back in every single game,” Dixon said. “I mean, it hasn’t cost us, yet, but…”

John Carter, a 6-4 Navy commit, added 18 points and junior Jaden Lewis added 17. Carter’s younger brother, Tai, scored 13 in a balanced attack.

Sharpshooter Reese Glover led the Rebels (12-7, 4-3) with 25 points, including seven 3-pointers.

His final 3 came from the left corner with .6 second left in regulation, sending the game into OT tied at 62.

“We had four seconds, so we didn’t rush it,” Glover said. “I knew I had time to get set and just knock down my shot. We ran it perfectly and it was there.”

The sophomore guard buried four 3’s in the fourth quarter against the state’s seventh-ranked Class AAA team.

Franklin made 13 shots from beyond the arc in the fast-paced game.

Jack Patton’s 3-pointer gave the Rebels a 65-64 lead early in OT, but John Carter and Lewis combined to score the next eight points and Summit never trailed again.

“I expect no less from Reese,” Rebels coach Darrin Joines said. “He can play. I was not surprised at all that he hit that shot. Summit is ranked for a reason. They’ve got two Division I players on their team and some other good pieces.”

Evan Sigler and 6-5 center Paul Rohde both added 10 points for Franklin, which took a 31-18 lead on Glover’s first 3-pointer midway through the second quarter.

Summit finally got going in the second half, and a 10-0 run that started in the third quarter gave the Spartans a 51-46 lead early in the fourth.

Tai Carter’s foul shot with 4.5 seconds left gave the Spartans a 62-59 lead, setting up Glover’s clutch shot.

“We just had to calm down and use our pass fakes on their defense, and play like we usually play,” Dixon said of the OT. “You’ve got to hope (Franklin) misses (those 3s) sometimes.”

Summit’s fourth straight win gave the first-place Spartans a two-game lead over Brentwood (18-4, 5-2) in the district.

Franklin is in third, a half-game ahead of Ravenwood (16-4, 4-4).

“Franklin knocked down shot after shot and there were things I think we could have done better,” Goodwin said. “I would say half of (the 3s) we defended really well, and if they make those shots, they just make those shots.

“I told our guys coming in if they’re going to have another Independence night and go 14 of 19, we’re just going to lose. That’s just the way it is. We were just fortunate to come out on the winning end.”

UP NEXT

Summit hosts Franklin on Tuesday.

Franklin hosts Dickson County on Friday.