COALMONT, Tenn – Grundy County (17-4, 6-2) managed to hold off District 9-AA foe Community (12-13, 1-5), in overtime, 68-65, to clinch the second seed in the upcoming district tournament. Sam Parson collected his 2,000th point in the third quarter for Grundy County and to no surprise was the Yellow Jackets’ high scorer with 21 points.

Despite Parson’s incredible career achievement, the brightest star of the game was the Vikings’ Charlie Haskins, finishing with a game-high 31 points in the losing effort.

       Community started hitting the boards early in the first quarter, managing to pull down several defensive rebounds. Austin Stickler scored four early points, including a pair of free throws. Haskins connected on his first bucket, a three-pointer, at the 3:02 mark to tie the game at eight followed by teammate Landon Lovvorn dropping in three of four foul shots to end the quarter tied at 12-12. The Yellow Jackets’ Reece Strong scored five points in the opening period.

      In the second quarter, Haskins took advantage of several Grundy County turnovers and knocked in six more points in the second quarter. Lovvorn tapped in a pair of two-pointers and tacked on a three to add seven while Stickler banked in another six for 19 of Community's total 21 points for the period. Grundy County did not hold back,  hitting five three pointers while Parson added 11 of his total in the quarter. At the end of the first half, Grundy County led by eight, 41-33. 

        The Vikings came out of the locker room playing hard defensively and crashing the boards, going on a run themselves. They held Grundy County to just nine points in the third quarter with Parson scoring five,  including his 2,000th career point for the Yellow Jackets. Haskins turned several baseline drives into baskets while also swishing home a three-pointer to add nine more points to his total. Lovvorn hit a three from the wing to close the third quarter down just four points, 50-46..

       The fourth quarter started with the Yellow Jackets and the Vikings swapping points until Haskins started a seven point run with four minutes left that put the Vikes ahead of Grundy County, 58-57. Haskins hit a three at 4:04, and two layups at 1:56 and 1:20 to pull ahead. Grundy County's Parson then was inadvertently fouled in the backcourt with 3.1 seconds left, but he was only able to connect on one of his two free throws to tie the game at 58, sending the game into overtime.

      In OT, Lovvorn banked in a two pointer with 3:35 left to tie the game up at 60. Grundy County's Parson then was called for his fifth foul just 25 seconds later while going in for a shot. The Yellow Jackets and Vikings continued to trade baskets until Haskins pulled up for a three to cut the lead to one, 66-65, with just 46 seconds left. Grundy County's Strong calmly stepped up and knocked in a pair of free throws with just seven seconds left, ending the game with 13 points and 88% from the free throw line, to give Grundy County a three-point lead, 68-65. Community was unable to find the game-tying triple before the buzzer sounded, falling to just 1-5 in District 9-AA play. Lovvorn ended his night with 12 points and Strickler added 12 for the Vikings.

The Community Vikings will head to Bell Buckle Tenn to take on county and District 9-AA rivals Cascade on Tuesday.