The Unicoi County Blue Devils have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matches by 20 points or more this season. They were the clear victor by a 70-48 margin over Volunteer. Given Unicoi County's advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 96th, while Volunteer is ranked 357th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Leading Unicoi County to victory were Mason Hensley and Jackson Simmons. Hensley dropped a double-double on 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Simmons scored 26 points along with five rebounds. The matchup was Simmons' 15th in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kolby Jones, who scored 13 points.
Unicoi County is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-3 record this season. As for Volunteer, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-10.
Unicoi County will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Hampton at 8:00 p.m. on January 2, 2024. Volunteer will be home for the holidays to greet Daniel Boone at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Daniel Boone knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past five games -- so hopefully Volunteer likes a good challenge.
