Middle School basketball is nearing its culmination with this week's Sequatchie Valley Conference Post Season Tournament.

Rhea County's three middle schools competed with five others to vie for the coveted SVC title, which will be decided on Friday night.

The following games were played on Monday at Marion County High School in Jasper.

SCMS boys thump Whitwell

It took only one quarter for the No. 1 seed from the northern division, Spring City Middle School, boys to thump the south's fourth-ranked Whitwell Middle School.

The Bulldogs led 23-0, despite missing 16 free throws in the opening quarter, and had already heaped foul trouble on the shoulders of Whitwell's tallest Tiger.

In the opening minutes, Spring City's Macay Hedrick and David Loden piled up layups off of steals.

After the first six minutes, playmakers Taylor Jenkins and Hedrick were seated on the bench with their warmups back on and were followed shortly thereafter by the rest of the starting lineup.

By early in the fourth quarter, the entire Bulldog bench had seen significant minutes, effectively spreading out the stats.

Storm Hull ended up leading the Dawg pound defense with eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Despite limited minutes, Brad McClure, Hedrick and Dylan Pritchett led Spring City in scoring with nine, nine and eight points, respectively.

The Bulldogs won by a final score of 49-22.

They are scheduled to play the winner of the Rhea Central/Jasper Middle School game on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Lady Bulldogs breeze past South Pittsburg

Despite being hobbled by injuries, the top ranked SCMS girls made it past their first round matchup with fourth-seed South Pittsburg Middle School.

The Lady Bulldogs secured the 40-23 win with starters Hannah Dye and Morgan Owensby, as well as reservist Tyra McClendon, on the bench with ankle injuries sustained in the heated contest.

Starter Katie Loden was already playing with an injured ankle.

South Pittsburg was fighting to keep their post season hopes alive. The aggressive Lady Pirates' defense, which tallied 26 fouls on the night, took no prisoners, sailing back from a 17-point deficit to pull within single digits in the third quarter.

Their comeback was short-lived, however, as the Lady Bulldogs buckled down to outscore their opponents 11-6 in the fourth quarter, relying on a full court press and an early double bonus.

Julie Brown was key in Spring City's effort, reelign in a season high 16 boards as well as providing six steals and 13 points for the Lady Bulldogs. Loden also sank 13.

According to SCMS Head Coach Pam Hawkins, Owensby and McClendon should be ready for action in Thursday evening's 7 p.m. matchup with the winner of the Rhea Central/Jasper game, but Dye will be questionable.

DCS boys narrowly put out by Pirates

In the closest match of  the night, the South Pittsburg Pirates narrowly sailed past Dayton City School's boys 35-33.

The Pirates led 13-5 after the first quarter, but Dayton City School cut their deficit down to 19-13 by the half.

The DCS Sweatbees made their biggest comeback bid of the night in the fourth quarter, however, outscoring the top-seeded Pirates 11-6.

The hometown boys started the quarter down 31-22 but jump shots by Jared Opperman  and Dimitrius Patterson and a layup by Brian Harrison  pulled them within five.

Opperman then drained a free throw on a technical foul, and a put back by Patterson with 1.2 seconds remaining made it a one possession ball game. The intensity mounted when South Pittsburg turned the ball over  on the ensuing inbound.

Dayton City attempted a shot as the clock waned, but it missed the mark, effectively ending the Bees season.

Opperman led the Sweatbees in scoring with 14 points on the night as well as topping the charts in rebounds with 11.

Patterson followed with 11 points and eight boards, while Brian Harrison added six points and three rebounds and Cole Radar tacked on a bucket.

Lady Bees bid 2009-10 season farewell

Dayton City School's girls surprised everyone Monday night, hanging  with the No. 1 seed from teh south, Whitwell, in the first half of their SVC opener.

The Lady Sweatbees trailed by a manageable 22-10 at the half.

Whitwell's Lady Tigers seemed to tire of playing with their prey in the second half, however, and outscored Dayton City 10-2 for a final victory of 32-12.

"The girls' defense and understanding of the game has really improved. They really came together and meshed as a team," Head Coach Kristy Hurst said. "I'm proud of the progress they've made this season, and I'm looking forward to next season."

Christy Le is the only graduating memberof the Dayton City team. She ended her eighth grade career with a two-point performance.

Jessee Wallis led the Lady Bees with four points,10 rebounds and two blocked shots on the night, while Megan Millard, Kenzie Freeman, Anna Black and Lee each added a bucket.

The Lady Sweatbees finished their 2009-10 season with an 0-13 record.

Cathy Barnes can be contacted at cathy.barnes@rheaheraldnews.com.