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Cyclones, Bulldogs, Highlanders brace for substate affairs

By Rick Sheek

The 10-game winning streak screeched to a halt, and Elizabethton’s basketball team is reeling.
Now the Cyclones (25-7) visit red-hot Gibbs (24-8) in the Class AA sub-state playoffs on Monday night in Corryton. The Eagles, who disposed of Knoxville Fulton in overtime for the Region 2 championship after dropping that match-up in the three previous meetings this season, are hosting this round for the first time in 26 years.
The winner advances to the state tournament in Murfreesboro. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
“It’s always tough when you’ve got to go to somebody else’s gym, especially coming off a loss,” Elizabethton coach Lucas Honeycutt said. “That hadn’t happened to us in awhile. We’ve got to regain our confidence and bounce back.
“Anytime you play now it’s going to be against a good team. We’ll just go down there, do the best we can and see what happens.”