NEWPORT-A strong first half paved the way to a championship for the Bridgeport Rockets on Saturday night.

The No. 3 Rockets claimed the 2012 Cocke County Elementary Basketball tournament championship with a dominant 50-22 win over No. 5 Cosby, which upset top-seeded Parrottsville in the semifinals.
Bridgeport cruised to the win after being backed by an outstanding performance by Kordell Stewart. Stewart had a triple-double in the championship game, with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals.
It was that defense, which held the Eagles to only eight first half points and forced 21 turnovers that helped earn the championship for the Rockets.

"We like to come out with that press because it gets us going and gets the boys loosened up a little bit," Bridgeport coach Rodney Myers said. "They kind of get tight and over anxious sometimes, but that press helps us get moving around and flying around the floor."

Bridgeport flew to an early 16-3 lead, a product of a 12-1 run, en route to holding a 10-point edge after a quarter.

Despite getting the last points of the first quarter on a Kurry Cody three-point basket, the Eagles were not able to seize momentum off of the shot.

Bridgeport opened the second quarter by scoring the first 12 points of the quarter to claim a 22-point edge.

Cosby scored their lone points of the second quarter on a Wyatt Valentine offensive putback with 1:01 to play before halftime.

The Rockets were able to use their speed to offset the size that the Eagles had to offer in a halfcourt game. Eight of Bridgeport's 28 first half points came via fast break and 10 came via turnovers.

"They're bigger than us, so if we could get them in a running game, we'd be better off than try to play a half court game with them," Myers said.

Myers also said that getting a hot start was a key point on a team that had already scored a pair of upset wins in the tournament. Cosby toppled No. 4 seed Grassy Fork by three points in Thursday's quarterfinals and Cody Earls stunned No. 1 Parrottsville with a game-winning three-point basket with 1.2 seconds to play in Friday's semifinal round.

"I think it was big," Myers said of his team's hot start to the game. "They had two big games in a row and it's hard to come back and play a third game like that."

Cosby was able to cut Bridgeport's lead to 16 less than halfway through the third quarter, but the Rockets were able to regain control going up by as many as 23 in the period.

The Rockets helped to regain control after Stewart gained a steal at half court and added a three-point play which put his team up by that 23-point margin.

The three-point play was part of the special night for the Bridgeport eighth grader, who won a title at Edgemont last year. In addition to his triple-double, he also added five assists in the win.

"(Kordell) is an unbelievable athlete and a wonderful kid that God has blessed with an unbelievable amount of talent," Myers said. "He's playing with kids that are younger and he does such a good job of keeping the other kids involved leading them through everything.
 
"Through the ups and downs and they've all grown up and i think its made him better playing with these guys," Myers said. "He's just an unbelievable athlete."

Myers said that the result of winning a title this year was the result of hard work.

"We had a lot of ups and downs and this is definitely not where we thought we'd be at, but this is the result of a lot of hard work," Myers said. "They boys have worked hard all through the season and just watching them grow has been unbelievable."

BRIDGEPORT ROCKETS (50): Kordell Stewart 7-23 1-3 15; Jake Ball 3-11 1-2 8; Landon Myers 2-4 2-2 7; Joseph Freshour 3-5 0-0 7; Zack Amick 2-2 1-2 5; Isaac Campbell 1-3 0-0 3; Joshua Askew 1-1 0-0 2; Wolfgang Ford 1-6 0-2 2; Austin Hawk 0-0 1-2 1; Dylan Ottinger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 6-13 50.

COSBY EAGLES (22): Cody Earls 2-15 3-6 7; Wyatt Valentine 3-4 0-0 6; Kurry Cody 1-7 0-0 3; Jake Phillips 1-1 1-2 3; Devin Sturm 1-3 0-0 2; Kaleb Raines 0-1 1-2 1; Tyler Shropshire 0-2 0-0 0; Chase Valentine 0-0 0-0 0; Austin McGaha 0-0 0-0 0; Isaac Hill 0-0 0-0 0; Seth Arrowood 0-0 0-0 0; Mark Lane 0-3 0-0 0; Griffin Phillips 0-0 0-0 0; Andrew Swann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 8-36 5-10 22.

3-point goals--Cosby Eagles 1-13 (Kurry Cody 1-5; Tyler Shropshire 0-2; Mark Lane 0-3; Cody Earls 0-3), Bridgeport Rockets 4-11 (Isaac Campbell 1-1; Jake Ball 1-5; Joseph Freshour 1-3; Landon Myers 1-1; Kordell Stewart 0-1). Fouled out--Cosby Eagles-None, Bridgeport Rockets-None. Rebounds--Cosby Eagles 32 (Devin Sturm 5; Jake Phillips 5; Cody Earls 5), Bridgeport Rockets 38 (Kordell Stewart 11). Assists--Cosby Eagles 2 (Devin Sturm 2), Bridgeport Rockets 10 (Kordell Stewart 5). Total fouls--Cosby Eagles 11, Bridgeport Rockets 9. Technical fouls--Cosby Eagles-None, Bridgeport Rockets-None.