Memphis East, Penny Hardaway pull away from Blackman
Nationally-ranked Memphis East overcame a slow start before coasting to a comfortable 52-33 win over previously unbeaten Blackman in the Class AAA quarterfinals of the TSSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.
James Wiseman, a 6-foot-11 junior and the nation’s top-ranked 2019 prospect, finished with a game-high 15 points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs, who reeled off 14 unanswered second-quarter points to claim a 23-12 halftime advantage.
Blackman (32-1), led by Trent Gibson’s team-high 12 points and four rebounds, cut it to 29-22 on Brandon Thomas’ 3-pointer with 1:59 left in the third, but that was as close as the Blaze came.
Mr. Basketball finalist Alex Lomax added 14 points, five rebounds and six assists for Memphis East (29-3). The Mustangs, ranked No. 6 in the USA TODAY Super 25 national rankings, will square off against Bearden in Friday’s 11:30 a.m. Class AA semifinal.
— Michael Murphy
Bearden 61, Mt. Juliet 43:
Bearden started slowly but got into a grove in the second quarter and pulled away from Mount Juliet in the second half to in their Class AAA quarterfinal matchup.
"Our coach always tells us if you're not hitting shots, just attack the rim," junior guard Trent Stephney said. "Once you hit the layups and passing off to your teammates, hitting layups, now you start thinking 'OK, now I'll hit my shots since we started scoring.' "
Stepheny led Bearden with 14 points, followed by junior forward Drew Pember with 15. The Bulldogs (38-1) advance to take on Memphis East in a semifinal at 11:30 Friday.
Senior center Isaac Stephens led the Golden Bears (27-8) with 14 points, followed by senior guard Jordan Lockridge with 13.
— Diana C. Nearhos
Clarksville Northeast 56, Riverdale 36:
Behind a game-high 26 points from junior Alec Kegler, Clarksville Northeast jumped out early and stayed ahead to beat Riverdale in a Class AAA quarterfinal.
Riverdale (26-8) struggled to score early, as the Warriors were held to four points in the first eight minutes.
But the Eagles (30-5) shot 46.9 percent from the field (15-of-32) to hold off any comeback by the Warriors.
Kegler was the only player to score in double figures as he shot 6-for-13 from the field and was 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
Riverdale was led by juniors Deron Perry and Brayden Siren with eight points each.
Northeast will play Whitehaven at 10 a.m. Friday — Michael Odom
Whitehaven 53, Powell 36:
Whitehaven used a solid defensive effort to defeat Powell.
It's the first state tournament victory in 33 years for the Tigers (22-6). Whitehaven last played in the state tournament in 1985, when a Ron Heury-led squad won the AAA championship.
"This nine-day break really hurt us," said Tigers coach Faragi Phillips, whose team was playing for the first time since defeating Bartlett in a sectional game on March 5. "We were playing some really good basketball."
Whitehaven never trailed after taking a 2-1 lead in the opening minutes and held Powell to 35.1 percent shooting (13 of 37). Powell (22-11) only made one first-quarter basket.
Cam Jones led a balanced Whitehaven attack with 13 points while Alvin Miles added 12. Desmond Billingsley and Caleb Tripp each had 11 to lead Powell, which was playing its first state tournament game since 2007.
— John Varlas
North Greene 82, Oakdale 72 OT
Jackson Hicks hit the kind of shot kids dream of playing in the driveway to send the game to overtime, but North Greene beat Oakdale in their Class A quarterfinal.
North Greene's Andy Stevens hit a 3 with 3.4 second left, to put the Huskies up by three points. Hicks, a Mr. Basketball finalist, pulled up about two feet past half court and drained the 3 to send the game to overtime.
"They exploited what we have had as a weakness all year," Oakdale coach Travis Nelson said. "We don't have a big post player. I've had guys battling all year, but they're guards, that's just what they are."
North Greene led the way in overtime, especially after Hicks fouled out.
Stevens led North Greene (28-8) with 25 points, followed by Elijah Smith with 23. Hicks led Oakdale (28-6) with a game-high 33 points.
— Diana C. Nearhos
Douglass 70, Clay Co. 67:
Douglass took the lead early in the fourth quarter, though it couldn't pull away from Clay County, didn't relinquish it again in their Class A quarterfinal.
Clay Co. led in every category, except field goal percentage (42.9 to Douglass' 44) and points. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Red Devils 33-29, but it was Douglass that pulled out the win.
"I thought our guys really bought in and believed that we could win," Clay County coach Rob Edwards said. "I think maybe we were the only ones that thought we had a chance."
Landen Woodcock had a 10-point third quarter on his way to a game-high 26 points for Clay Co. (21-13). Martico Washington led Douglass (31-1) with 15 points.
— Diana C. Nearhos