Douglass falls short in 2A title game
MURFREESBORO – It was a somber ending to the season for Douglass boys basketball. A familiar one, too.
Douglass coach Gregory Williams remembers that feeling in 2018 when the Red Devils came up short to Loretto in the Class 2A state championship game. This time around, it was by the smallest of margins to Alcoa 59-58 on Saturday at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center.
"It's a bitter taste," Williams said. "I've been here before. And to get right there to the door, it's something."
Jahvin Carter, Alcoa's star guard and 2A tournament MVP, made a layup with 2.5 seconds left, sucking the last little bit of life out of Douglass. The Red Devils' final shot never had a chance.
All Taquez Butler could do is hold his hands up, making a last plea to the referee for a foul call. It was an ending Douglass (28-9) wasn't prepared for.
"These young men have had a great season," Williams said. "It's not the way we wanted to end it, but hey, look at the bright side; we're one of the last two teams standing in the state."
It wasn't Douglass' best shooting performance. Its defense kept Douglass in the game. It forced 14 steals. But Douglass only scored 12 points of turnovers and had just 10 fast break points. Douglass ended up shooting better in the second half, but it wasn't enough.
The positive for the Red Devils is they
have just about every player returning for next season.
Tyler Johnson, a senior, played his last game. He also let his teammates know, they have what it takes to get back to Murfreesboro.
Johnson and Williams each said they want the team to remember this bitter feeling. That feeling of having to sit on the bench and hear the winning team
cheering a gold ball, while it has to settle for silver.
In no way does the state title outcome define what Douglass was able to accomplish, playing in the final game of the high school basketball season. The Red Devils had won 18 consecutive games before the loss to Alcoa (30-8).
But it doesn't make it any better taking second place. And instead of disbelief
and frustration in their eyes, joy and excitement on what could have been the perfect ending.
"Make sure you remember this taste, it don't feel good," Johnson said about what he's going to tell his younger teammates.
"You know you wanna get first place, you don't like second place. It doesn't feel good."