East survives upset bid
Anything can happen in Memphis high school basketball. And for one half at least, it looked like anything might.
Behind a terrific display of long-range shooting from Jalen Crutcher, Ridgeway built a 10-point halftime lead over defending AAA state champion and nationally-ranked East before the Mustangs got it going after the break and eliminated the Roadrunners, 74-64 at the Region 8 tournament Tuesday at Southwind.
Chandler Lawson scored 21 to lead the Mustangs (28-3). Alex Lomax finished with 18 and T.J. Moss added 14. Crutcher ended his high school career with a 21point effort.
REGION 7-AAA
Zachary Lewis scored 27 as tournament host Brighton made history by advancing to its first region final in school history, 64-63 over Bolton.
Ethan Bell added 13 for the Cardinals, who improve to 20-11. Decorrian Kelly led the Wildcats with 18 while Demico Young chipped in with 15.
Brighton will take on Cordova after last year's state runners-up used a big second half to run away from Arlington, 80-65. The Wolves got a huge effort from junior guard Tyler Harris, who poured in a season-high 45.
The winner of Brighton-Arlington will host the Southwind-East loser in the sub-state round while the Southwind-East winner will host the Brighton-Arlington loser.
REGION 8-AA
Sheffield advanced to the championship, pulling away in the second half to defeat Craigmont, 69-47.
Brownsville Haywood eliminated Douglass, 66-61, and will play the Knights for the title Thursday at 7 at Jackson Liberty Tech.
REGION 8-A
Mitchell stayed on track for a possible fourth straight state championship, defeating City University 66-57 in the semifinals at Jackson Christian.
Tomonique Marion scored 14 to lead the Tigers, while Mike Rice and Tyran Davis each had 10. Nikkia Jones scored 18 to lead City, which ends the season 20-9 under former Arkansas and Whitehaven star Ron Huery.
Mitchell's opponent Thursday at 7 will be Middleton, which got 17 points and 7 rebounds from Lequon Perry in a 66-57 victory over Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering. Arecko Gipson and Martez Cathey each scored 11 to lead the Phoenix, who are coached by former Memphis Tigers standout Marcus Moody and finish 20-8 after winning just six times in 2015-2016.
AAA GIRLS FINALS SET
Sometimes, it's not the ones you might expect. Brianna Cooks scored a career-high 34 points Monday to go along with 10 rebounds and four steals as Central defeated White Station, 72-68, to advance to Wednesday's Region 8-AAA championship game. More importantly, the victory over the Spartans — who split two regular-season meetings with the Warriors — guarantees Central a sub-state game on Saturday.
It's not that Cooks isn't talented; the sophomore ranks third on the team in scoring at just over 11 points per game. But her total far surpassed her season high of 22 and came at just the right time for a team that is looking to advance to Murfreesboro for the second consecutive season.
Wednesday's 7 p.m. championship game at Southwind will pit Central (27-6) against Houston (25-3) after the Mustangs eliminated Whitehaven, 55-47.
In the substate, the Central-Houston winner will host the runner-up from Region 7 while the loser will play the Region 7 champ.
Caitlyn Wilson had 17 as Arlington (23-8) moved on with a 61-54 victory over Munford on Monday while Munford (25-6) ended Hardin County's year, 49-27. The 7-AAA final will be at Brighton, also at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Reach John Varlas at john.varlas@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @johnvarlas