Oak Ridge Today

Seven Wildcats score from three-point range in 88-36 win over Dobyns-Bennett

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Oak Ridge senior Colton Wade (22) came off the bench to pick up seven rebounds, four assists, and five points (including a three-pointer), earning more playing time during an 88-36 win over Dobyns-Bennett at Wildcat Arena on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats scored 15 three-point shots on Tuesday at Gibbs. They hit 12 more at home against Dobyns-Bennett on Friday. That’s 27 three-pointers in the last two games.

“We’re shooting well,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said after Friday night’s 88-36 runaway win over Dobyns-Bennett in the two-day Rick McGill Toyota Classic at Wildcat Arena. It’s the largest win ever over Dobyns-Bennett, said broadcaster David Clary of Prepradio.com.

The game got off to a competitive start, and the Wildcats and Indians were tied 15-15 at the end of the first quarter. But Oak Ridge (13-0, 5-0 District 3-AAA) opened up a large lead in the second quarter, outscoring Dobyns-Bennett 30-11, and the Wildcats were ahead 45-26 at halftime.

The Indians (2-5, 0-1 District 1-AAA) were only able to add 10 points in the final two quarters, while Oak Ridge scored another 43, even after putting in reserves in the final quarter and despite playing with two Wildcats who got into foul trouble early in the second quarter. [Read more…]

Basketball photos: Oak Ridge and Powell

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Oak Ridge senior guard Geevantay Gee (12) had nine points and eight assists during a 78-61 win over Powell on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. Gee is guarded here by Powell senior Charlie Richards (23). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

POWELL—Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones led the undefeated Wildcats to a 78-61 win at Powell on Tuesday with five three-point shots and 22 points total. Here are pictures by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today.

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Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) hit five three-point shots and scored 22 points during a 78-61 win at Powell on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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Jones leads Wildcats to win with five 3-pointers, 22 points at Powell

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Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) hit five three-point shots and scored 22 points during a 78-61 win at Powell on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

POWELL—Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones led the undefeated Wildcats to a 78-61 win at Powell on Tuesday with five three-point shots and 22 points total.

“He’s shooting it well,” Wildcats Coach Aaron Green said of Jones.

Oak Ridge, which got into foul trouble, led by as much as 19 points in the second quarter, but Powell narrowed the lead to seven with about four minutes left in the game.

“I was proud of the way they (the Panthers) fought in the second half,” Powell Coach Gary Barnes said. [Read more…]

Basketball photos: Oak Ridge and Central

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Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) scored 15 points for the Wildcats in a 94-66 win over Central at home on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Central Bobcats 94-66 at Wildcat Arena on Friday. The Wildcats are now 9-0 and will play at Powell on Tuesday.

Here are photos from the Friday night game by Julio Culiat.

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Oak Ridge senior guard Geevantay Gee (12) had 10 assists for the Wildcats during a 94-66 win over Central at home on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

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Playing for team, Middleton scores 18, rebounds 15 in blowout over Central

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Playing for his team, senior post Darel Middleton (33) had one of his best games as an Oak Ridge Wildcat, scoring 18 points and picking up 15 rebounds during a 94-66 win over Central on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:30 p.m.

Playing for his team, senior Darel Middleton had one of his best games as an Oak Ridge Wildcat, scoring 18 points and picking up 15 rebounds during a 94-66 win over Central on Friday.

It was the most memorable performance by Middleton, a 6-foot-6 post, since he scored 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against Memphis East in the state quarterfinal game in March.

“I just felt like I owed my team,” said Middleton, who said he’s gotten into a little trouble this year. “I gave them my all tonight and from now on.”

Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said Middleton is playing a lot harder this year than he did last year.

“He played well,” Green said. “He’s been playing well.” [Read more…]

Higgins hits four three-pointers as Wildcats start 2-0

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Oak Ridge senior guard Geevantay Gee (12) drives to the basket during a 93-61 win over CAK at home on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:55 p.m.

Junior Tee Higgins hit four three-point shots on Thursday as the Oak Ridge Wildcats—both the boys and girls teams—started the regular season 2-0 with wins over Grace Christian on Tuesday and Christian Academy of Knoxville on Thursday.

The girls beat CAK 64-42 at home on Thursday, and the boys won 93-61.

The boys had 12 players scoring on Tuesday. They had 10 scoring on Wednesday.

They hit 10 three-point shots on Tuesday. They had nine more on Thursday.

“That’s not a fluke,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. Four different players hit three-point shots: Higgins had four, all in the first half; juniors Tajion Jones and Deandre Gibson each had two; and senior Javien Johnson had one. [Read more…]

Wildcats open basketball season with wins over Grace

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Boys Basketball Team Nov. 17, 2015

Members of the Oak Ridge Wildcats boys basketball team are pictured above during an 87-67 season-opening win over Grace Christian at home on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. From left are juniors Tyshawn Young (15), Tajion Jones (3), and E.J. Bush (2); seniors Geevantay Gee (12) and Javien Johnson (11); junior Deandre Gibson (10); and senior Darel Middleton (33), who did not play Tuesday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:15 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys and girls basketball teams opened the regular season with wins over Grace Christian on Tuesday.

The boys won 87-67, and the girls won 39-27. It was the first game for new coach Paige Green, who replaced former girls coach David Scott in June. Paige Green is married to Aaron Green, the boys basketball coach.

The Oak Ridge teams play at home again tonight (Thursday, November 19) against the Christian Academy of Knoxville (CAK). The girls game starts at 6 p.m., and the boys game begins at 7:30. [Read more…]

Wildcats advance to state tournament on late free throws by Higgins, block by Johnson

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Javien Johnson Geevantay Gee and Science Hill

Juniors Javien Johnson (11) and Geevantay Gee (12) of the Oak Ridge Wildcats defend against the Science Hill Hilltoppers during a 55-53 win in a Class AAA sectional game in Johnson City on Tuesday. Johnson blocked a shot by Malik McGue, who scored five of his eight points in the fourth quarter of his final game for Science Hill, with 0.8 seconds to play to help win the game. (Photo courtesy Trey Williams/Johnson City Press)

 

JOHNSON CITY—The Oak Ridge Wildcats are heading back to the state tournament in Murfreesboro next week after their comeback 55-53 win against a hungry Science Hill group at Tuesday night’s Class AAA Sectional game. Two free throws by sophomore Tee Higgins with 5.1 seconds left and a defensive block by junior Javien Johnson with 0.8 seconds left helped the Wildcats pull away with the victory.

It seemed that Science Hill (23-15) couldn’t miss from the floor in the first half. The Hilltoppers hit six three-pointers in the first half—four in the first quarter alone. One of those four included a buzzer-beating three at the end of the first quarter. With the buzzer-beater, the Hilltoppers had a 16-12 lead on the Wildcats.

In the second quarter, Oak Ridge (29-3) fell behind quickly. At one point, the Wildcats were down 24-14. However, thanks to two three-pointers by sophomore DeAndre Gibson, the Wildcats were able to gather themselves and go on a 13-6 run to end the quarter. With one half in the books, Oak Ridge was trailing 30-27.

The second quarter was the only quarter of the game that didn’t have a tie or a lead change. Oak Ridge had three three-pointers in the first half, all of them courtesy of Gibson (2) and sophomore Tajion Jones (1).

The Hilltoppers battled back in the second half. After Oak Ridge jumped out to a 34-30 lead, the Hilltoppers rattled off seven straight points to take the 37-34 lead. Oak Ridge pulled within a point of taking the lead back, and Science Hill drained a three. There actually was a span of 30 seconds in the third that had four consecutive combined threes hit by both teams. However, the Wildcats scored late in the third to give themselves a 44-43 lead with one quarter left to decide who went to the state tournament and who stayed home. [Read more…]

Blackmon, 3-pointers give Maryville a 60-56 edge over Wildcats in Region 2 final

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Javien Johnson at Region 2 Championship 2015

Junior forward Javien Johnson (11) was the leading scorer for the Wildcats with 16 points. T.D. Blackmon of Maryville (33), who led all scorers with 23, is pictured at lower left. Senior post Bryce Miller (32), partially obscured at center, added 15 for the Rebels.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9 p.m.

Sophomore guard T.D. Blackmon hit three three-pointers in the first half and knocked down 10 of 11 free throws in the second to give Maryville a 60-56 edge over Oak Ridge in the Region 2-AAA Championship at Wildcat Arena on Sunday.

But the playoff run isn’t over for the Wildcats (28-3). As Region 2 Runner-Up, they’ll travel to Johnson City to play Science Hill, the Region 1 Champion, in a sectional game at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Blackmon led all scorers with 23 points in the regional final on Sunday.

“He got to the foul line. He got to the basket,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. “We didn’t do a good job of guarding him.”

Oak Ridge Wildcats Geevantay Gee at Region 2 Championship 2015

Never afraid to drive to the rim through traffic, junior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) scored 15 points for the Oak Ridge Wildcats in the Region 2-AAA Championship against Maryville on Sunday. (Photo by Melissa Livesey)

 

The Rebels (25-6) hit seven three-pointers against the Wildcats on Sunday, including five in the first quarter alone. That gave them a 29-26 lead at halftime, with 18 of those points coming from three-point shots. [Read more…]

Steal helps save OT win for Wildcats, who play for Region 2 championship Sunday

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Student Section at Region 2-AAA Semifinal 2015

The Region 2-AAA semifinal basketball game between Oak Ridge and Heritage came down to the wire at home on Saturday. Above the Oak Ridge student section watches the match, which wasn’t decided until the final seconds. (Photo by Terri Blair)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:54 a.m. March 1.

A steal by senior Ted Mitchell late in the game helped save an overtime win for the Oak Ridge Wildcats in a regional tournament semifinal game against Heritage on Saturday.

The Wildcats (28-2) were also helped by a big basket by sophomore Tee Higgins late in overtime, when Oak Ridge was down by one. Higgins’ shot off the glass gave the Wildcats a one-point 44-43 lead with about 1:10 to play. A free throw by junior Geevantay Gee after Mitchell’s steal widened the margin to two.

Heritage (23-12) missed their final two back-to-back shots with about seven seconds left, and the final score at Wildcat Arena was 45-43.

Oak Ridge moves on to play Maryville (24-6) in the Region 2-AAA championship at home at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. [Read more…]

After days of delays, Oak Ridge boys advance, girls eliminated

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Wildcats Tee Higgins Dunk against Lenoir City

Sophomore Tee Higgins (5) led all Wildcats with 18 points, including three dunks and two three-pointers. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:57 p.m.

After days of delays because of winter weather, the Oak Ridge boys’ basketball team advanced to the regional semifinals on Wednesday, while the girls were eliminated from the playoffs. The Wildcats walloped Lenoir City 81-37, while the Lady Wildcats lost to Farragut 57-17.

Oak Ridge, which was the number one seed from District 3, will move on to play either Heritage or Halls in the Region 2 semifinals, although it’s not clear when because of the weather. The semifinal game could be played as early as Friday or as late as Sunday.

Wednesday’s game at home at Wildcat Arena was the only boys’ game in Region 2. Oak Ridge hasn’t played since Valentine’s Day, or 11 days, mostly because of the weather. [Read more…]

Headed to championship, Wildcats open up large 80-49 lead over Central

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Javien Johnson, Geevantay Gee, and DeAndre Gibson of Oak Ridge Wildcats

Javien Johnson (11), Geevantay Gee (12), and DeAndre Gibson (10) of Oak Ridge react to another three-pointer by sophomore Tajion Jones in the third quarter of a 80-49 win over the Central Bobcats in a district semifinal game in Knoxville on Saturday. Jones hit three three-pointers and scored 11 points in the third quarter. (Photo by Melissa Livesey)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:30 a.m. Feb. 15

KNOXVILLE—Oak Ridge opened up a large 80-49 lead over Central in the second half of a district semifinal game in Knoxville on Saturday, and the Wildcats will move on to play Karns in the district championship at Central on Tuesday.

The game had been closer at halftime, with Oak Ridge (25-2) ahead 35-27.

But the Wildcats’ defense improved in the third quarter, and Oak Ridge outscored Central 27-12. Sophomore shooting guard Tajion Jones came off the bench to knock down three three-pointers within about one minute in the third quarter to give Oak Ridge a 20-point lead at 56-36. [Read more…]