Oak Ridge Today

Basketball photos: Oak Ridge beats Science Hill 64-56

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Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young (4) led the Wildcats with a game-high 29 points during a 64-56 win over Science Hill in the first round of the Arby’s Classic in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. (Photo by Allen Greene/TriCitiesSports.com)

 

BRISTOL—Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young scored a game-high 29 points and senior Anthony Gibson added 17 as the Wildcats beat Science Hill in the first round of the Arby’s Classic in Bristol on Tuesday. Here are pictures from the game by Allen Greene of TriCitiesSports.com.

It was the second time Oak Ridge defeated the Hilltoppers this month. They also won 82-72 in the Champion Chevrolet Shootout at Science Hill in Johnson City on December 17.

The Wildcats will play again in the Arby’s Classic at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, when they take on Trinity of Louisville, Kentucky, in a winners bracket game in the basketball tournament. [Read more…]

Young, Gibson lead Wildcats with Bush, Higgins out

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Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young (4) led the Wildcats with a game-high 29 points during a 64-56 win over Science Hill in the first round of the Arby’s Classic in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. (Photo by Allen Greene/TriCitiesSports.com)

 

BRISTOL—Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young scored a game-high 29 points and senior Anthony Gibson added 17 as the Wildcats beat Science Hill in the first round of the Arby’s Classic in Bristol on Tuesday.

It was the second time Oak Ridge defeated the Hilltoppers this month. They also won 82-72 in the Champion Chevrolet Shootout at Science Hill in Johnson City on December 17.

In the earlier game, the undefeated Wildcats (12-0, 5-0 District 3-AAA) played without standout senior Tee Higgins because his right shoulder was inflamed.

On Tuesday, they again played without Higgins. He is in Orlando for the Under Armour All-America Football Game on New Year’s Day. But they also played without another top senior, E.J. Bush, who injured his knee during the earlier Science Hill game and will not play in the Arby’s Classic basketball tournament this week.

Without those two in the lineup, other players are expected to step up, including some sophomore bench players. Sophomore Herbert Booker started for Bush Tuesday. [Read more…]

Bush, Higgins will not play in Arby’s Classic this week

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Oak Ridge senior E.J. Bush (2), pictured above, led the Wildcats with 20 points during a 76-56 win over Cleveland in the Champion Chevrolet Shootout at Science Hill High School in Johnson City on Friday, Dec, 16, 2016. (File photo by Robert Kell)

 

Two of the top players for the Oak Ridge Wildcats, E.J. Bush and Tee Higgins, will not play in the Arby’s Classic in Bristol this week. It’s a basketball tournament that has featured dramatic games, record-setting performances, and close wins—and losses.

Bush, a 6-foot-4 senior who was injured in the 82-72 win over Science Hill in the Champion Chevrolet Shootout in Johnson City on December 17, has a knee injury. It’s not clear how long he might be unable to play, or if he’ll travel with the team to the Arby’s Classic this week.

Bush can score 16-20 points per game and pull down six to 10 rebounds per game.

Meanwhile, Higgins, a wide receiver who has committed to Clemson, is leaving Tuesday for the 10th annual Under Armour All-America Football Game in Orlando on January 1. That game features more than 90 of the nation’s best senior high school football players. Besides Higgins, they include wide receiver Amari Rodgers of Catholic—he’s also committed to Clemson—and punter Joe Doyle of Farragut. [Read more…]

Area hoops squads to stay on court after Christmas

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Information from WYSH Radio

With the pre-Christmas tournaments wrapped up, attention will turn for some area teams to post-Christmas basketball tournaments next week.

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will take part in the Andrew Johnson Bank Classic in Greeneville next week, starting play against Jefferson County on Wednesday.

The Wildcat boys will participate in the Arby’s Classic at Tennessee High in Bristol and will open up Tuesday against Science Hill, a team Oak Ridge beat 82-72 last weekend in Johnson City. [Read more…]

Wildcats escape with 72-68 win at Karns

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Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) scored a game-high 18 points during a 72-68 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KARNS—Karns threatened to tie the game in the final minute and possibly upset the fourth-ranked Wildcats, but Oak Ridge escaped with a 72-68 win over the Beavers on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge led by as many as 16 points with more than six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Karns whittled the lead down to two points, 70-68, with 1:04 remaining. Quincey Sibley of Karns, who finished with 11 points total, scored 10 of them in that 20-6 run, which lasted five minutes.

After a timeout with 45.7 seconds left, Oak Ridge (18-1, 6-0 District 3-AAA) had the ball with the two-point lead. But the Wildcats turned it over with 35.9 remaining.

That gave the Beavers, who were most productive in their 23-point fourth quarter, a chance to tie the game and possibly even take the lead. [Read more…]

Wildcats finish fifth in Arby’s Classic with win over Taylor County, Ky.

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This photo is property of Allen Greene. Unauthorized use of this photo is not permitted without consent.

Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) dribbles during a 91-73 win over Taylor County for fifth place in the 2015 Arby’s Classic in Bristol on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015. (Photo by Allen Greene/TriCitiesSports.com)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats finished fifth in the 2015 Arby’s Classic basketball tournament with a 91-73 win over Taylor County, Kentucky, in Bristol on Thursday.

The Wildcats had been bumped into a consolation bracket in this year’s tournament after they lost to David Crockett of Jonesborough, 87-85, in a double-overtime second-round game on Tuesday. They advanced to the fifth-place game with a 56-54 win on Wednesday over North Mecklenburg of North Carolina, the 2014 Arby’s Classic champion.

Oak Ridge junior Anthony Gibson led the Wildcats (17-1, 5-0 District 3-AAA) with 22 points on Thursday and 100 percent shooting from the free throw line. Junior Tee Higgins added 20 points, and he pulled down eight rebounds and had five assists and two steals. He also got the crowd on its feet with two dunks in the second half.

The Wildcats had three other players in double digits: senior forward Javien Johnson with 17 points (seven rebounds, one assist); junior guard E.J. Bush with 13 (six rebounds, two blocks, one assist); and junior guard Tajion Jones with 12 (six rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal). [Read more…]

Wildcats beat 2014 Arby’s Classic champion to play for 5th place on Thursday

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This photo is property of Allen Greene. Unauthorized use of this photo is not permitted without consent.

Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to beat North Mecklenburg of North Carolina, 56-54, in the 2015 Arby’s Classic in Bristol on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. (Photo by Allen Greene / TriCitiesSports.com)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:25 a.m. Dec. 31.

Oak Ridge lost an Arby’s Classic tournament game on free throws on Tuesday, and then won one on free throws on Wednesday. The Wildcats beat last year’s Arby’s Classic champion on Wednesday to play for fifth place in Bristol on Thursday.

Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to beat North Mecklenburg of North Carolina, 56-54, in the 2015 Arby’s Classic. North Mecklenburg was the champion in the 2014 Arby’s Classic.

Higgins, a University of Tennessee football commit who had a one-handed dunk early in the third quarter, finished with 11 points. Junior Tajion Jones, who had a three-pointer in each of the first three quarters, scored 11 for the Wildcats. Higgins pulled down five rebounds and had three assists, while Jones had four rebounds and a block. Senior Geevantay Gee had 10 points, two rebounds, and two assists for Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge will play for fifth place in this year’s Arby’s Classic against the winner of a Wednesday afternoon game between Urspring, Germany, and Taylor County, Kentucky. (Thursday, December 31 update: Oak Ridge will play Taylor County.) The fifth-place game starts at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, December 31. [Read more…]

Wildcats lose to Pioneers in double-overtime game that features 30 three-pointers

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This photo is property of Allen Greene. Unauthorized use of this photo is not permitted without consent.

Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) scored 25 points for the Wildcats in a double-overtime 87-85 quarterfinal loss to David Crockett in the 2015 Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. (Photo by Allen Greene / TriCitiesSports.com)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:40 a.m. Dec. 30.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats lost their first basketball game of the season in a thrilling quarterfinal game that went into double overtime in the Arby’s Classic tournament in Bristol on Tuesday. It featured a combined 30 successful three-point shots. The final score was 87-85 in favor of the David Crockett Pioneers.

Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones had a game-high 28 points and was credited with seven three-pointers, while junior Tee Higgins had 25 points and hit six three-pointers. Jones hit four of his seven three-point shots in the first quarter. The 6-foot-4 guard also finished with seven rebounds and one assist, and the 6-foot-5 Higgins had five rebounds and two steals.

It was a personal best for Jones, both in terms of total points scored and made three-pointers.

The Wildcats (15-1, 5-0 District 3-AAA) had 14 three-point shots total, while David Crockett (12-2, 2-0 District 1-AAA) had 16. That tied the single-game record of 16 set by Memphis White Station in 2003. The 15-0 start for Oak Ridge was the best in school history.

Oak Ridge and David Crockett, two top Class AAA teams that received a standing ovation at halftime after a flurry of three-pointers, made 21 three-point shots in the first half alone and shot an incredible 68 percent from beyond the arc (21 of 31). In comparison, the two teams shot 60 percent or less from two-point range in the first half. [Read more…]

Wildcats wallop Dobyns-Bennett 81-35 in first round of Arby’s Classic

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Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) led the Wildcats with 15 points during a 81-35 opening-round rout of Dobyns-Bennett in the 2015 Arby’s Classic in Bristol on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015. (Photo courtesy Heather Williams/WCYB-TV, Bristol, Va.)

 

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

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Dobyns-Bennett Indians by more than 40 points.

The first time was at Wildcat Arena in the Rick McGill Toyota Classic on Friday, December 18, when Oak Ridge won 88-36.

The second time was on Saturday, December 26, when the undefeated Wildcats trounced the Indians 81-35 in the opening round of the 2015 Arby’s Classic basketball tournament at Tennessee High School in Bristol.

At 15-0, the Wildcats are off to their best start ever. [Read more…]

Sulack of CAK sets record with nine 3s at Arby’s Classic

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Junior guard Isaiah Sulack (3) of Christian Academy of Knoxville set a single-game record with his nine three-point shots during the second game of the Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Saturday. (Photo courtesy CAK Boys Basketball)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:17 a.m.

Junior guard Isaiah Sulack of Christian Academy of Knoxville set a single-game record with his nine three-point shots during the second game of the Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Saturday.

CAK beat Tabernacle Baptist of the Bahamas 71-44 behind a barrage of three-pointers to advance to play Taylor County, Kentucky, on Monday. That game starts at 8:30 p.m. Monday at Tennessee High School in Bristol.

Sulack, a 6’2” guard, came off the bench in the play-in game and finished with 39 points for the Warriors, a 6-5 Class AA team. He had 26 at the half.

The previous record for three-point shots was eight. Sulack broke it halfway through the third quarter on Saturday. CAK finished with 13 three-pointers total. [Read more…]

Wildcats play D-B in Arby’s Classic in Bristol tonight

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats will play their first game in the Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol, Tenn., at 7 p.m. Saturday, December 26. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats play their first game in the 2015 Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol at 7 p.m. today (Saturday, December 26).

The first game for the Wildcats (14-0, 5-0 District 3-AAA) is against Dobyns-Bennett (2-7, 0-1 District 1-AAA). Oak Ridge beat the Indians 88-36 in Oak Ridge on Friday, December 18.

The winner and loser will both advance to games on Tuesday, December 29.

The 2015 Arby’s Classic, which is at Tennessee High School in Bristol, features 18 teams from four countries. [Read more…]

Wildcats take 66-37 win over Gibbs; Lady Wildcats fall 49-39

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Gibbs Eagles Basketball

The Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Gibbs Eagles 66-37 at Wildcat Arena on Friday night.

They played without 6-foot-6 senior Isaac Merian on Friday, but the Oak Ridge Wildcats built a 30-13 scoring cushion in the first half and kept it in the second, taking a 66-37 win over the Gibbs Eagles at home.

The Wildcats (16-5, 6-1 in District 3) took advantage of a series of deflections and steals, especially in the first half, used an effective press, and stayed aggressive throughout the game, Oak Ridge coach Aaron Green said. Keeping the Eagles (0-12, 0-7) to 13 points in the first half was also important, Green said.

Merian injured his shoulder during a Tuesday night third-place game in the 2013 Arby’s Classic in Bristol, when the Wildcats lost 67-40 to the Christ Presbyterian Academy Lions. Merian is a scorer, protector, rebounder, and leader, and the team should know more about his shoulder injury after an MRI on Monday, Green said. [Read more…]