Oak Ridge Today

Lady Wildcats win championship in Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the championship game in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic basketball tournament, beating Jefferson County 49-36 at Greeneville on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the championship game in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic basketball tournament, beating Jefferson County 49-36 at Greeneville on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 30.

GREENEVILLE—After finishing second the past two years, the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the championship game in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic basketball tournament in Greeneville on Saturday, beating Jefferson County 49-36.

It’s the sixth time Oak Ridge (15-2, 3-1 District 3-AAA) has won the title in 10 appearances in the tournament final. The Lady Wildcats have been runner-up four times, including in 2016 and 2017, when they lost to Bradley Central. Oak Ridge’s last championship win in the tournament was in 2002.

The team didn’t want to settle for second place again this year.

“When you want to play for championships, you want to win championships,” Oak Ridge Coach Paige Redman said.

It was the second championship win for Oak Ridge in about a week. The Lady Wildcats won their division championship in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix on Saturday, December 22.

Oak Ridge senior guard Jada Guinn was named the most valuable player of both tournaments. [Read more…]

After two wins at the buzzer, Lady Wildcats play for championship today

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Oak Ridge senior guard Jada Guinn (24) was named most valuable player at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. She had a winning shot at the buzzer against Daniel Boone in a first-round game at the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Greenville on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats Basketball/Paige Redman)

Oak Ridge senior guard Jada Guinn (24) was named most valuable player at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. She had a winning shot at the buzzer against Daniel Boone in a first-round game at the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic basketball tournament in Greenville on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats Basketball/Paige Redman)

 

Note: This story was updated at 2 p.m.

After two wins at the buzzer this week, the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will play for the championship in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic basketball tournament in Greenville today (Saturday, December 29).

It’s the second championship game in a week for the girls. Oak Ridge (14-2, 3-1 District 3-AAA) won their divisional championship in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix last Saturday.

Oak Ridge senior guard Jada Guinn was named the most valuable player of the Nike Tournament on Saturday, December 22.

She had one of the buzzer-beating shots, a layup, in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic this week. That was in the final five seconds of a 50-48 win over Daniel Boone, an upper East Tennessee team, in a first-round game on Wednesday.

The Lady Trailblazers ended the Lady Wildcats’ last season with a 62-51 Class AAA sectional win in March, and Guinn told 5StarPreps, a high school sports website, that she didn’t want to lose to Daniel Boone this week. [Read more…]

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…]

Campbell County finishes first, Clinton second in Christmas basketball tournament

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Daraon Jones (10) led Clinton with 12 points during a 57-46 loss to Campbell County during the Don W. Lockard Christmas Invitational Championship at Clinton High School on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—Campbell County held off a second-half rally by Clinton to beat the Dragon 57-46 and win the championship at the Don W. Lockard Christmas Invitational basketball tournament on Wednesday. Clinton finished as runner-up.

The tournament began at Clinton High School on Monday, and it ended on Wednesday.

Wednesday started with the Campbell County boys (12-5, 2-3 District 3-AAA) erasing an early 13-point deficit to blow out Oakdale 77-52.

The afternoon session began with Clinton’s boys—resting many of their starters—holding off First Baptist Academy, or FBA, 70-62. [Read more…]

Basketball: Clinton girls finish as runner-up in Christmas tournament

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The Clinton Lady Dragons finished as runner-up in the Don W. Lockard Christmas Invitational basketball tournament in Clinton on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2016, losing to Cumberland Gap 57-17. Clinton was led by Kinley Martin (5), who scored 11 points. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—The Clinton Lady Dragons finished as runner-up in the Don W. Lockard Christmas Invitational basketball tournament last week.

Clinton (4-10, 2-3 District 3-AAA) was overwhelmed by Cumberland Gap in the girls’ championship game. The Lady Panthers took a 34-2 halftime lead on their way to a 57-17 triumph at Clinton High School on Wednesday.

The Lady Panthers (6-5, 1-2 District 2-Class AA) also defeated the Lady Dragons 71-37 earlier in the day. [Read more…]

Basketball: Don W. Lockard Christmas Invitational Monday-Wednesday in Clinton

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Second Annual Don W. Lockard Christmas Invitational basketball tournament tips off at Clinton High School this afternoon and runs through Wednesday.

Day one begins at 4:30 p.m. Monday, December 19, with the Cumberland Gap girls facing off against Knox Central. At 6 p.m., the Cumberland Gap boys tangle with Oakdale, followed at 7:30 by the Clinton Lady Dragons battling Oakdale. Day one is capped off by the Campbell County boys against FBA.

Day two starts Tuesday at noon with the Clinton Dragon boys taking on Oakdale, followed by the Oakdale girls against Cumberland Gap at 1:30. At 3 p.m. Tuesday, the FBA boys square off against Cumberland Gap, followed at 4:30 by the Clinton girls taking on Knox Central. At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Dragon boys take the court against former Clinton assistant Jay Gregory’s Sullivan North squad. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Oakdale girls face Central, and day two closes with Campbell County’s boys battling Sullivan North. [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 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…]

Basketball: Boys play at home at 4:30, girls at Farragut at 4:30

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The Region 2 basketball tournament games have been rescheduled for this afternoon.

The Oak Ridge girls are scheduled to play at Farragut at 4:30 p.m. (Wednesday, February 25), and the boys are scheduled to play at home at 4:30 p.m. against Lenoir City.

There are reports that some games have been postponed or moved, including the Karns-Maryville boys’  game, Maryville-Powell girls’  game, Halls-William Blount girls’ game, and Anderson County-Bearden girls’ game. We suggest you check in advance for more specific information on your game. PrepXtra, the high school sports section at the Knoxville News Sentinel, is posting updates on Twitter.

The Wildcats were supposed to play Karns in the District 3 championship last week, but that game was canceled because of weather. And the Lady Wildcats were supposed to play Anderson County in the District 3 consolation game, but that match was also called off.

The regional games have already been rescheduled several times because of winter weather.

Snow: Oak Ridge Schools closed, city opens late, Discovery Ed Livestream postponed

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Snow Sweeper at Oak Ridge High School

A tractor with sweeping equipment helps remove snow from the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo by Julio Culiat) 

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:52 p.m. Some of these announcements continue to change. We will update this story as we can.

Oak Ridge Schools are closed today (Tuesday, February 24), and the City of Oak Ridge offices will open at 10 a.m.

Oak Ridge Schools said the Discovery Ed Livestream that had been scheduled for today has been postponed until May.

Anderson County Courthouse is closed due to weather. So is Roane State Community College. [Read more…]