From left are seniors Isaac Merian and Jaylin Henderson and freshman Tee Higgins, and Wildcats basketball coach Aaron Green.
Note: This story was last updated at 11:02 p.m.
MURFREESBORO—Oak Ridge advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 1999 with a 66-45 win over Jefferson County in Murfreesboro on Wednesday.
The Wildcats (31-7) will play Arlington (29-4) in Murfreesboro at 11:30 a.m. CDT Friday (12:30 p.m. EDT) in a Class AAA state boys’ basketball semifinal game.
The Wildcats said teamwork was key to the Wednesday afternoon quarterfinal win at Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University. They cited steals—Oak Ridge had nine total—double-teaming on defense against the tall Patriots team, and improvements in rebounding compared to their performance during a Nov. 27 win over Jefferson County (30-6).
“We played more as a team,” said senior guard Jaylin Henderson, who scored 11 points and had four steals. “I think we were hot.” [Read more…]
