Oak Ridge Today

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…]

Five Wildcats score 10 or more in 85-51 win over Clinton

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Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) led the Wildcats with 22 points in an 85-51 win over Clinton at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Five Wildcats scored 10 points or more as Oak Ridge beat Clinton 85-51 in the first district game of the basketball season on Tuesday.

The Wildcats (8-0, 1-0 District 3-AAA) were led by junior Tajion Jones, who scored 22 points, including on four three-pointers. Jones also had three rebounds.

Junior Tee Higgins, who was named most valuable player in a basketball tournament in the Bahamas on Thanksgiving weekend and was named Mr. Football in Class 5A in Tennessee two days later, on Monday, finished with 16 points. Higgins knocked down three three-pointers in the third quarter, and he also had five rebounds and six assists.

Oak Ridge hit nine three-point shots, compared to one for Clinton. That’s a difference of 24 points. [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…]

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…]

Wildcats roll to victory at Campbell County; Lady Wildcats lose nail-biter

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Logo

JACKSBORO—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats and Wildcats made the long trip to Campbell County Tuesday night for their matchup against the Lady Cougars and Cougars. While the boys rolled to an easy 78-47 victory, the girls came up just short of beating the Lady Cougars, losing 47-46 in a nail-biter.

Lady Wildcats stunned by Lady Cougars

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats (15-9, 10-3 District 3-AAA) were beaten last night by the Campbell County Lady Cougars 47-46 in a game that had the entire crowd on edge. The Oak Ridge crowd really seemed to be after the officials all night, as they made many questionable calls in the game.

“Those refs were brutal,” said one fan. “It seemed they were out to get us.”

Controversial calls aside, the Lady Wildcats just couldn’t muster up enough at the end to come back for the victory. The loss marks the 16th time in the schools’ series history that Campbell County has been victorious over the Lady Wildcats. [Read more…]

Wildcats clinch district in rout of Anderson County

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Darel Middleton and Anderson County

Oak Ridge junior center Darel Middleton (33) had 14 points and a dunk as the Wildcats clinched the regular-season district championship in a 73-51 rout of Anderson County on Friday night, January 23. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

Lady Wildcats overcome halftime deficit to upend Lady Mavericks

The Oak Ridge Wildcats clinched the regular-season district championship against Anderson County on Friday, and the Lady Wildcats continued their fight for first place. Both teams won their match-ups against Anderson County at home in Wildcat Arena.

Foul trouble was a main factor in both games, and the ability to overcome that played a major factor for Oak Ridge.

Girls’ team

The ladies were the first up to play, and they did not disappoint. The Lady Wildcats came back from a 12-point deficit at the half to win the game 43-39. A late three and some extra free throws by Oak Ridge proved to be the dagger for the Lady Mavericks.

Anderson County seemed to be all over the Lady Wildcats early. The Lady Mavericks jumped out to an early 16-10 lead after one quarter of play. Oak Ridge (15-8, 10-2 District 3-AAA) would then come out in the second quarter and score only four points. [Read more…]

Wildcats, Lady Wildcats extinguish Dragons

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Tee Higgins Dunk

Sophomore Tee Higgins (5) of Oak Ridge had two dunks in the first quarter and led the Wildcats with 14 points against the Clinton Dragons at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

Eleven miles is all that separates the bitter rivalry between the Oak Ridge Wildcats and the Clinton Dragons. However, since 1990 the rivalry has been nothing but Oak Ridge. For 57 straight games, Oak Ridge has bested Clinton on the basketball court, and Tuesday night was no different for the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats. Both teams went on to soundly defeat their opponents.

Girls’ game

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats were the first matchup of the night. Clinton’s players and coaches were pumped up before and during the entire game, and it was obvious that they had upset on the mind. However, thanks to a strong fourth quarter, the Lady Wildcats were able to defeat the Lady Dragons by a solid score of 65-54.

Clinton actually jumped out to an early lead on Oak Ridge. With a little less than 5:20 left in the first quarter, the Lady Dragons had an 8-1 lead. However, the Lady Wildcats fought back to a 10-8 lead thanks to a three-pointer by Jasmine Hembry with 3:51 left in the first quarter. Hembry would finish with 14 points, which was second on the team. After fighting back and forth, Oak Ridge would score a basket with :20 seconds left, and the score after one quarter was 15-13. [Read more…]

New Year, Same Results: Both Wildcat teams cut down rival Beavers

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Geevantay Gee of Oak Ridge Wildcats and Karns

Junior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) scored 11 points and was one of four Oak Ridge Wildcats in double digits against the Karns Beavers on Tuesday at Wildcat Arena. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

In the first 2015 game at home for Oak Ridge, both teams had a familiar foe awaiting them: the Karns Beavers and Lady Beavers. Both sets of Beavers gave it their all, but neither could withstand the firepower of the Wildcats or Lady Wildcats.

Girls’ Team

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats had a tough time with their opponent for the first quarter of the game, but they soon woke up and clobbered the Lady Beavers of Karns by a score of 57-39. Early foul trouble by the Lady Beavers proved to doom them late in the game.

Karns came out of the gate and scored the first two points of the game. For the first six minutes, there would be seven lead changes and three ties. Both teams were back and forth, with neither one gaining the upper hand. [Read more…]

Wildcats get first 14-0 start in OT win over Indians

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Geevantay Gee of Oak Ridge Willdcats and Dobyns-Bennett Indians

Oak Ridge Wildcats junior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) is surrounded by four defenders as he drives to the basket during a 68-67 overtime win over the Dobyns-Bennett Indians in Kingsport on Saturday. Gee scored 20 points before fouling out early in overtime. (Photo by Allen Greene Photography)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 21.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ basketball team started the season 14-0 for the first time after a one-point overtime win over the Dobyns-Bennett Indians in Kingsport on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore guard E.J. Bush had a game-winning layup with about three seconds left in the four-minute overtime period, giving the Wildcats a 68-67 win. Bush, who ended the night with 13 points, scored all seven of the Wildcats’ points in overtime, after starters Geevantay Gee and Tee Higgins and junior center Darel Middleton had fouled out.

Oak Ridge was led by Gee, a junior point guard who scored 20 points, and Higgins, a sophomore shooting guard and small forward who had 14. [Read more…]