MURFREESBORO—Oak Ridge beat Brentwood 53-45 in a state quarterfinal basketball game on Wednesday to advance to a semifinal game against Memphis East on Friday. Here are photos from the quarterfinal game by Kindell Moore. [Read more…]
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MURFREESBORO—Oak Ridge beat Brentwood 53-45 in a state quarterfinal basketball game on Wednesday to advance to a semifinal game against Memphis East on Friday. Here are photos from the quarterfinal game by Kindell Moore. [Read more…]
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Oak Ridge beat a young, talented Bearden team 86-73 in the Region 2-AAA championship at Wildcat Arena on Thursday. Here are photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
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Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones bounced back with 24 points and the Wildcats beat a young, talented Bearden team 86-73 in the Region 2-AAA championship at home on Thursday.
It’s the second consecutive regional championship for the Wildcats and their third in the past five years.
Oak Ridge (29-2) will now play David Crockett, the Region 1-AAA runner-up, in a sectional at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Monday.
Bearden (21-9) will play at Science Hill, the Region 1 champion, in another sectional at 7 p.m. Monday.
The eight sectionals will determine which teams get to play in the Class AAA state basketball tournament from March 15-18 at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.
Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said the Thursday night win over Bearden, which started four sophomores, was a collective effort. [Read more…]
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Maryville senior guard Easton Upchurch scored 25 points and made seven three-point shots on Tuesday, but it wasn’t enough to keep Oak Ridge from advancing to its fifth straight regional championship. Here are photos from the Region 2-AAA semifinal game by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
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Maryville senior guard Easton Upchurch scored 25 points and made seven three-point shots on Tuesday, but it wasn’t enough to keep Oak Ridge from advancing to its fifth straight regional championship.
The Wildcats were held to their lowest offensive output of the season in the 46-43 Region 2-AAA semifinal win over the Rebels at Wildcat Arena. No Oak Ridge player scored more than 13, which is unusual.
Maryville Coach Mark Eldridge said Oak Ridge has better players than the Rebels, so his team tried to limit the number of possessions. More possessions mean the better team wins, Eldridge said.
The Wildcats probably had about half as many possessions as they normally do, Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. Maryville has guards who are good enough that the Rebels could run time off the clock—and they did.
“Sometimes you have to find ways to grind them out,” Green said. “Our guys haven’t had a lot of close games, and our guys kept their composure.”
Oak Ridge (28-2) advances to play Bearden (21-8) in the Region 2-AAA championship at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Thursday. The season is over for Maryville (24-6). [Read more…]
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Oak Ridge senior Anthony Gibson again led the Wildcats in a playoff win, this time in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal win against West at home on Saturday. Here are photos from the game by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
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CLINTON—You’ve probably never seen this in a high school basketball game before. You might not ever seen it again. A between-the-legs dunk.
It happened Saturday night in Clinton. Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins told Coach Aaron Green at halftime during a District 3-AAA semifinal game that he was going to do the between-the-legs dunk if he had a chance.
That was okay, Green said, as long as Higgins made it. He did.
Higgins was wide open on a break from half court, and after launching into the air, he moved the basketball between his legs from his left hand to his right before winding up and slamming it through the hoop with his right.
The move fired up fans. Even Clinton fans enjoyed it.
Green said you might not even see that kind of dunk in college or NBA games.
“Those are dunks that are done in dunking contests,” he said. “I wish I could do that, to be honest with you.” [Read more…]
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KNOXVILLE—Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins scored 33 points, a career high, during a 76-65 win at Fulton on Saturday. Here are photos from the basketball game by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
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Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young had another big night on Tuesday as the Wildcats gave Karns its first district loss of the season.
Last week, Young scored 29 points, a personal best, during a 64-56 win over Science Hill in the Arby’s Classic in Bristol on December 27.
On Tuesday, he almost matched that, scoring a game-high 27 points during a 97-68 win over Karns. He also had 16 rebounds.
“He’s playing really, really well,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.
Young said he was surprised by his 29 points against Science Hill.
“We’ve always had the ability to play well,” Young said. “It’s not unexpected. I’ve just got to step up and play harder.” [Read more…]
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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…]
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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…]
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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…]