K.J. Hawkins Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Jones named MVP as Wildcats win fifth straight district championship

Posted at 2:18 am February 23, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

CLINTON—Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones was named most valuable player as the Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge (26-2) will play West, which finished fourth in District 4-AAA, in a first-round Region 2-AAA game at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday. West (15-17) lost to Hardin Valley 64-58 in the third-place District 4 game on Tuesday.

The Wildcats, the top seed in the District 3-AAA basketball tournament, advanced to the district championship at Clinton High School on Tuesday by beating Clinton, which had been the number five seed, 111-77 in a semifinal game on Saturday.

Oak Ridge was led against Powell on Tuesday by senior Anthony Gibson. He scored a game-high 24 points, with 22 of those in the first half. Gibson knocked down three three-point shots.

Jones scored 21, with 12 of those on four three-point shots. Jones, a Mr. Basketball finalist in Class AAA, also had a baseline drive for a dunk. [Read more…]

Young has another big night as Wildcats give Karns its first district loss

Posted at 9:00 pm January 4, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young (4) had another big night for the Wildcats, scoring 27 points and pulling down 16 rebounds in a 97-68 win over Karns at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Behind Young is Cole Cooper (34) of Karns. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

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…]

Led by Gee, Wildcats win Region 2 championship; Bush named MVP

Posted at 10:44 pm March 3, 2016
By John Huotari 1 Comment

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Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) led the Wildcats with a game-high 15 points, including three three-point shots, during a 70-40 win over Karns in the Region 2-AAA championship on Thursday, March 3, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 5:15 p.m.

Continuing a string of successes on the basketball court, the Oak Ridge Wildcats won the Region 2 championship in a 70-40 victory over Karns on Thursday. The boys’ regional win at home came one day after the girls won a Region 2 championship at Bearden.

This year, the two teams both won the District 3-AAA championships and the Region 2-AAA championships. It’s the first time that’s happened since 2008.

The Wildcats (34-2), the Region 2 champion, now move on to play David Crockett, the Region 1 runner-up, in a Class AAA sectional game on Monday. The winner advances to the state tournament. David Crockett (29-5) is one of only two teams that beat Oak Ridge this year.

“They are one of the better teams we’ve played all year,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. “It’s going to be a tough game. It should be a tremendous basketball game. There’s a lot on the line.”

The Pioneers eked out a two-point 89-87 win over the Wildcats on two free throws in double overtime in the Arby’s Classic on December 29. [Read more…]

Powell gets more rebounds, but Wildcats get the win, going to Region 2 championship

Posted at 11:29 am March 2, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Powell had nine more rebounds than Oak Ridge and Coach Aaron Green wasn’t pleased with the defense, but the Wildcats battled to beat the Panthers for the fourth time this season, this time during a Region 2-AAA semifinal game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Pictured above are Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) and Powell senior Conley Hamilton (34). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Powell had more rebounds and Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green wasn’t pleased with the defense, but the Wildcats prevailed over the Panthers in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game with help from the 32 points of juniors E.J. Bush and Tee Higgins.

The 53-48 win in a playoff elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday sends Oak Ridge (33-2) to the Region 2-AAA championship game on Thursday. Oak Ridge will face Karns (22-7) for the fourth time this season. The Wildcats have won the previous three contests.

Tuesday’s game was the fourth time that Oak Ridge battled Powell (22-11) this season. The Wildcats won all four matches, a difficult feat, Green said. Two of the wins were in the regular season, one was in the District 3-AAA tournament, and the last was in the Region 2-AAA tournament on Tuesday.

It’s hard to beat a team four straight times, Green said. The Tuesday night game was the closest of the four this year.

“I told the guys the last two days this is going to be a dog fight,” Green said. “This is the toughest game of the year.” [Read more…]

Johnson scores 25 as Wildcats advance to district championship Tuesday against Karns

Posted at 11:56 pm February 20, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson (11) scored a game-high 25 points during a 72-46 win over Powell in a District 3-AAA semifinal at Anderson County High School on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 7:45 p.m.

CLINTON—Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson scored a game-high 25 points in a 72-46 district tournament semifinal win over Powell on Saturday. The Wildcats advance to play Karns in the District 3-AAA championship on Tuesday.

The Wildcats (30-2) held the Panthers to six points in the first quarter and three points in the third on Saturday. But they allowed 21 points in the second.

“We quit guarding them in the second,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

But the Wildcats responded well in the second half and played better defense, Green said.

The District 3-AAA semifinal at Anderson County High School on Saturday was the third meeting this year between Oak Ridge and Powell (20-10). The Wildcats have won all three games. [Read more…]

Karns makes 14 three-point shots in win over Clinton, advances to play Central

Posted at 11:37 pm February 19, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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Karns sophomore K.J. Hawkins (3) scored a game-high 21 points during a 70-58 win over Clinton in a District 3-AAA tournament game on Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:25 a.m.

CLINTON—Karns made 14 three-point shots and sophomore K.J. Hawkins scored 21 points in a 70-58 win over Clinton in the District 3-AAA tournament on Friday. Hawkins made five of the three-pointers for the Beavers.

Karns (19-6) hit eight three-point shots in the first half alone, compared to two for Clinton. The Beavers added six more in the second half.

Karns moves on to play Central (20-9) in a District 3-AAA semifinal game at Anderson County High School at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Beavers also secured a spot in the Region 2 tournament with their win over Clinton on Friday.

Besides Hawkins, Karns had three other players in double digits. Senior Devin Harper and Cartez Campbell both scored 14, and junior guard Taylor Everett added 11. [Read more…]

Wildcats finish top in district, enter playoffs as No. 1 seed

Posted at 1:22 pm February 9, 2016
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Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) scored 10 points for the Wildcats during an 86-60 win over Karns on Friday, Feb. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Wildcats, who are undefeated in their district, won the regular-season district championship on Friday and will enter the basketball playoffs as the top seed.

The Wildcats (26-2, 14-0 District 3-AAA) will also automatically get a spot in the Region 2 tournament, Coach Aaron Green said.

Oak Ridge played Karns again on Friday. That game was not as close as the last meeting between the two teams, when the Wildcats escaped with a 72-68 win. In that January 5 game, the Beavers whittled the lead down to two points, 70-68, with 1:04 remaining, and they had a chance to tie the game or even take the lead with about 35 seconds left.

The second game, at Wildcat Arena on Friday, February 5, was competitive, but Oak Ridge maintained a healthy lead through most of it, often leading by 10 points or more. They were up by 13 points, 43-30, at halftime, and widened the lead in the fourth quarter to finish with an 86-60 win.

Oak Ridge has two district games remaining. The first had been scheduled for Tuesday, January 9, at Halls (6-19, 2-12), but it has been postponed to Wednesday. The second is at Campbell County (14-12, 5-9) on Friday. [Read more…]