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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…]

Good, Day, three-pointers deny Wildcats fourth consecutive trip to state

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Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12), playing in his last game at Wildcat Arena, goes for a layup during a 73-70 overtime loss to David Crockett in a Class AAA sectional on Monday, March 7, 2016. Gee is guarded here by Pioneer Patrick Good (12), who had a game-high 29 points, including six three-pointers. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:15 a.m.

David Crockett denied Oak Ridge a fourth consecutive trip to the state basketball tournament on Monday with 11 three-point shots, including a winning three-pointer by senior Patrick Good with 3.5 seconds left in overtime, and the 17 second-half points of senior Dustin Day.

It was the second time the two teams have met this year. Both games went into overtime and were decided on less than three points, and David Crockett won both. The first game was during the regular season, when the two teams combined to make 30 three-point shots, and the second was during a Class AAA sectional at Wildcat Arena on Monday. Good scored the winning baskets in both games.

After their 73-70 overtime win in the sectional game on Monday, the Pioneers (30-5) advance to the state tournament for the first time in the 44-year history of the program.

“They don’t get much tougher than that,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said after the three-point overtime loss.
[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 lose to Pioneers in double-overtime game that features 30 three-pointers

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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) scored 25 points for the Wildcats in a double-overtime 87-85 quarterfinal loss to David Crockett in the 2015 Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. (Photo by Allen Greene / TriCitiesSports.com)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:40 a.m. Dec. 30.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats lost their first basketball game of the season in a thrilling quarterfinal game that went into double overtime in the Arby’s Classic tournament in Bristol on Tuesday. It featured a combined 30 successful three-point shots. The final score was 87-85 in favor of the David Crockett Pioneers.

Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones had a game-high 28 points and was credited with seven three-pointers, while junior Tee Higgins had 25 points and hit six three-pointers. Jones hit four of his seven three-point shots in the first quarter. The 6-foot-4 guard also finished with seven rebounds and one assist, and the 6-foot-5 Higgins had five rebounds and two steals.

It was a personal best for Jones, both in terms of total points scored and made three-pointers.

The Wildcats (15-1, 5-0 District 3-AAA) had 14 three-point shots total, while David Crockett (12-2, 2-0 District 1-AAA) had 16. That tied the single-game record of 16 set by Memphis White Station in 2003. The 15-0 start for Oak Ridge was the best in school history.

Oak Ridge and David Crockett, two top Class AAA teams that received a standing ovation at halftime after a flurry of three-pointers, made 21 three-point shots in the first half alone and shot an incredible 68 percent from beyond the arc (21 of 31). In comparison, the two teams shot 60 percent or less from two-point range in the first half. [Read more…]

Wildcats wallop Dobyns-Bennett 81-35 in first round of Arby’s Classic

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Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) led the Wildcats with 15 points during a 81-35 opening-round rout of Dobyns-Bennett in the 2015 Arby’s Classic in Bristol on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015. (Photo courtesy Heather Williams/WCYB-TV, Bristol, Va.)

 

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

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Dobyns-Bennett Indians by more than 40 points.

The first time was at Wildcat Arena in the Rick McGill Toyota Classic on Friday, December 18, when Oak Ridge won 88-36.

The second time was on Saturday, December 26, when the undefeated Wildcats trounced the Indians 81-35 in the opening round of the 2015 Arby’s Classic basketball tournament at Tennessee High School in Bristol.

At 15-0, the Wildcats are off to their best start ever. [Read more…]

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