Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones (3) shoots from three-point range during a 46-43 win over Maryville in a Region 2-AAA semifinal elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
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…]
Oak Ridge senior Anthony Gibson (23) led the Wildcats with 13 points during a 46-43 win over Maryville in a Region 2-AAA semifinal elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
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…]
Oak Ridge junior Destiny Kassner (30) plays defense during a 48-47 Region 2-AAA semifinal win over William Blount at Wildcat Arena on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
Two steals, a layup, and a free throw in the final minute helped Oak Ridge beat William Blount by one point, 48-47, in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game that came down to the final few seconds on Monday. Here are photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
Two steals, a layup, and a free throw in the final minute helped Oak Ridge beat William Blount by one point, 48-47, in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game that came down to the final few seconds on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Pictured above are Oak Ridge juniors Jaymi Golden (32) and Destiny Kassner (30). (Photo by Luther Simmons)
Two steals, a layup, and a free throw in the final minute helped Oak Ridge beat William Blount by one point, 48-47, in a regional semifinal game that came down to the final few seconds on Monday.
The Lady Governors led by two points late in the Region 2-AAA semifinal elimination game, Oak Ridge Coach Paige Redman said. But a steal by Lady Wildcats senior Courtney Ellison led to a tying layup by junior Mykia Dowdell.
Then, another Oak Ridge steal led to a William Blount foul and two free throws by Lady Wildcats sophomore Jada Guinn. She missed the first one but hit the second, Redman said. That gave the Lady Wildcats (28-3) a one-point lead with about half a minute remaining.
With just over two seconds to go, Oak Ridge got the basketball. But the Lady Wildcats turned it over with about 1.3 seconds remaining. When the Lady Governors threw it in, Dowdell knocked it out of bounds. The clock ticked down to 0.3 seconds. That wasn’t enough time for William Blount (21-11) to get the ball in bounds and possibly make a game-winning basket. After being nervous—the Lady Governors led 47-45 with 2:14 remaining—Oak Ridge fans were jubilant.
“Wow!” said Stephanie Thompson, Oak Ridge High School assistant principal. “What a win for the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats!” [Read more…]
Oak Ridge junior point guard Levert Smith (10) became the single-season assist leader for Oak Ridge, with 187 assists this year, during a 68-38 Region 2-AAA quarterfinal win against West at home on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Also pictured are Oak Ridge seniors Tee Higgins (5) and Tajion Jones (3), who became only the second Wildcat to hit his 200th career three-point shot. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
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…]
Oak Ridge senior Anthony Gibson (23) again led the Wildcats in a playoff win, this time in a 68-38 Region 2-AAA quarterfinal win against West at home on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
Note: This story was updated at 9 a.m. Feb. 28.
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.
Gibson, a 6-foot-1 guard, scored a game-high 18 points in the elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Saturday. He had four three-points shots for 12 of those points.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, Gibson led Oak Ridge with 24 points as the Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 defeat of Powell.
With the Region 2 quarterfinal win on Saturday, Oak Ridge advanced to play Maryville at Wildcat Arena at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a semifinal elimination game. The winner of the Tuesday night Oak Ridge-Maryville game will move on to play in the Region 2-AAA championship. The season will be over for the loser.
“This is the toughest game of the year,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. “There’s a lot on the line across the state.” [Read more…]
Pictured above are the top two scorers in the Region 2-AAA quarterfinal elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Oak Ridge sophomore Jada Guinn (24) scored a game high and career high 32 points for the Lady Wildcats in a 62-56 win over Bearden, and Lady Bulldogs junior Trinity Lee (2) scored 25. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats eliminated Bearden 62-56 in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at home on Friday, despite a high-scoring second-half rally by the Lady Bulldogs. Here are photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge juniors Jaymi Golden (32), left, and Desiree Bates (20), center, play defense against Bearden junior Trinity Lee (2), who led the Lady Bulldogs with 25 points in a 62-56 loss to the Lady Wildcats in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at Wildcat Arena on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats eliminated Bearden 62-56 in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at home on Friday, despite a high-scoring second-half rally by the Lady Bulldogs.
After scoring only 15 points in the first half, the Bearden girls scored 41 in the second, narrowing an Oak Ridge lead of 24 points in the third quarter to three points late in the fourth.
“It was a fun ball game,” Oak Ridge Coach Paige Redman said. “They did not back down. They did not quit…They went on a great run. We managed to contain it.”
Bearden (24-4) struggled to make three-point shots in the first three quarters. They made only two, both by junior Trinity Lee. That changed in the fourth quarter, when Lee hit four. She led the Lady Bulldogs with 25 points and had 17 of Bearden’s 27 points in the final quarter. She had all six of Bearden’s three-point shots.
Oak Ridge (27-3) was led by sophomore guard Jada Guinn with 32 points, a game high and career high. Like Lee, Guinn also made six three-point shots. She knocked down four in the second quarter alone. [Read more…]
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…]
Information from WYSH Radio
District basketball tournaments wrapped up on Wednesday. The final championship to be decided was in District 3-A and was played in Tellico Plains, where the Grace Christian boys knocked off Harriman 68-66 to claim the title. Third place went to Tellico Plains, which beat Meigs County 52-44.
That sets up the Region 2-A tournament, which will begin on Friday at 7 p.m. with girls’ action. Here is information about that tournament, as well as the Region 2-AA and Region 2-AAA tournaments. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA girls’ basketball championship in a 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
CLINTON—Oak Ridge junior Mykia Dowdell was named most valuable player and the Lady Wildcats won their second straight District 3-AAA championship with a 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday.
Oak Ridge (26-3) will play Bearden in a first-round Region 2-AAA tournament game at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Friday. The Lady Bulldogs (24-3) lost to Hardin Valley 58-50 in a third-place District 4-AAA game at Hardin Valley Academy on Monday.
Dowdell led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points in the District 3 championship game against Powell on Tuesday, and she had at least six rebounds. She had eight points in the first quarter alone, and another six in the second.
While Dowdell was named MVP, three other Oak Ridge players were also named to the District 3-AAA All Tournament Team on Tuesday: senior Courtney Ellison, junior Jaymi Golden, and sophomore Jada Guinn. [Read more…]
Genevieve Schwartz of Oak Ridge, right, finished 10th in the Region 2-AAA girls’ cross country race at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. Behind Schwartz is Jenna Wall of Hardin Valley Academy, who finished eighth. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge girls’ cross country team ran its best race of the year but finished fourth in the region on Thursday, just missing the cutoff to advance to the state meet next Saturday.
Only the top three teams in the Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday advanced to the state meet in Nashville next Saturday.
However, Oak Ridge junior Genevieve Schwartz finished 10th in the 5,000-meter, or 5k, race. Anyone who finishes in the top 10 and is not on a qualifying team advances to state.
The top three girls’ teams in the Region 2 meet were West, Farragut, and Hardin Valley. West, a Knoxville school, had the top two runners, Lindsey Stallworth and Madeline Shook.
Anderson County and Hardin Valley each had two runners in the top 10, and like Oak Ridge, Farragut had one.
It will be the first trip to state for Schwartz, who finished with a time of 20:36.90. [Read more…]
