Oak Ridge Today

Basketball: Wildcats play in sectional game Monday

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Oak Ridge won the District 3-AAA championship game 76-61 against Clinton at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (Photo by Zack James/used with permission)

They won the District 3-AAA championship game against Clinton. They advanced to the Region 2 championship game by defeating West and Maryville in quarterfinal and semifinal games.

On Thursday, in the championship game, they finished second in the region, losing 55-52 to Bearden after narrowing a 15-point Bulldogs lead late in the third quarter to one point late in the fourth.

Tonight, Monday, March 8, the Oak Ridge Wildcats (26-5) will play for a chance to compete in the state basketball tournament. They will travel to Dobyns-Bennett (25-4) in Kingsport in upper East Tennessee for one of eight Class AAA sectional games across the state. The winners of the sectional games advance to the state tournament in Murfreesboro, and the season is over for the losers.

[Read more…]

Playoffs today: Volleyball regional tournament, girls soccer district tournament

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats volleyball team will play in the Region 2-AAA tournament at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge volleyball)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats volleyball team will play in the Region 2-AAA tournament at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge volleyball)

 

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats volleyball team will play in the Region 2-AAA tournament at home today, and the girls’ soccer team will play in the District 3-AAA tournament, also at home.

The volleyball team (24-9) won the District 4-AAA championship on Tuesday, October 3. With a 6-0 district record, the girls were undefeated in District 4-AAA and the top seed in the district tournament.

Oak Ridge, the District 4 champion, will play Heritage, the District 3 runner-up, in a regional semifinal in Wildcat Arena at 5:30 p.m. today (Tuesday, October 10).

The two teams met twice during the regular season. The Lady Mountaineers won the first one 3-0 at Heritage on September 25. The Lady Wildcats won the second game 2-1 in the Courtside at Concord Tournament on September 30. [Read more…]

Wildcats win Region 2 championship two years in a row

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Oak Ridge beat a young, talented Bearden team 86-73 in the Region 2-AAA basketball championship at Wildcat Arena on Thursday, March 2, 2017. The team is pictured above with coaches, cheerleaders, and the student section. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge beat a young, talented Bearden team 86-73 in the Region 2-AAA basketball championship at Wildcat Arena on Thursday, March 2, 2017. The team is pictured above with coaches, cheerleaders, and the student section. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

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…]

Upchurch scores 25, but Maryville can’t stop Oak Ridge

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Oak Ridge senior Anthony Gibson (23) led the Wildcats with 13 points during a 46-43 win against Maryville in a Region 2-AAA semifinal elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

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…]

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

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Wildcats-Gee-Shoots-3-Karns-March-3-2016

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…]

Déja vu with twist: This time, in Region 2 final, Wildcats fall

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Geevantay Gee and Oak Ridge Wildcats

Sophomore guard Geevantay Gee had seven points during a Region 2 championship game against Powell on Thursday.

Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 28.

For a few minutes, it looked like Oak Ridge might repeat its comeback overtime win against Powell.

Down by eight points in the third quarter on Thursday, the Wildcats tied the game 59-59 with less than one minute to play with a flurry of baskets by seniors Jaylin Henderson, Isaac Merian, and Kevin Steen.

But this time, with a Region 2-AAA championship on the line, Oak Ridge was unable to muster a miracle in overtime. Led by the six points of senior Dallas Fields, Powell pulled away from the Wildcats just enough to win. The final score was 72-70, and Powell was named Region 2 champions for the first time since 2006.

But the Wildcats (29-7) aren’t out of the playoffs. They travel to Kingsport on Monday to play Dobyns-Bennett (21-8) at 7 p.m. in a Class AAA sectional for a chance to go to the state tournament in Murfreesboro in March. [Read more…]