MURFREESBORO—The Oak Ridge Wildcats gave up an 11-point lead in a series of turnovers in the fourth quarter before losing to the Blackman Blaze 60-58 in a state championship game in Murfreesboro on Saturday.
Wildcats senior Jaylin Henderson had a game-high 24 points in the Class AAA final, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the combined scoring of four Blaze players who scored 10 or more each. The Wildcats were named 2014 State Runner-Up.
Oak Ridge (32-8) looked like it was headed to victory in the third quarter and early in the fourth, but the Blaze (28-6) stepped up the pressure and the Wildcats weren’t able to protect the ball.
Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said a series of five fourth-quarter turnovers, including back-to-back steals, shifted the momentum. Many of the Wildcats’ turnovers led to easy layups, and the Blaze went on a 14-0 scoring run at the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. [Read more…]