Andrew Force:
Future150 National Analyst. Covering High and Middle School basketball.
Murfreesboro, TN (Future150) -- Four Tennessee Mr. Basketball contenders advanced, but the reigning AA Mr. Basketball came up short.
Christ Presbyterian Academy dropped their semifinal bout, 60-54 after struggling to find the bottom of the net consistently.
Slow start
From the jump Haywood High pounced on the Lions of C.P.A. Brownsville Haywood hopped out to a 20-8 lead as the first quarter concluded. They maintained through the second quarter and hit the break up 29-19.
Braxton Blackwell (Future150 #54) established himself on the low blocks throughout the second quarter and his squad put together an impressive 14-2 run in the third. Evan Ragsdale knocked down a couple triples from the side.
The defensive set up of C.P.A. had difficulty controlling penetration. Too often Haywood wings darted in to the lane, only to meet a springy Blackwell under the rim. Credit Blackwell with avoiding bodies as he protected his rim. It was really more than one man could handle though. Every play ended with a layup or a Blackwell defensive rebound. The junior finished with 18 rebounds, almost all of them on the defensive end.
The Lions drew within two points before the third quarter wrapped. At 36-34 they still had a wonderful opportunity. Especially encouraging was the foul trouble Jordan Varnado (Future150 #139) found himself in. The Tomcats' leading scorer, Varnado sat out the last two minutes of the third and looked to be skipping a pinch of the fourth.
Detarion Boyd provided Haywood with the big answer they needed to wrangle the momentum back. He dove down the left side of the paint and finished with the left hand over a Blackwell swing.
Only one more nervous moment remained. With 4:45 left, Tyger Campbell (Future150 #1) knifed to the glass and crumbled upon the release. Was he fouled? Only he and the defender truly know. C.P.A. Head Coach Drew Maddux leapt onto the floor in fury. His presence nearly prevented a retaliatory fast break, so the official was forced into calling a technical foul.
Haywood's anchor, Varnado missed both technical foul shots. With a 42-38 score C.P.A. still hovered within striking distance. The veteran, Blackwell missed a couple difficult runners in the lane and only hit one of his three desperation deep balls late.
Haywood and Varnado finally find their touch at the charity stripe. Ultimately, Haywood had the deeper squad and more contributors. Blackwell shot just 35.2% from the field (6-17), but was asked to do almost everything for his team. He was the only defender creating problems. He nearly snagged 20 rebounds. The wing helped with six assists. He was pretty good, just not unstoppable.
C.P.A. needed a savior and Blackwell proved to be a bit human.
Best in class
Memphis Mitchell simply mauled Knoxville Grace Christian. Jeremiah Martin poured the sauce early and Naba Echols poked at the embers of the flamed out Rams.
The 37-19 halftime score was only a breeze hinting at the tornado to come. Mitchell (31-6) meets Union City (33-3) this afternoon for the Class A Boys State Championship. Mitchell won last season and Union City is making their 19th appearance in state.
Union City, from the northwestern most region of Tennessee, competed with Loretto (24-7) in the most hotly contested match of the day.
What began with poor fundamentals, turnovers, and errant passes concluded with a mind-numbing free throw parade. And yet in between was all the good stuff. Hard fouls, irate fans, incompetent referees, and physical D made for a steamy cauldron of hoop hysteria.
The Golden Tornadoes of Union City feature a surprisingly deep team, including Marcus DeBerry, Parker Stewart, Donte' Simpson, and Malik Stockdale.
DeBerry is in the running for Class A Mr. Basketball. Stewart grew up in Athens, Ohio and began his high school with Pickerington Central (Ohio). He has the look of a high major. The 6'4" guard can knock down outside shots and moves around the floor well. Room for improvement exists with his slashing and defensive awareness.
DeBerry did play very well. He will get one last crack at it against Mitchell High. The 29-13 run by Union City thrived on the strength of Stewart bombs an assortment of made free throws. In truth, Loretto's stifling 3-2 defense weakened late along with their legs.
Same Ole Story
The Lawson brothers won. Again.
For the 30th time this season Hamilton High (15-15) Bulldogs trodded off the floor victorious. Despite the 15 forfeited games, these dogs can not be beat in competition.
Dedric Lawson had a quiet day offensively. He finished with seven points and even abandoned his low block in the third quarter. Blackman's behemoth (25-7), the hometown favorite, barged into him over and over. The taller Lawson appeared to be legitimately winded from the physical exchanges. When he did try to establish low post position it was beginning 12' from the rim.
K.J. Lawson was special. The silky wing repeatedly got wherever he wanted to go. Moving with the slow, methodical inscisions of a Grant Hill, Lawson craftily wiggled into the paint. Over and over and over.
There is a patience to his penetration. He does not hurry.
The most impressive exchange of the game was a between the legs drop pass from Dedric to a trailing K.J. It moved the game to 48-31. It was already over.
Hamilton earns their title tussle with Brentwood High (30-6). It will not be close. The Lawson's possess too much size and skill for AAA.
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