Trey Thompson and the Greeneville Greene Devils took on the Upperman Bees in a TSSAA Class 3A state semifinal at MTSU’s Murphy Center on Friday, March 21, 2025, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Photo by Danny Parker/5Star Preps)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — In a matchup billed around two players who vied for Mr. Basketball honors, the Upperman-Greeneville state semifinal Friday night turned its spotlight towards two Greeneville role players late in the contest.
Sure, Upperman sophomore and Mr. Basketball winner Ty Cobb scored 33.
And, yes, Greeneville’s 6-foot-8 junior and Mr. Basketball finalist Trey Thompson finished with 19.
But when Greeneville trailed by 10 points with 2 minutes and 57 seconds left, Greeneville guards Cole Franklin and Cole Smith stole the show for a spell. The two started popping in 3s and cut the deficit to just three points with 81 seconds remaining.
Despite their efforts, though, Greeneville’s rally stopped there. Cobb iced the game at the foul line, and Upperman advanced to Saturday’s championship via a 55-47 win.
Greeneville (26-12) didn’t score the final 1:21 of the contest, allowing the Bees (31-3) to move on to Saturday’s finale against either Tullahoma (32-4) or Fayette-Ware (29-5).
The final margin of victory Friday might have looked comfortable, but the final stretch was anything but.
Franklin’s hustle plays and 3-point shot in the final minutes caused hope, bringing Upperman’s lead down to 48-41 with 2:05 to play.
Smith’s two 3s produced belief. He hit one at the 1:42 mark and then another 21 seconds later to cut the deficit to 50-47.
“Man, when he gets going, he’s an emotional guy,” Greeneville coach Brad Woolsey said. “Obviously, knocking down the shots feed its. But coming off the court (during a timeout), he was getting the fans up and getting them going.
“You love that type of warrior mentality. And he has it.”
Greeneville couldn’t get any of its final 3-point attempts to fall nor its inside tries.
Cobb went 5 of 6 at the free-throw line in the final 1:21.
“We had to hang on to the ball a little bit better. We took too many chances (with passes),” Upperman coach Bobby McWilliams said. “But, as a coach, you build that trust in them to make plays. I trust them 100 percent.
“And they did that the last minute and half to 2 minutes. We work on stuff like this every day. And, so, I can’t be more proud they were able to close it out and finish it.”
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After a slow start through 12 minutes, the scoring picked up. Cobb scored 11 in the first half, and his physical slash into the lane to score with 2:29 remaining in the first half put Upperman up 18-10.
“I didn’t feel like we played very well in the first half. Just offensively, we struggled a little,” Woolsey said. “We just weren’t in-sync at all. Of course yesterday, we came out and made a few buckets. But it didn’t happen for us today.”
Greeneville responded, though, and closed the half on a 7-0 run — triggered by a 3-pointer from Cole Franklin. Zaydyn Anderson and Thompson followed with layups to close the gap before the break.
Greeneville went 1-for-9 shooting in the first quarter.
To be down one point at the break had to be a relief.
That relief didn’t last long, though.
Upperman stitched together a 10-2 run — highlighted by Cobb’s 3-point play — right out of the second half to take better command, 28-19, by the midpoint of the third.
Cobb connected on another 3-point play at the 3:03 mark of the third to float the lead up to 12 points.
Thompson tried to ignite a Greeneville run with consecutive 3s late in the quarter. But Cobb mitigated that spurt with a 3 sandwiched in between Thompson’s makes.
Evan Huddleston’s 3-point play for Upperman gave the Bees a 38-27 advantage just before the end of the third.
“Cobb, he’s such a tough cover,” Woolsey said. “If you let him reject ball-screens, he’s going to hurt you. And we let him do that a couple times. And then he gets out in transition. And there’s just not a lot you can do once he gets out in transition, because he’s either going to get a foul or he’s probably going to get a bucket.”