BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Oak Ridge senior point guard Ray'Quan Watson gazed up at the Murphy Center scoreboard Saturday night, watching the last few seconds tick off of the Wildcats' 57-42 loss to Hillsboro in the Class 4A … [Read more...]

BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Coaches will tell you: repeating as state champion is hard. And three-peating is even tougher. Alcoa sought on Saturday to be just the ninth boys' programin TSSAA history — and first from East Tennessee — to win … [Read more...]

BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — The Oak Ridge boys basketball team (31-3) advanced to its first state championship game since 2014, knocking off Whitehaven, 59-53, at MTSU's Murphy Center on Friday night. Since the game ended late, here are the … [Read more...]

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 … [Read more...]

BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — The Alcoa High School boys basketball team will get a chance at a three-peat and two-peat in the same day Saturday. A year ago, the Tornadoes defeated an undefeated team (Douglass) to win its second consecutive … [Read more...]

BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Since the Region 2-4A Tournament began March 1, the Oak Ridge boys basketball team has faced, endured and survived nail-biter after nail-biter to cut its path to the TSSAA State Tournament. On Thursday, the … [Read more...]

BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — The comeback attempt was a methodical and effective one. But the Maryville boys' basketball team just couldn't complete it in time. Jonathan Woodlee scored 13 and Brody Smith 10, but a bad start to Maryville's … [Read more...]

BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Sometimes, there just aren't enough Nick Steens. Steen, a muscle-bound, 6-foot-3 sophomore prospect from Fulton High School, helped propel the Falcons back to the TSSAA Class 3A State Tournament this season … [Read more...]

BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Greeneville junior guard Zaydyn Anderson proved a quick study Thursday on how to shoot in the Murphy Center at Middle Tennesseee State. There was an early air ball from 3. And then a bad clank from … [Read more...]

BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — The Alcoa boys basketball team won its 25th consecutive postseason basketball game on Wednesday, doing so in an exercise of experience and depth on the floor of the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State. Seven … [Read more...]