Catholic senior point guard B.J. Edwards scored 21 points but the Irish fell to undefeated Christian Brothers, 79-72, in the 2022 Division II-AA State Championship at Tennessee Tech University on March 5. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
COOKEVILLE – As a few crestfallen Catholic basketball players sat and answered questions from media following Saturday’s Division II-AA state championship, one common theme emanated from them.
They wanted to win the season finale for their coach.
And that coach, longtime Catholic boys basketball coach Mike Hutchens, wanted the championship every bit as much for his players.
Though the Fighting Irish didn’t have their A-game nor full health — and found themselves down 13 points in the second half — they found enough resiliency to fight back to within one point of unbeaten Christian Brothers late in the fourth quarter.
Catholic (28-4) just never recaptured the lead, and Christian Brothers pulled away in the final minute for a 79-72 victory at Tennessee Tech University.
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The Purple Wave were the second undefeated team Catholic faced at the state tournament and they completed a perfect season (28-0), snapping Catholic’s 19-game win streak.
They also denied Catholic senior point guard and University of Tennessee signee B.J. Edwards the second championship of his already storied career.
“It’s been a very emotional season for us,” said Edwards. “We wanted to win it for (Coach Hutchens), knowing it’s his last year coaching. Sorry we couldn’t do it.
“He means the world. He does a lot for us, everything for us. I’m sad we couldn’t do it for him.”
Hutchens concluded his coaching career with 625 wins, as he will now pass the coaching baton to one of his former players, Luke Smith. Hutchens announced before the 2021-22 season that this would be his last.
He said Saturday’s game simply came down to Christian Brothers being able to handle Catholic’s defensive pressure. Christian Brothers’ 79 points were the most Catholic gave up the entire season.
“I wish we could have won. But I couldn’t get upset with these guys, the way they played,” said Hutchens. “They’re a class act.
“I appreciate the fact that they wanted to win it for me, but I wanted to win it for them.”
Catholic’s 6-foot-4 junior guard/wing Blue Cain, a four-star Power 5 prospect, led all scorers Saturday with 31 points, going 11-for-19 from the floor and 4 of 9 from 3-point range. He put on a clinic on how to hit contested jump shots in the fourth quarter with 11 points before fouling out with 1 minute, 21 seconds, to play.
His 3-pointer at the 2:08 mark in the fourth gave Catholic hopes of a comeback, as it trimmed Christian Brothers’ once commanding lead down to 65-63.
“I gave it all I had, but I guess it wasn’t enough,” said Cain. “We’d like to have come out with the win. But we missed some shots that we normally hit. They got the better of us today.”
But a tightly called ball game — and the fact that Edwards had four fouls at the point — made it difficult for Catholic to get the defensive stops needed.
Christian Brothers also went 8-for-8 at the free-throw line in the final 1:21 and didn’t turn the ball over in the final 3 minutes.
Christian Brothers star and Florida State signee Chandler Jackson was named tournament MVP. The 6-4, 200-pound guard had 20 points and 10 rebounds and make key free throws in the waning moments. Jackson is up against Edwards and Brentwood Academy sophomore guard Tyler Tanner for Division II-AA Mr. Basketball. That will be announced on Monday, March 14, in Murfreesboro.
Edwards won Mr. Basketball in 2021, a season after leading Catholic to its first state championship. And while he wasn’t even close to full health on Saturday — he had an ankle and a knee injury — he battled through for 21 points and nine rebounds in his final game in a Catholic jersey.
He hit a 3 with 3:18 to play that cut Christian Brothers’ lead to 63-62. He made the final field-goal attempt of his high school career: a layup with 19 seconds to go. But discomfort in his lower limbs essentially contributed to his 6-for-22 shooting day.
Edwards didn’t make excuses in the post game and downplayed his status physically. But he hobbled throughout the game and had black kinetic trainers tape on his ankle and knee.
“I was just trying to play through the injuries and the refs and all the calls,” he said. “Trying to do as best I could.”
Cain’s first half kept Catholic close. Not only did he have the task of guarding Jackson, but he also shared in point-guard duties with Edwards while leading the Irish in scoring. He had 15 points before the break.
Christian Brothers led by as many as 10 (32-22) with 3:31 left in the first half, as Edwards struggled to get going offensively. He was 1-for-9 shooting at that point.
Cain kicked Catholic into gear from there, though, doing so by scoring on a drive to the basket over two defenders to bring the deficit back to single digits.
His 3 from the right wing at the first-half buzzer cut Catholic’s deficit to a manageable 36-32 heading into the second half.
Christian Brothers held the lead for almost 26 minutes out of the 32-minute game. Catholic didn’t lead in any of the last three quarters.
“At halftime, we’re down four. We’ve been down a lot more than that this year at times,” said Hutchens. “I thought we had a chance to win.
“It just didn’t fall our way. We’d won 19 or 20 in a row. Things fell against us this time.”
5STAR PHOTOS: Knoxville Catholic vs. Christian Brothers – March 5, 2022