The Alcoa Tornadoes faced the Pearl-Cohn Firebirds in a TSSAA Class 2A state tournament quarterfinal in Monte Hale Arena at the Murphy Center on Thursday, March 16, 2023, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Alcoa boys won 65-62. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — The final 1 minute, 10 seconds, of Thursday’s Class 2A state quarterfinal wasn’t unnerving at all for Alcoa boys’ basketball coach Ryan Collins, even though star player Jahvin Carter got whistled for his fifth foul with 70 seconds left.
The maturity and leadership of the players Collins still had on the floor gave him the confidence needed that the Tornadoes could finish off Pearl-Cohn.
And that they did.
Though foul trouble was the over-arching theme of the contest, Alcoa handled the adversity well and dispensed of the Firebirds, 65-62, inside the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University.
“I loved how (Carter) handled it,” said Collins. “Not much of a reaction from him after the call in a negative way. Instead, he huddled up his teammates and said, ‘Hey, go win this without me.’ That’s a lot of trust. And that’s the balanced basketball team we’ve become.
“I liked our leadership across the board, and the leadership started with Jahvin.”
The victory gave Alcoa (28-8) its first win in a state tournament since 2004. They’ll take on Chattanooga Brainerd (25-7) at 4:30 p.m. Central time on Friday in the state semifinals. Should Alcoa win that, it would play for a state title for the first time since 1992. Their last boys’ basketball state championship was 1967.
“If you don’t know Alcoa, you’ve heard of them. And you probably just think we’re a football school. And that’s not it,” said Carter, a 2023 Mr. Basketball finalist and high-major Division I prospect.
“All of our sports are good and great. It means a lot. A lot of great players have come through Alcoa. A lot of great teams. To know we’re hanging a (state tournament appearance) banner up there means a lot.”
Carter led the Tornadoes with 28 points on 9-for-17 shooting. He had six rebounds and four assists, but he inadvertently received a third foul late in the first half. Alcoa players, coaches and bench members thought the foul should have been on Alcoa’s Jordan Harris. But it was given to Carter, and that altered how he played for most of the second half.
But Alcoa never allowed a lead to Pearl-Cohn (21-9), the team that knocked off unbeaten and defending champion East Nashville (26-1) in the region semifinal elimination round on Feb. 28. The Firebirds pulled even twice in the third and once early in the fourth but could never make the subsequent bucket or foul shot to get ahead of Alcoa or create any angst for the Tornadoes.
And Alcoa junior Brandon Winton delivered big blows to Pearl-Cohn’s comeback hopes.
Like Carter, Winton battled foul trouble, as well. All told, 41 combined foul calls were made between Alcoa and Pearl-Cohn; Winton got his second with 2:18 left in the first quarter. Carter got his second with 52 seconds in the first quarter.
Winton got hit with his third with 6:32 left in the first half.
He reached the half with one point and no rebounds.
Winton finished the game with 14 points. His layup with 5:15 to go gave Alcoa a 45-42 lead.
His 3 at the top of the key 60 seconds later put the Tornadoes up, 48-44.
He made another layup with 2:04 remaining produced a six-point advantage (55-49).
And he went 5-for-6 at the foul line in the final minute of the game when Carter was relegated to the bench.
“I think Brandon, ultimately, is just a competitor,” said Collins. “I’m all over his case there at the end of the game. And sometimes I have to just let him be him, and understand that ‘him’ is a winner. That shined. He got frustrated over two early foul calls. He’s a phenomenal defender.
“We’re really fortunate to have him playing at a high level in this one. He was great in the second half.”
Carter and Winton weren’t the only Alcoa heroes, though.
Eli Owens made two clutch foul shots at the midpoint of the fourth that led to a 50-43 lead. Owens had five points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Some 13 seconds after Pearl-Cohn guard Doyel Cockrill hit a 3 to cut Alcoa’s lead to 50-49 with 3:08 to play, Alcoa guard Brady Haun buried a 3 from the wing to keep the Firebirds at bay. Haun had eight points and was 2 of 2 from 3 — and he had six rebounds and three steals.
And sophomore guard Eli Graf connected from deep in the first half, finished with eight points, and hit three key foul shots in the final minute.
Cockrill led Pearl-Cohn with 29 points, hitting a half-court shot just before the final buzzer to make the final margin just three points. But his two best teammates on the floor around him, guard Javion Kinnard and 6-5 forward Mekhi Wallace (11 points, 11 rebounds), each fouled out. Those exits were expedited by technical fouls.
Wallace’s technical came because officials felt he hung on the rim too long after his transition dunk cut Alcoa’s lead to 30-26 early in the third quarter.
After going 4 of 8 at the foul line in the first half, Alcoa’s 16-for-21 performance at the free-throw line in the final 16 minutes helped their cause.
“We never lost the lead. And how we handled the (Pearl-Cohn) run was good,” said Collins. “We handled it with longer possessions. We hadn’t done that all year.
“And kids made big plays in big spots.”
PRESS ROOM VIDEO INTERVIEWS … view HERE.
GAME HIGHLIGHT FILM … view HERE.
5STAR PHOTOS: Alcoa Tornadoes vs. Pearl-Cohn Firebirds – 2023 Class 2A state quarterfinal