The Clay County Bulldogs punched their ticket to the TSSAA BlueCross Class A Basketball Tournament championship game with a 65-49 win over North Greene on Friday at the Murphy Center.
The Bulldogs controlled the game and withstood a 14-0 Husky run in the third to secure the second trip to the state championship game in school history.
The Bulldogs raced out to an early 16-2 lead before the Huskies responded with a 7-2 run to end the frame and cut the CCHS lead to 18-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The teams traded baskets early in the second quarter before Mr. Basketball finalist Grant Strong scored seven straight points to give the Bulldogs a 14-point lead.
Keaton Arms made a free throw with one second remaining in the frame to give Clay County a 34-21 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs then extended the lead to 41-23, but the Huskies refused to go down without a fight. They rattled off 14 straight points to cut the deficit to 41-37. The Bulldogs answered with a three by Gunnar Silk and a layup by Strong to take a 46-37 lead into the fourth quarter.
“Basketball is a game of runs, so we knew North Greene was going to make a run,” said CCHS head coach Rob Edwards. “What we talked about doing was when it happens, just maintain your composure, don’t panic and keep playing. These guys did exactly what I asked him to do.”
The teams traded baskets throughout the opening half of the fourth. Strong scored six straight points to stretch the lead to 60-48, and the Huskies were unable to get back into the game as the Bulldogs secured the victory.
Strong led the way with 32 points and seven rebounds. Arms tallied 15 points and seven rebounds. Jeffery Spivey tallied seven points and four rebounds. Eli Smith and Jimmy Burchett each added four points and Silk scored three.
The Bulldogs (29-2) will take on the Memphis Academy of Health Sciences Lions (15-7) in the state championship game on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Murphy Center.
Edwards said his experience coaching the Bulldogs in the 2017 championship game will be valuable when preparing for this year’s game.
“I feel like we’ll be a little more prepared,” said Edwards. “The first time you do it, you don’t really know what to expect and you learn from it.”
Photos by Noah McKay:
