MURFREESBORO – The Clay County Bulldogs advanced to the final four in a 70-42 win against North Greene in the quarterfinal round of the TSSAA Class A Boys’ Basketball State Tournament on Thursday at the Murphy Center.
The defending state champion Bulldogs used a balanced attack as they rolled to their second-straight trip to the semifinal round.
“I thought we really set the tone early, defensively,” said CCHS head coach Rob Edwards. “We tried to take the things North Greene liked to do the most (away). I thought we were pretty successful with that.”
The Bulldogs raced out to an early 4-0 lead before four straight by the Huskies tied the game. Two-time Mr. Basketball Grant Strong made a three with 43 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs an 11-6 lead, and they took a 13-6 advantage into the second.
Strong began to heat up from the field in the second quarter, scoring seven straight points as CCHS opened up a double-digit lead. The Huskies clearly entered the game with a plan to be physical with Strong. They were called for an intentional foul with 1:10 remaining in the frame as Strong made both free throws to make it 31-16. He then added two more free throws to make it 33-16 at halftime.
“I’ve faced that a lot this season,” said Strong. “Teams really try to body up and get physical with me early. They try to raise my temper and get under my skin. I was prepared for it. They were great defenders… It took some time to adjust to it, but once we got rolling we were able to handle it pretty well.”
Strong was forced to the bench in the third after being called for his fourth personal foul, but the Bulldogs got free throws by Spivey and Keaton Arms as they maintained a 46-30 lead into the fourth, and cruised through the fourth for another victory at the Murphy Center.
“It’s been business-like all season,” said Edwards on his team’s approach towards chasing a second-straight state title. “We haven’t talked about a (repeat) one time all season long. We know what the ultimate goal is. We don’t have to talk about it. At the same time we know it’s just one game at a time to get there.”
The Bulldogs were led by Strong’s 25 points and six rebounds. Spivey added 21 points and five rebounds. Arms tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“That’s something we’ve worked on all season long,” said Edwards on the secondary scoring of players like Spivey and Arms. “It took a lot of time and a lot of scheming for us to get those guys in position to where Grant can find them and they can make shots. If they’re open, Grant’s going to find them. Jeff’s really played well ever since the start of the district tournament… Keaton’s been owning the glass against everybody.”
Strong said the team knows they have to be gritty as the tournament progresses.
“We’ve really got to show our grit these next two days,” said Strong. “At this point in the season, it comes down to wants it most. Who’s got the most heart. Who’s got the most drive. We want to be those guys.”
The Bulldogs will face the winner of McKenzie vs Peabody in the semifinal round of the tournament. Tipoff is set for 5:45 p.m. on Friday at the Murphy Center.
Photos by Rusty Ellis:
