By Noah McKay
The Upperman Bees rolled to the District 7/AAA Boys Tournament championship with a 74-58 win over Livingston Academy on Monday at the Hooper Eblen Center.
Freshman point guard Ty Cobb tallied 28 points and nine assists as the Bees earned their eighth district title in the last 11 years.
“Just proud of my kids,” said UHS head coach Bobby McWilliams. “Livingston’s good. It’s a hard game but we played good tonight. We hit some big shots at key moments. Just proud of our guys for staying locked in for four quarters.”
The two rivals traded baskets early in the contest, with neither team stretching a three-possession lead. Jack Torrence then sparked the UHS offense, tallying seven straight points off the bench as the Bees took a 29-22 lead into halftime.
Cobb took over the game in a third quarter headlined by eight straight points including an and-one finish as the Bees led by as many as 18.
Daniel Bilbrey made several shots for LA to get the Wildcats within 11, but Cobb made eight free throws in the final frame to deliver the district title to Baxter.
“The ball wasn’t moving as well early in the game as we got it to be later on,” said McWilliams. “Once we started moving the ball offensively that helped us. They aren’t an easy matchup.”
Bilbrey led the Wildcats with 16 points. Brodey Coffee added 11 while Cole Harris scored nine.
Bronzden Chaffin recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Torrence scored 10.
Cobb was named MVP of the tournament.
“I thought he had a really good tournament,” said McWilliams. “He did a good job of taking care of the ball and getting it where it needs to go. All the guys are feeding off that as well. I’m happy for him. He’s definitely a special talent.”
The Wildcats (20-12) will host Tullahoma (15-11) on Saturday night. Upperman (25-4) will face Marshall County (14-12) in Baxter. Tipoff in both games is set for 7 p.m. both games will be streamed on the Frontier Chevy UCR Media Network.
