By Michael Lindsay
The Cookeville Cavaliers’ historic season will conclude in Murfreesboro next week as the Cavs clinched their first state tournament berth in 70 years (1954) via a 69-60 victory over Bradley Central Monday evening.
“I’m so proud that we played through a game that was as physical as that,” said Cookeville head coach Joshua Heard. “They kept fighting and stayed together. I’m so happy for them and for the student body that they can experience something like that.
“Cookeville came out tonight,” added coach Heard. “The love they showed and how loud they were, they had a big involvement in this game. The businesses that supported that allowed the students in free, that doesn’t go unnoticed. I’m happy for the city.”
Cookeville was led by 22 points from senior and program all-time leading scorer Josh Heard. Jack Oakley poured in 14 points along with 9 from Jalen Heard and 8 from Colin Ayers.
“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game,” said coach Heard. “We thought we could score enough, but the X-factor was whether we’d be able to rebound over them. For us to come out and hit shots and get stops when we needed them was big.”
Cookeville took control early as the Cavaliers hit 6 three-pointers in the first quarter to take a 26-15 lead over the Bears. Oakley hit three of the six along with two from Josh Heard and one by Joseph Owens.
The Cavaliers’ lead grew to 33-17 via a Josh Heard three-pointer with 3:55 left until halftime. Cookeville led by as many as 18 points (37-19) in the first half before taking a 39-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Bradley Central didn’t go away as the Bears opened the second half on a 12-3 run to cut their deficit to 42-34 midway through the third quarter. Cookeville responded with a 7-1 run capped off by a Josh Heard transition dunk off a pass from Jaren Davis to take a 49-35 lead late in the frame. The Cavaliers entered the fourth quarter with a 49-37 advantage.
The Bears pulled within 9 points early in the fourth quarter but got no closer as Cookeville held off Bradley Central for the final 8 minutes to win by a 69-60 final score.
“We didn’t shoot free throws well at all,” said coach Heard. “We’ll get in the gym and work on that. We kept our composure and get stops when we needed.”
The 9-point victory is the first sectional win in program history. Monday’s win follows Cookeville winning their first-ever region championship on Thursday over LaVergne.
“It was awesome,” said coach Heard. “A rush came over me. This is the group I started with when they were in 6th and 7th grade. Those guys have fought and it was exciting man.”
Along with coaching the team, Heard is Cavalier starters Josh and Jalen Heard’s father.
“For them to do it in their home gym and for those boys to have fun with their best friends; I’m so happy for them,” said coach Heard. “This is a moment I hope they never forget and they use it to push themselves on down the road.”
Cookeville has more than a week off before the Class 4A boys state tournament, where they’re scheduled to face Maryville in the state quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 13 at 9:30 a.m.
“We’re going to make sure we get our bodies ready again,” said Heard. “First things first, we’re going to get healthy. We’re going to come back and get back to work. We’ve got to get better handling the ball against the press. When we get back in the gym, I guarantee those boys are going to want to work even harder because of this moment. This was great and fun, but this wasn’t the last goal we had in mind. We want to win the last one.”
