MURFREESBORO – The Upperman Bees advanced to the semifinals of the TSSAA Class 3A state tournament for the second straight year in a 54-40 win over Hume Fogg on Thursday at the Murphy Center.
Class 3A Mr. Basketball Ty Cobb tallied 28 points as the Bees rolled past the Blue Knights in the state quarterfinals for the second straight year.
“I’m just proud of our guys,” said UHS head coach Bobby McWilliams. “I thought we came out ready to play. I thought collectively as a group we all played really well. Ty did what he does, and the rest of these guys all did what they were supposed to.”
Cobb dominated the first quarter. Finishing a two-hand dunk, converting five free throws and finishing the frame with a step-back three for 14 points in the frame as the Bees raced out to an 18-3 lead.
“It was important to come out and jump out on them quickly,” said Cobb.
The Blue Knights answered, cutting the deficit to 20-9 with 5:51 to play in the first half, but Landon Hall rattled off four points for the Bees off the bench as they led 24-14 at halftime.
Cobb scored seven straight midway through the third quarter to make it 31-17, then Jack Torrence made two layups, one being an and-one, to stretch the advantage to 36-21.
“I just want to be able to impact the team,” said Torrence.
The lead would never drop below 13 for the remainder of the game. The Blue Knights scored four points in the final four seconds as the Bees cruised to the victory.
“You see glimpses there of what these guys can do,” said McWilliams. “Up and down the lineup… they did what they were supposed to do. They’re all very capable.”
Despite a size disadvantage, the Bees tied HF with 24 rebounds.
“You’ve got to have a little bit of discipline to make sure you’re accounting for everybody, and we did that,” said McWilliams. “Practice has been good this week. That probably was the difference in the game..”
In addition to his 28 points, Cobb tallied three rebounds and went 12-12 at the free-throw-line. Torrence tallied nine points. Hall scored six. Evan Huddleston and Branson Turnbow each scored four with Bronzden Chaffin tallying two.
The Bees (29-3) will take on the winner of Munford and Greeneville in the state semifinals. The Bees will attempt to advance to the state championship game for the first time in program history.
“Whoever it is, it’s a quality opponent,” said McWilliams. “If we can come out and play relaxed and do what we do on a daily basis, that’s going to give us a much better chance to win.”
Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast audio-only on the UCR Media Network.
