Jackson County Advances To Region 3-2A Championship Following 42-33 Victory Over Westmoreland

By Michael Lindsay

The Jackson County Blue Devils (26-2) have advanced to the Region 3-2A championship game following their semifinal victory over Westmoreland (16-13) on Tuesday.

Junior center Will McCrary led the Blue Devils with 20 points followed by 9 from Parker Patterson, 8 by Alex Meadows and 5 from Isaiah Thomas.

“Westmoreland did a great job at doubling Will, but he handled it well,” said Jackson County head coach Kevin Thomas. “It’s such an advantage to have such good guard play to go along with that, too.”

Westmoreland jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Jackson County battled back to take a 10-8 via a McCrary basket to end the first quarter.

“It didn’t go the way we planned at first,” said Thomas. “We knew they’d be really methodical and hold the ball. We wanted to get off to a good start, but we got down 6-0. We were able to stay with it.”

The Eagles tied the contest at 10 points each early in the second before the Blue Devils pushed out to a 16-10 advantage midway through the frame. Westmoreland closed their deficit to two points by halftime as Jackson County led 18-16 at the break.

Jackson County extended their lead to nine points (26-17) midway through the third via a pair of McCrary free throws, but Westmoreland closed the gap to two possessions to end the third period as Jackson County led 30-24 entering the fourth.

Westmoreland pulled within 4 points (30-26) early in the fourth, but Jackson County responded as they extended their lead to double-digits at 40-29 via a Patterson layup with 2:17 remaining. Jackson County held on from there to win by a 42-33 final score.

“We didn’t shoot a three in the second half,” said Thomas. “We were trying to control the game and get high-percentage shots.

Up next for Jackson County is the Region 3-2A championship game on Thursday at Monterey High School against Liberty Creek, who enters the contest at 25-7 overall.

“Liberty Creek really impressed me watching them in the semis,” said Thomas. “Their defensive effort is tremendous. They can shoot the ball well, have a few kids around 6’2″ and are extremely well-coached. We match up with each other well. It’s going to be a heck of a game.”

Regardless of Thursday’s result, Jackson County will play in Monday’s Class 2A Sectional against either LEAD Academy (17-11) or East Nashville (15-10).

“We’ve thought about this all summer,” said Thomas. “That’s why we went to Memphis this summer and played Humboldt and Pearl Cohn this season. We wanted to expose ourselves to that more metro style of basketball, because to get to state tournament that’s what we have to go through.”