FINAL FOUR BOUND AGAIN: Upperman Outlasts South Gibson 56-49 For Third Straight Semifinal Trip

Upperman vs South Gibson

State Tournament coverage presented by Risher Roofing

Story by Noah McKay

MURFREESBORO – The Upperman Bees returned to a familiar place, the Class 3A semifinals, with a 56-49 win over South Gibson in Wednesday’s state quarterfinals at the Murphy Center.

The Bees used a strong fourth quarter to overcome a South Gibson team making its first state tournament appearance enroute to their third straight final four appearance.

“Once we got going, especially on the offensive end, I think we played pretty good,” said UHS head coach Bobby McWilliams. “That’s a tough matchup. Once we got settled in I thought we got back to playing the way we can.”

The upstart Hornets opened the game on a 6-0 run before three points for two-time Class 3A Mr. Basketball Ty Cobb got the Bees on the board. The Bees then took their first lead on a triple by Collier Bush and layups by Colton Johnson and Cobb. The Hornets answered with four points by Kowen Thomas to take a 13-10 lead after one.

The Hornets hit two threes to take a 21-14 lead, prompting a McWilliams timeout. The Bees answered with a 10-0 run capped off by a Jack Torrence three to take a 24-23 lead into halftime.

The teams traded buckets the majority of the third quarter, with Cobb nailing a three at the horn to tie the game at 34.

The experienced Bees led by three with 2:40 to play when Bush hit a three to give them their largest lead of the contest. It sparked an 8-0 run to give UHS a 48-39 lead.

“We trust our guys,” said McWilliams. “(Bush) shoots it as good as anyone in this building and he needs to be able to turn it loose. It was a big shot in a big time of the game. That’s what seniors are supposed to do.”

The Hornets would not get closer than seven the rest of the way as Upperman secured another trip to the semifinals.

“You’ve got to be able to adjust to whatever’s out there,” said McWilliams on the game’s physicality. “We’ve played a little bit of every kind of style. It is what it is, but I felt like our guys finally got adjusted to how the game was being handled and I think our time in the weight room helped us.”

Cobb led the Bees with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists. Johnson added 12 points and seven rebounds. Torrence scored seven points. Bush tallied six while Joseph Maynard scored four and Dreden Allen scored two.

The Bees will take on the winner of Fulton and Portland in the state semifinals. Tipoff is set for 12:45 p.m. and will be audio broadcast by UCR presented by Gentry’s Power Equipment.