’Cats advance in region play; traveled to Karns Tuesday
Oak Ridge junior Kadedn Brightharp takes on Hardn Valley’s indide defense Saturday night. The Wildcats won by 20 to adavnce in Region 2-4A. (photo:Barry Houchin Photography )
The Wildcats, who won the District 3-4A regular-season championship, were upset in by Knoxville Central in the postseason tournament semifinals in overtime.
That left the young team at a crossroads.
And Oak Ridge bounced back to rout Knoxville’s West High in the consolation game on Tuesday, Feb 21.
But the third-place finish meant the Wildcats would open the Region 2-4A Tournament on the road.
ORHS (24-5) dispatched Hardin Valley Academy, one of the most-improved teams in the area, 71-51 Saturday night in Northwest Knox County. The win ended the best season in the Hawks’ history.
“This is one of the best games that we’ve played all year,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. “We’ve got a really good group of kids, and they’re competitors like I am. And they responded.
“When you have a loss like we did against Central, it can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. For our guys, it was a good thing. They responded.”
The Wildcats closed out district tournament play with a 73-36 victory over the Rebels, who handed Oak Ridge its lone regular-season district loss.
Oak Ridge’s postseason dominance continued against the Hawks before a packed house at HVA. The Wildcats opened a 12-2 lead and never trailed in the region quarterfinals.
The Wildcats held a 19-15 advantage at the end of the opening quarter and extended their lead to 35-28 by halftime against HVA, which set a school record with 23 wins and hosted a Region 2-4A game for the first time.
After the break, Green employed a full-court press and watched his team execute it to near perfection as the Hawks (23-10) committed five third-quarter turnovers and went just one-for-13 from the floor in the frame.
Offensively, Oak Ridge boasted a balanced and potent attack as it had four players post double figures in the scoring column.
Hardin Valley had no answers for Oak Ridge sophomore post player Cooper Williams, who finished with a game-high 20 points.
“I thought we could have an advantage with Cooper if we could get the ball inside, and the guards did a good job getting the ball down there to him,” Green said.
Williams answered the call as he went 8-for-9 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
And the 6-foot-5 center got plenty of help from his supporting cast as Kaden Brightharp had 16 points. Ray’Quan Watson added 14 and Brennen Scott finished with 14. Grayson Strader, a senior wing player, had six points.
“I thought we were really balanced,” Green said. “We had four guys in double figures, and Grayson Strader, who’s been one of our leading scorers all year, didn’t score a lot, but he rebounded and played well.
“We defended at a high level and we were aggressive offensively.”
The Hawks had three players in double figures as senior guard Amadou Seck scored 11. A.J. Gray and Jack Smith scored 10 each.
Oak Ridge was set to travel to Karns for an elimination semifinal game Tuesday. Results were not available.
The Wildcats won a pair of regular-season contests against the Beavers.