Wildcats tame Bobcats
Oak Ridge redeemed in 77-33 victory
Ray’Quan Watson (11) had nine first half points in the Wild- cats first semi-final round of the District 3-4A tournament. Oak Ridge had a first-round bye in the tournament. The top-seeded Wildcats played Powell in the championship game Tuesday night. The score was unavailable at press- time. (photo:Tony Cox )
if they really needed them.
Last season, Knox Central upset the top-seeded Wildcats in the District 3-4A Tournament semifinals at Powell, forcing them to play for third place and go on the road for the Region 2-4A Tournament.
Neither Green nor his team wanted to see a repeat performance in Fountain City Friday night.
They made sure it didn’t happen that way.
“Every team and every year is different and that really doesn’t affect this year,” Green said. “This one was different because it was on their home floor, but I’d be lying to you if I told you that we didn’t talk about it.”
Green must have had plenty to say leading up to the postseason rematch against the host Bobcats; and Oak Ridge’s players must have paid plenty of attention to their coach’s admonitions.
At least it appeared that way as the Wildcats dismantled fourth-seeded Central, 79-33, in Fountain City.
Oak Ridge opened a 26-11 lead by the end of the opening quarter as Garrett Giles came out blazing from beyond the 3-point arc, knocking down three early long-range jumper to give the Wildcats a 9-0 lead before Bobcats’ coach Marcus Huie called timeout just over two minutes into the
contest.
From there, it didn’t take long for the rest of the Wildcats to join in on the scoring parade. Cooper Williams finished the first quarter with eight points and Ray’Quan Watson had five in the opening frame to all but put things away.
Oak Ridge continued to build upon its advantage in the second stanza. The Wildcats never let up. They led 49-19 at halftime and opened a 66-30 advantage by the end of the third quarter.
“This was probably the best game that we’ve played all year,” Green said. “We shot it really well.
“Garrett Giles made three in a row and that really set the tone for the game. That set us off and kind of got us going.”
Giles scored 21 of his 24 points before halftime. Watson scored all nine of his points in the first half and Williams, who finished with 11, scored eight in the opening frame for the Wildcats (23-7), who played Powell for the tournament championship Tuesday night. Results were unavailable at press time.
The Wildcats and the Panthers will be home Saturday to open the Region 2-4A Tournament. The Central Bobcats and Karns Beavers played for third-place Tuesday and will be on the road to open regionals this weekend.
