Wildcats season comes to a close
Oak Ridge High School’s boys basketball team saw its 2023-24 season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion early last week.
The Wildcats (25-8) fell to Bearden 48-47 in the Region 2-4A Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at William Blount High School in Maryville.
Oak Ridge, the District 3-4A regular-season and postseason champion, trailed the Bulldogs by as many as 13 points in the contest before rallying to take a 47-45 lead late in the contest.
But the Wildcats lost when Bearden’s Justin Nordin buried a 3-point shot as time expired in the fourth quarter of the Region 2-4A tournament semifinals.
ORHS Coach Aaron Green said that his team had a defensive lapse on the final play, which was scored on an inbounds.
“I don’t know how it happened, but nobody was on Nordin,” Green said.
“And then, when he gets it, we had two guys run at him, like there’s one second left, and he runs around two guys, and hits a wide-open shot.
“We talked about staying in front, not fouling a jump shooter, just staying in front and make them shoot a hard, contested shot. We didn’t get matched up, which I don’t know how you do that.”
Green said that the loss with stick with him for quite a while.
“That’s one of the toughest ones I’ve had in my career, I can assure you that,” he said.
It was the final game for seniors Kaden Brightharp, Brandon Heyward and Pryce Davis.
Senior Brennen Scott, who hadn’t played since being diagnosed with a heart condition but remained with the team during the rest of the season, will also move on after graduation.
Brightharp finished with 12 points in his final game with the Wildcats.
Cooper Williams, a junior post player, led Oak Ridge with 13 points.
Junior Garrett Giles added 10.