History was made Tuesday night in Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center as the Stone Memorial Panthers defeated Bolton in the Class AAA state tournament quarterfinals, 77-64.

“We knew that Bolton was going to really try and speed up the tempo,” said SMHS head coach Neil Capps. “I’m really excited for my guys. It was very physical and gritty.”

Leading Stone Memorial in the state tournament victory was the trio of Cade Capps, Matthew Bilbrey and Dylan Whittenburg.

Capps poured in 24 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, followed by Bilbrey with 23 points and nine boards.

Whittenburg, a senior, posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

“He’s one of our seniors and has had a fantastic senior campaign,” coach Capps said. “That’s just what he does. For him to go in and pull 12 big boards was huge. One of our keys was win the battle of the boards.”

Despite Bolton’s losing record entering the tournament, defeating them was no easy task.

“We knew they were big,” Bilbrey said. “They sped us up, and we had to get used to it. I’m super excited to be here. We were counted out to begin the year. Now we’re out here in the final four.”

It was Bolton who jumped out to an early 10-2 lead with 4:26 left in the opening period.

“I think we finally got over the excitement and the overwhelming effect of being at the state tournament for the first time,” Capps said. “We settled down and played basketball.”

Settle in they did as the Panthers clawed back to take a 15-13 lead on a Whittenburg layup with 1:11 left in the first period.

SMHS held a 17-15 lead after one period, but Bolton hung around to lead 31-30 at halftime.

Halftime adjustments for the Panthers were effective, as they dominated the third quarter to jump out to a 41-33 lead with 5:14 left in the period. Stone Memorial outscored Bolton 28-11 in the third quarter and held a 58-42 advantage over the Wildcats.

With their season on the line, Bolton stormed back to bring the game within two possessions (65-60) with 3:41 remaining.

“We just kind of lost focus,” Capps said. “We had to go back to what got us there initially. We started taking care of the basketball and attacking better.”

From that point, the Panthers closed the game on a 12-4 run to win by a final score of 77-64. Stone Memorial finished the game 19-23 from the free-throw line.

“In every game, especially in the state tournament, it’s important to get those freebies with nobody guarding you,” Capps said. “We’re about 76% on the year as a team from the free-throw line. You can really demoralize a team when you knock down free throws late.”

The Tuesday win gave the Panthers two days to prepare for the final four.

“We’re going to enjoy it a little while, but we play a really good team on Friday,” Cade Capps said.

A good team indeed as SMHS will face defending state champion Greeneville Friday morning at 10.

“Greeneville does things right and they’ve got a great culture over there,” Capps said. “They’re really good and play the right way. They’re senior-led, and we’re really young. We’re excited for the opportunity.”

Live updates on Friday’s game will be available on Twitter at @CrossvilleNews with postgame coverage immediately afterward at www.crossville-chronicle.com.

Stone Memorial (77): Cade Capps 24, Matthew Bilbrey 23, Dylan Whittenburg 11, Preston Mayberry 8, Blake Holt 5, Jayden Eldridge 4, Brady Lane 2

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