La Vergne boys use late run to sweep Oakland
MURFREESBORO – Oakland’s offense sputtered just as La Vergne stepped on the gas Tuesday night at Randy King Gymnasium.
La Vergne defeated Oakland 47-38 to complete a District 7-AAA regular season boys sweep and keep it in position for a top-4 spot in the league standings.
“I thought all night long we got good looks,” Oakland boys coach Mike Wright said. “I thought we could have been up 12 or 14 points if we didn’t miss some layups. And it just continued all night long.”
Jarrell Reeves’ three-point play with 7:35 left gave Oakland a 38-36 lead.
But La Vergne (14-10, 4-4 in 7-AAA) took over from there, grinding out bucket after bucket as Oakland’s shots continuously clanked off the rim.
Darius Sparks tied the game with a layup. Teammate Marquis Davis then buried a 3-pointer to make it 41-38 with 5:20 remaining. And the Wolverines were off to the races.
“I think that (La Vergne) team is closer to what we want to be,” La Vergne coach Jeremy Moore said. “We want to be gritty, tough, defensive-minded, rebounding team.
“We aren’t the biggest team in the district by any means. But, our kids really love to rebound. It’s important to them, and we are finally starting to get that into our game.”
Oakland (14-7, 4-5) went ice cold from everywhere — from 3-point shots to in the paint with post players Ricky Dunnaway and Reeves trying to put back rebounds.
Nothing fell in the net.
Sparks’ inside bucket pushed the lead to 43-38 with 4:43 left. Reid Harvey’s free throws made it 45-38 before Sparks ended the scoring with a pair of free throws.
“Coach was telling us in the huddle that we have to grab rebounds and be strong with the ball,” Sparks said. “We had to keep a tight grip on it.”
Davis led La Vergne with 14 points. Javel Gillespie had 10 and Sparks tallied nine. Cooper Baughn hit three 3-pointers to lead Oakland with nine points.
Girls
Oakland 57, La Vergne 23: Eastern Kentucky signee Abby Wright tallied 16 points to pace the fourth-ranked Lady Patriots (19-4, 6-3) over the Lady Wolverines (5-22, 0-8). Belmont signee Paris Lawson tallied 11 points and was honored after the game for surpassing the 1,000-point mark of her prep career. Shelby Gibson had 10.
Brianna Chapman led La Vergne with 11 points.
Contact Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 or tkreager@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.
Boys
La Vergne 47, Oakland 38
La Vergne 12 9 15 11 – 47
Oakland 13 9 12 3 – 38
La Vergne: Marquis Davis 14, Darius Sparks 9, O’Shea Benjamin 2, Reid Harvey 4, Javel Gillespie 10, Maleik Gray 8.
Oakland: Ricky Dunnaway 7, Cam Hughes 2, Jaleen Lyons 6, T.J. Steward 6, Jarrell Reeves 6, Cooper Baughn 9, Tre Jones 2.
Girls
Oakland 57, La Vergne 23
La Vergne 5 10 1 7 – 23
Oakland 20 10 19 8 – 57
La Vergne: Miesha Lane 8, Seana Morris 1, Brianna Chapman 11, Lexie Newman 3.
Oakland: Paris Lawson 11, Hannah Eaglen 1, Abby Wright 16, Ansley Eubank 5, Shelby Gibson 10, Aaliyah Patterson 6, Daija Boyd 6, Z. O’Neal 2.
TUESDAY’S SCORES
Girls
Upperman 43, Central Magnet 40
Riverdale 75, Stewarts Creek 62
Blackman 69, Smyrna 34
MTCS 54, Moore Co. 53
Oakland 57, La Vergne 23
Huntland 41, Eagleville 36
Cannon Co. 78, York Institute 29
Boys
La Vergne 47, Oakland 38
Stewarts Creek 72, Riverdale 58
Blackman 57, Smyrna 42
Cannon Co. 80, York Institute 64
MTCS 46, Moore Co. 26