Blaze, Lions look to clinch state tourney berths Tuesday

MURFREESBORO – It’s a one-game season for the Blackman and Cannon County boys basketball teams.

For either to play again after Tuesday night, they must win their respective TSSAA sectional.

Third-ranked Blackman (23-5) hosts Bradley Central (22-9) in the Furnace. It marks the third sectional appearance in four seasons for Bradley Central and fourth straight for the Blaze.

All boys sectional games are slated for 7 p.m. local time.

Blackman, which is the defending Class AAA state champions, is 3-0 in its past three sectionals, including a 38-36 win over Bradley in 2012 to start the streak. Bradley Central is 0-2 with a sectional loss to Siegel in 2013.

“They’re a program, not a team,” Blackman fifth-year coach Barry Wortman said of Bradley. “They feel like they belong in these games. No doubt, they’ll come up here not hoping to win, but expecting to win.”

The Blackman backcourt of point guard Isaiah Hart and shooting guard Cedriontis Wilson leads the Blaze offense. Wilson, a junior, is Blackman’s leading scorer at 12.5 points a game. Hart averages 12.4 points along with a team-high 4.7 assists and 2.9 steals.

Post player Christian DeWitt, a junior, averages 9.2 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds.

Bradley Central, under coach Chuck Clark, is led by Cole Copeland, whose family has a long tradition of talented basketball players at the Chattanooga area school.

“They are a very typical Bradley Central school,” Wortman said. “They play really, really hard. And they are extremely well-coached. They’ve all played together since middle school. They have a great feel for the game and each other.

“(Copeland) is one of the better players we’ll face if not the best player.”

Wortman described the Bears as similar to Siegel or Brentwood in that they have a guard-heavy lineup and like to shoot from the 3-point line as well as drive to the basket.

While Wortman has been able to design a gameplan for Bradley Central, Cannon County coach Matt Rigsby didn’t find out who his team will play until Monday.

Tenth-ranked Cannon County (28-5) hosts Brainerd, the Region 3-AA runner-up. The Panthers lost 53-44 Chattanooga Central Monday night.

The two teams play at Robert A. Harris Gymnasium in Woodbury.

“That’s tough,” Rigsby said on prepping for his opponent. “I’m not going to lie. We have some knowledge of both teams, so we are not going into the dark. But you can’t prepare for both in one practice.”

Cannon County is playing in its first home sectional game in 30 years. That also marks the only season the Lions reached the TSSAA state tournament.

Rigsby said to compensate he plans on holding more of a practice today rather than a walk-through prior to their sectional game.

“That’s different than we normally would do, but our guys understand the importance of that,” Rigsby said.

Contact Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 or tkreager@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.

TODAY’S GAMES

(All games at 7 p.m.)

Bradley Central at Blackman*

Chattanooga Central-Brainerd loser at Cannon Co.**

*WGNS (1450-AM, 100.5-FM)

**WBRY (1540-AM, 96.7-FM)