MTCS boys eye return trip, deeper run at state basketball tournament
They've been there and done that.
Now the Middle Tennessee Christian School boys basketball team is hoping to get there again and stay a little longer.
After reaching the TSSAA state basketball for the first time in school history last season, the seventh-ranked Cougars (24-4) have their sights set on a return trip to MTSU's Murphy Center.
Behind the three-headed scoring monster of Barr Ellenburg, Nate Howell and Kavan Hill, MTCS not only has expectations of getting back to the state, but making a deeper run than last year's state quarterfinals loss.
"Now we know (what to expect), said Hill, a 6-foot-3 senior guard. "After last year, me and Barr got together and talked about getting back. We come to practice and get better every day. We only focus on who we are going to play next."
MTCS will play at home Saturday against East Robertson in the Region 5-A quarterfinals at 7 p.m.
Ellenburg, a 6-4 senior wing, and Howell, a 6-foot junior guard, are both averaging more than 17 points a game while Hill checks in at around 14.5 points a contest.
All three can push the ball up the floor and shoot from the outside, making the Cougars a tough team to defend.
"I think we share the ball a little better this year," said Ellenburg, who along with Hill are the only two starters back from last year's state tournament run. Howell was the first player off the bench last year. "We're a little faster, we push the ball better and we shoot a little better. It makes us more potent. We have a lot of weapons."
The quest to return to the state began immediately after last year's 55-41 loss to Memphis Mitchell in the Class A quarterfinals.
Cougar coach Jason Piercey said leadership with a revamped lineup was never an issue.
"The good thing about these guys is that they have been around each other a long time," Piercey said. "And they've been around me a long time. They know our expectations here and what we preach."
The three have scored in double figures in the same game 18 times this season. Howell has a season-high of 33 and has topped the 30-point mark three times, including 32 in the District 9-A Tournament title game earlier in the week. Ellenburg has a high of 32 and has reached 30 twice. Hill has also reached the 30-point mark in a game.
"We go at a fast pace," said Howell. "Kavan does a good job driving to the basket and he can pitch out to me or Barr. It's hard to stop us when all of us are hitting. Then you have Steven (Turnham), who can hit 3s. We like to push it up and down and go 110 miles per hour."
MTCS has prepared for a run to the state with a tough regular-season schedule that included No. 2-ranked Goodpasture (one of the four losses). The Cougars have split with sixth-ranked Watertown while also having played a 21-8 Cascade squad, a 21-10 East Hamilton team and a Franklin County squad that is in the Region 4-AAA Tournament.
"We're scheduling better teams, and that's helped us," Hill said. "It will make us better in the long run."
"Once we get (to state) we know we can beat teams like that," added Howell.
But first things's first. Getting two wins in the region and locking up a sectional berth is priority No. 1.
"We just have to stay focused," Ellenburg said. "Saturday's game is the only one we see (ahead)."
Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.