St. George's loses to Franklin Rd in Division 2-A boys state
NASHVILLE — Franklin Road Academy has one more job to do. St. George's, meanwhile, is facing a rebuilding job.
The Gryphons said good-bye to their talented senior class one game earlier than they wished Friday, losing to the Panthers 73-55 in the semifinals of the Division 2-A boys state tournament at Allen Arena. FRA (25-10) will take on Lausanne for the championship after the Lynx eliminated Harding Academy earlier in the day.
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"We've got such a good group of seniors," said Gryphons coach Jeff Ruffin. "They've meant so much to our program. They've sustained the level of success that we've had.
"They're so good that maybe that put too much pressure on themselves. I don't know, I'm not a therapist. We tried to do some things and they took us out of what we were trying to do."
It was the final game for the Gryphons' core trio of Chase Hayden, Corey Jones and Noah Pope. Hayden — who is up for his second consecutive Mr. Basketball award Tuesday in Murfreesboro — led the Gryphons with 18 but converted only 7 of his 25 shots. Pope finished with 16 while Jones had a team-high nine rebounds.
All three will play football in college next season, and St. George's biggest challenge against FRA was trying to slow Jack Doherty, who has the size of an offensive lineman and the nimble moves of a running back.
Doherty scored 22 points on 9 of 14 shooting while Tyler Roop chipped in with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
"We were letting him set up too low," said Hayden.
The Gryphons (23-9) protected the ball well, committing just seven turnovers. But they shot 32.7 percent from the floor (2 of 13 on 3s) and missed 20 free throws.
"We didn't execute at our normal level," said Ruffin. "But FRA deserves the credit."
The Panthers are back in the state championship game for the second year in a row. Last season was memorable and not in a good way as they blew a 31-point third quarter lead and lost to Harding.
"We've got some unfinished business," said Doherty. "I think people have doubted us all year long. There may be teams that have more skill than us, but no team has more heart than us."
Reach John Varlas at john.varlas@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @johnvarlas
