Maryville making TSSAA boys basketball tournament with 4 sophomore starters achieves goal despite loss

MURFREESBORO — Maryville's Jonathan Woodlee used a ball screen to find space near the free-throw line for a jumper in Wednesday's Class 4A TSSAA boys basketball tournament quarterfinals.

The 6-foot-1 sophomore swished the shot to give Maryville a one-point lead with seven seconds left in the second quarter. Cookeville’s Colin Ayers sped down the court and drilled a left-wing 3-pointer to give his team a two-point lead at halftime. 

That sequence epitomizes how Cookeville continuously responded to any positive play made by Maryville. 

Cookeville beat Maryville 70-60 at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center. 

Sophomore Brayden Hazelbaker had a game-high 20 points and three steals for Maryville (26-8). Woodlee had 15 points and two steals. 

For Cookeville (31-3), Ayers scored 19 points and Jaren Davis finished with 12. The Cavilers made 60% of their 42 field goal attempts and went 11-of-13 from the free-throw line. 

The Rebels were gloomy following the disappointing end of their season, their first year reaching the state tournament since 2020. However, Maryville coach Wes Lambert understood that this season wasn't a failure. 

“Our goal from the get-go was, ‘We want to get to Murfreesboro, we want this young team to have a taste of what it's like to be here,’” Lambert said. “Obviously, we wish we could keep playing. But with our youth, this was the goal this year.” 

Maryville graduates two senior centers: 6-foot-9 Alex Akard, who had 11 points and fouled out with 2:01 left, and 6-foot-6 Lucas Garman. Four of the team’s starters are sophomores. 

Two of the Rebels' young core agreed with their coach, saying that arriving in Murfreesboro is a success in itself and that they are just as determined to claw back in 2025. 

“It’s pretty nice,” Woodlee said on having an early tournament appearance. “Hopefully in the future, we can come back and win.”

“I think getting a taste of it this year really set us up and we'll know what's going on when we make it back,” Hazelbaker said. 

Maryville will return a crucial frontcourt player in 6-foot-7 sophomore Luke Sigmund, who played a handful of games after tearing his ACL at the start of the season.

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Akard said that even with the loss in the quarterfinals, he’s proud of how far this year’s team has come. He also said that he’s confident about this team’s chances of redemption. 

“I think I'm leaving Maryville in a good place,” Akard said. “All the sophomores that are coming up,  think we have (a) good freshman, Will Jones, and I think they can definitely get back here to state. And I'll come watch them.”

Toyloy Brown III is a Knox News sports reporter. Email toyloy.brown@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter, @TJ3rd_.