Middleton basketball lets late lead slip away in TSSAA state title game loss to Hampton
Jacob ShamesMURFREESBORO − The drive from Middleton to Hampton takes over seven hours. Middleton sits in the heart of the Tennessee Delta; Hampton is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Middleton High School's teams wear black and orange; Hampton's wear white and blue.
The two towns don't have much in common — except on the basketball court.
Middleton came into Saturday's TSSAA Class 1A state title game led by Mr. Basketball winner RJ Robinson. Hampton was led by Cadon Buckles, a finalist for the award. The Tigers were anchored down low by 6-foot-5 post Dantez Young; the Bulldogs featured 6-7 Hayden Mitchell. Both Middleton and Hampton relied heavily on full-court pressure to force turnovers and create easy scoring chances.
Predictably, the clash between similar styles came down to the wire — where, according to Middleton coach James Burkley, things can simply go either way. And on Saturday, they went Hampton's way.
Hampton (29-8) claimed its first state championship since 1960, outscoring Middleton 16-2 down the stretch to win 51-43.
"You have to tip your hat to Hampton," Burkley said. "They made a few more plays down the stretch."
Added Hampton coach Ned Smith: "The momentum changed at the right time for us."
The Tigers (30-2) trailed much of the game until their full-court defense kicked up a gear, which Bunkley thought forced Hampton to panic a little. The Bulldogs committed five turnovers in the final three minutes of the third quarter, and Middleton took advantage with a 10-0 run to take a two-point lead.
Middleton grew its advantage to six with four minutes to play. Then, Hampton's own pressure took hold.
Between the 4:17 and 1:51 mark of the fourth quarter, the Tigers coughed it up four times, leading to 11 straight points by the Bulldogs and capped off by a dagger 3-pointer by Chance Point.
Down the stretch, Hampton did to Middleton what the Bulldogs had done to teams all season long.
"They showed a full-court press and mixed in a 2-2-1," Burkley said. "... We just turned a couple balls over there at the wrong time."
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The Tigers will graduate five seniors, including Robinson, who finished his high school career with 14 points and eight rebounds. But they'll have a few key returners and plenty of motivation to get back to the Murphy Center.
"Some of the guys, Kievian Allen and (Taquinis) Mitchell and Tamarcus (Smith), guys that got quite a few minutes this year, something like this right here put a bitter taste in their mouth," Burkley said. "... We have a history of bouncing back."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.