Why Ridgeway boys basketball remains optimistic despite semifinal loss to Haywood

MURFREESBORO – Brian Carter walked off the court teary-eyed and disappointed. His head was nearly buried in his jersey. Christopher Shields had to be helped off the court because he was so emotional after the 57-51 loss to Haywood.  

Ridgeway stormed into the 3A semifinals during the TSSAA BlueCross Boys Basketball State Championships. But it didn’t get the ending it wanted. 

Instead, the Roadrunners (18-13) were given a loss to Haywood (30-5) with a heartbreaker for their final game. The Tomcats play Fulton at 11 a.m. Saturday for the Class 3A state title.  

"We knew it was going to be a close game,” Ridgeway coach Curtis Wooten said. “I felt that we could have pulled away if we played a little better defensively and offensively as well. That’s just how the way the game goes sometimes.” 

Though it was a frustrating end to the season, the Roadrunners were still able to be optimistic about this year and the future of Ridgeway basketball.  

POWER CENTER STUNNED IN QUARTERFINALS:'You win some, you lose some': Power Center Academy's season ends in TSSAA quarterfinals

UNIQUE HALFTIME ROUTINE:Why Ridgeway boys basketball doesn't go to the locker room at halftime

ALL ABOUT THE SHOES:Douglass basketball wears LaMelo Ball shoes in TSSAA state tournament win: 'You look good; you play good'

Carter, a junior, transferred to Ridgeway from Houston before the school year having not played a varsity basketball game. He ended up being the Roadrunners’ leading scorer in the season and had 14 points in the final game.  

“Coming in I had a chip on my shoulder,” Carter said. “... All the things I heard, it was motivation and for us to get to this point man, it was great.”

He added athleticism with his euro-step dunks in transition and provided a security blanket for an offense that is inside heavy and not great from beyond the three-point arc. His determination in the Roadrunners’ two games during the 2023 state tournament only made Ridgeway better when they needed a spark.  

Emmanuel Allen, a junior center for Ridgeway, showed development as well.  

Allen learned to stretch his game to the midrange, knocking down significant shots to keep the Roadrunners in reach of Haywood. He finished with a team-high 22 points in the semifinals loss.  

“I knew he was going to have to have that jumper for games like this,” Wooten said. “... We now know what extra skills they’re going to need in game’s like this.” 

But in the end, Haywood’s Janerus Snipe, who finished with a game-high 23 points, was too much. Tylon Chatman, who finished with 20 and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line was too much.  

The young Ridgeway team, however, matured in just the two games it played in Murfreesboro. Haywood coach Rodney Chatman said he didn’t even show his team the game film from Ridgeway’s quarterfinal win over Chester County.  

"I wanted to watch it and I started looking and I said, ‘That’s not that team,’” said Rodney Chatman.  

And he was right. The Ridgeway team he expected to show up, tested his team until the final whistle.  

Wooten was confident that his team would be back to Murfreesboro. Most of his players return next year and he said that same hunger they play with on defense, is the same hunger they’ll play with next season to make sure their season doesn’t end with a loss.  

"We do plan on coming back,” Wooten said. “There’s no buts about it.” 

Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on Twitter @wynstonw__.