Fayetteville High School’s basketball season came to an end in the quarterfinals of the Class-A TSSAA BlueCross State Tournament going down in a battle to Chattanooga Prep 57-49.
Though this year’s state appearance didn’t go the way of the Tigers they have made their mark in the program’s 12-year history with five district tournament championships; five regular season MVP’s Nick Hopkins 14/15,15/16, Floyd Williams 17/18, Julius Dixon 18/19, Brayden Hockett 21/22; five District 9A tournament MVP’s Julius Dixon 17/18, Jacious Clark 19/20, Brayden Hockett 20/21, Brayden Hockett 21/22, Isaiah Thomison 22/23; one region tournament championship; three sub-state games; two state tournament appearances; and one Class-A TSSAA Mr. Basketball winner, Nick Hopkins in 2016.
Against Chattanooga, it was a back-and-forth game that remained undecided until the final minutes. After trailing at the end of the third quarter 39-35, the Tigers got on a run sparked by Bryson Johnson who knocked down a pair of three-pointers. City had regained the lead 47-46 with 2:46 remaining in the game. But in the blink of an eye, FHS was tagged with a personal foul followed by a technical foul. The Sentinels took advantage of the opportunities taking the lead 50-47 with possession of the ball. It fueled a 9-2 run for Chattanooga in the final minutes who went 10 of 15 from the line in the final period.
By the end of the game, the Sentinels had made 28 trips to the line to 12 for the Tigers. Fayetteville won the battle on the boards 39-24 led by Isaiah Thomison with 15, but the turnover numbers went to Chattanooga 23-10.
Bryson Johnson led the scoring for the Tigers with 15 points; Isaiah Thomison had a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds; Samuel Willoughby, 8; Latral Brown, 5; Camaurionn Taylor, 3; Aljarea Johnson, 3; Teondre’ Love, 2; and Kentius Henderson, 2.
“It was a really intense ballgame,” Coach Chris Murdock said in the post-game press conference. “A very intense ball game and I thought our guys responded well to the adversity; we made runs when we needed to make runs but unfortunately we came up short in the end.
“Our kids play the right way,” he added. “Our players have a lot of character and discipline - they play the right way and I was proud of them today.
“The four-point swing in the fourth quarter changed the dynamics of the game. I got a technical and I still have no idea what I did - there was no explanation - there was no explanation on Camaurionn Taylor’s technical. There were a lot of swings in that game that could have been avoided on the biggest stage of high school basketball, but that’s the adversity I talked about we had to play through.
“Defensively I thought we played great,” Coach Murdock added. “We knew we had to stop 30 (Derrick Roberson); we were active and rebounded well. Offensively, we turned the ball over too many times; we needed to be better.
“I felt like this was a state tournament team, but they had to come together,” Murdock continued in the interview. “We have a lot of two-way athletes playing football so deep in their season it took a while. I think we came together during the Giles County game. We got beat that game but we identified ourselves of who we are and what we wanted to be. I think our schedule and senior leadership prepared us.
“From day one we talked about our destination was Murfreesboro,” Coach Murdock said, later reflecting on the season. “And that we would have to climb a ladder to get there one game at a time. We knew the closer that we got to Murfreesboro the climb will get harder each game.
“We reached our destination this season, but unfortunately fell short of the ultimate goal and winning a gold ball. Along the journey, we grew together, spent a lot of time together, and what I’ll miss the most about this team is the family bond we created. We had a great group of seniors, Isaiah Thomison, Aljarea Johnson, Camaurionn Taylor, and Bryson Johnson, who set the standard, and we feel good about our future going into next season.
“There are so many people who need to be thanked for this to happen,” he continued. They include:
• The Tiger Nation for supporting the team night in and night out. We thrived off your energy all season and to hear the roar of the crowd at the Murphy Center will be a memory we will never forget.
• Our administration for allowing us to coach at a high level and supporting us along the way.
• Coach Fitzgerald Hopkins and Coach Kadijon brought energy and invested so much time as mentors helped make it all possible.
• Tammy Mitchell and Kasey Sheridan took care of scorebook and clock duties all season.
• And of course my wife Jennifer. “Being a coach’s wife is not an easy job,” Coach Murdock said. “There are a lot of hours involved. She does so much behind the scenes with all the planning and making sure the team has everything they need. I’m very thankful for her.”
