David Crockett’s Brody McGuire (2) goes up for a layup in front of Ridgeway’s Joshua Thornton (14) during Thursday’s TSSAA Class 3A quarterfinal game at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.
David Crockett’s Drake Shingledecker (24) takes off with the ball after getting the steal from Ridgeway’s Brian Carter Jr. (1) during Thursday’s state quarterfinal.
David Crockett’s Brody McGuire (2) goes up for a layup in front of Ridgeway’s Joshua Thornton (14) during Thursday’s TSSAA Class 3A quarterfinal game at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.
David Crockett’s Drake Shingledecker (24) takes off with the ball after getting the steal from Ridgeway’s Brian Carter Jr. (1) during Thursday’s state quarterfinal.
MURFREESBORO — Ridgeway’s size didn’t bother the David Crockett boys basketball team nearly as much as turnovers did.
The resulting transition baskets in the second quarter gave Ridgeway a comfortable lead, and the Pioneers couldn’t catch up. Crockett’s historic season came to an end in the BlueCross Basketball Championships with Thursday’s 62-39 loss at the Murphy Center in the TSSAA Class 3A quarterfinals.
The win gave Ridgeway (26-5) its second straight berth in the state semis, but the second trip to Murfreesboro in Crockett program history came to a close.
This season also saw the Pioneers win their first region title.
“Obviously didn’t come out the way we wanted but at the end of the day, these guys are special,” Crockett coach Cody Connell said. “They’ll go down as a special group.
“Couldn’t ask them to do anything different. They played phenomenal all season.”
And the Pioneers (28-7) didn’t fold by any means.
Bradley Gouge tried to rally Crockett in the third quarter, scoring eight of his 10 points after a scoreless first half. In fact, the Pioneers got within 40-30 with less than a minute until the fourth quarter.
Gouge knocked down four short jumpers, two in the paint, and nearly completed a double- double with his nine rebounds.
“We knew we had to come out and fight,” Gouge said. “We were just running a dribble drive, and I just got to my spot that I work on pretty much every day. And it kept falling.”
RIDGEWAY PULLS AWAY
The Roadrunners responded with eight straight points, taking a 48-30 lead on Emanuel Allen’s fast-break layup. Brian Carter Jr. capped his 23-point night with a short jumper for a 62-37 lead. Carter and Allen, who scored 12 points, both grabbed 10 rebounds for double-doubles. Marlon McShane added 15 points.
“We had to settle down in our offense,” Ridgeway coach Curtis Wooten said. “We didn’t see much zone throughout the year. Even if teams played zone, we’d pull them out of it. We had to get comfortable with a team that was going to stay with it. Once they switched to a 1-3-1, we had to make an adjustment on our end.”
Kayin Mitchell and McShane hit from 3-point range to help Ridgeway string together a 17-4 run to end the first half. Layups by Allen and McShane made it 31-16 at the break.
The Roadrunners dominated in fast-break points (18-4), points in the paint (40-18) and points off turnovers (19-9). They shot 56.3% (27-for-48) from the field to just 14-for-46 (30.4%) for Crockett.
RUNNING WITH THE ‘RUNNERS
Brody McGuire sparked the Crockett offense with five straight points in the first quarter. After knocking down a 3, his fast-break layup gave Crockett its only lead at 5-4. Drake Shingledecker’s triple kept the deficit at 12-10 after the opening frame.
McGuire scored 12 points with a pair of 3s. Reagan Cash grabbed nine rebounds and scored six points for the Pioneers.
“I got used to (playing point guard in high school) a lot faster than I thought I would,” McGuire said. “I think that’s just a lot because of the seniors we have now, Colin (Beason) and Drake. They took me under their wing last year.”
Stephen Hensley’s runner cut Ridgeway’s lead to two points, 14-12, in the second before the Roadrunners responded.
Shingledecker, Beason and Jake Fox played their last basketball game for Crockett.
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners face Upperman or Hume-Fogg in Friday’s 3A semifinal round.
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