Middle College comes up short in first TSSAA boys basketball state tournament appearance

MURFREESBORO – Middle College senior guard Patrick Mask Jr. stood just in front of the logo at MTSU’s Murphy Center on Wednesday night with his jersey over his head.  

Mask, emotional after a 49-40 overtime loss to Gordonsville, did all he could for Middle College to force overtime, let alone a chance to win in their first TSSAA basketball state tournament appearance.

"Nobody expected us to be here,” said Middle College coach Patrick Mask Sr., the younger Mask's father. “We made it to the state (tournament). We came up a little short, but that’s a growing process for us.” 

Though the day started with excitement as the Bulldogs (24-10) played in Murfreesboro for the first time in program history, game time provided a mix of emotions.  

A slow-moving game, coupled with stale offense put the Bulldogs at a 24-9 deficit at one point in the third quarter. Middle College managed to fight back into the game. At the helm of the comeback was the younger Mask.  

"I encouraged my team to keep fighting,” said Mask Jr. of willing the Bulldogs back into the game. “... I told them we are good. We’ve been in this situation before and we just came up short this time.” 

He went on an 8-0 run himself with four minutes left in the third quarter to cut a once 14-point deficit to six. Then senior Cruz Arnold made two more free throws to make it four points. After Gordonsville took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter, it was Mask swishing a 3-pointer at the top of the key, drawing a foul and converting the free throw for the rare, four-point play. It helped the Bulldogs force overtime.  

As good as Mask was, it was also the team’s defensive mentality that frazzled Gordonsville during that run.  

"Track meet,” Mask Sr. said was the message to his team before the run. “And track meet means just keep working hard, keep running. Because sooner or later we’re going to wear them down.” 

But in the end, Middle College got beat at its own game.  

"I think we built ourselves a bigger hole than we (meant) to do and I think the moment caught us too,” Mask Sr. said. “... With us battling back, going into that overtime ... I think we got winded today.”

2024 STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKETS:TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2024 brackets

And that’s nothing for the Bulldogs to hang their heads about, according to their coach. The Bulldogs weren’t even expected to reach the state tournament after falling to the No. 3 seed in District 15-1A.  

They weren’t expected to win a region championship or stun Humbolt in the sectional round either.  

Yet, they made the most out of the opportunity to make history. And that’s something Mask, Arnold and the rest of the senior class will take away in their first trip to the state tournament. 

"It’s always going to be another opportunity to open up, you just got to keep putting (God) first,” Mask Jr. said of what he’s taking away from his final high school game. “When you put God first, good things always come.” 

Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @wynstonw__.