MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – It all began a year ago when the Chattanooga Prep Sentinels qualified for the Bluecross Basketball Championships for the first time in only their third year in existence.
They won their first game before losing in the semifinals. Those players made a vow to take it to the next level and they were able to do that here at MTSU’s Murphy Center Saturday afternoon with an impressive 64-41 victory over the Frank Hughes Lions.
The Sentinels finish an unforgettable season at 27-6 while the Lions ended the year at 26-10.
The Lions are a success story of their own as they are one of the smallest public high schools in Tennessee with less than 100 students grades 9-12. And while Frank Hughes is really small, the city of Clifton isn't very big either, but everyone this side of the Mississippi River showed up to support their team and without question, offered the biggest standing ovation for their team when they went to receive the Silver ball signifying their runner-up finish.
Christoffer Collins was the head coach for the Sentinels last year, but turned the responsibility over to his twin brother Christian. It was a challenging season at times to be sure, but the season ended on a most positive note and the newest head coach was somewhat emotional in the post-game media interview.
“I really didn’t want to be the head coach at the start as I didn’t think I was capable of doing the job, but anything is possible in God’s world. This is a very special moment for me, my team, my twin brother and the entire city of Chattanooga,” he said after the final point had been scored.
“We had a lot of challenges this season and we lost some games where we had a big lead, but we didn’t get complacent today. It’s amazing what we just achieved, something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.
“We had to make some adjustments at the half, but I’m overly pleased with how we played as we got that gold ball. Now we just want to enjoy this moment, but I just want to go home and rest for a few days,” he added with a smile.
The Lions haven’t been to a state basketball tournament in the last 40 years and they had an incredible run before falling short in the finals. Coach Chad Love could only smile when asked about the season his team had.
“We did something that had never been done before at our school and a week to remember forever,” he began.
“It’s been a physical week, but not any more so than the game we just played. We battled and battled and battled, but just couldn’t get anything to fall. All of Clifton was here today, but they’ve been totally supportive all season. And I can’t any more proud of my team and all they accomplished this year,” he added.
Chances are good that nobody expected Frank Hughes to advance this far, much less win two games. The Lions had a nice run with wins over Jellico (77-62) and Gordonsville (48-43) in the first two rounds, but they had no answers for the young Sentinels, who were basically too tall, too quick, too athletic and too hungry.
In a nutshell, Chattanooga Prep was just a better basketball team and it showed as the game progressed.
Derrick Roberson scored Prep’s first bucket before Devin Dicus knotted the score at 2-2 some 20 seconds later. Roberson then scored six straight points as the Sentinels built an 8-2 lead as the Lions never caught up.
The lead was 15-12 when the first quarter ended. Alex Ronchetti scored on a left-handed layup to start the second quarter to get the Lions within a point, but the Sentinels then scored 10 straight points for their biggest lead of the half at 25-14 following a putback by Jaydan Parker.
The Lions then scored the last four points in the last minute to trail by seven at 25-18 when the halftime horn sounded.
The Sentinels totally blew the game open in the third quarter.
Austin Jones got things started with a 3 from the wing and Roberson followed with a layup to put Prep up 30-18 with 7:10 left in the third. A bucket from Ronchetti with 4:15 showing got Frank Hughes within eight at 32-24.
By the time Aiden Dicus scored about three minutes later, the Sentinels had scored 13 unanswered points and the game was all but over with one quarter remaining.
The difference was 49-28 when the third stanza ended while Prep’s biggest lead came at 63-35 late in the game following bucket by Joel Bulis.
Roberson had a great game and finished with a double-double, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, so he was a natural to be named tournament MVP.
Gaines was also in double figures with 11 while Aiden Dicus scored 16 points to lead the Lions. Ronchetti was also in double figures with a dozen.
Championship Summary
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FRANK HUGHES
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12
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6
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10
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13
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--41
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CHATTANOOGA PREP
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15
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10
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24
|
15
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--64
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FRANK HUGHES (41) – W. Lineberry 2, D. Dicus 8, Tuck, Aiden Dicus 16, Alex Ronchetti 12, Simmons 1, Billman, Mangrum, Culp, McClain, N. Lineberry, Staggs 2.
CHATTANOOGA PREP (64) – Williams 5, Jones 3, Eli Gaines 11, Randolph 2, Derrick Roberson 25, Sutton 1, Collins 5, Turnbow, Pillows, Parker 5, Koon 4, Bulis 3, Birt.
3-POINT GOALS: Frank Hughes none; Chatt Prep 8 (Williams. Jones, Gaines 3, Roberson 2, Collins).
FREE THROWS: Frank Hughes 5-of-13; Chatt Prep 12-of-18.
CLASS A ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Auden Slaughter (Santa Fe); Eli Adams and Brodie sykes (Gordonsville); Aiden Dicus, Alex Ronchetti and Weston Lineberry (Frank Hughes) and Austin Jones, Joel Bulis, Eli Gaines and MVP Derrick Roberson (Chattanooga Prep).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)