Jay Kirk (2) and the Alcoa Tornadoes defeated Fayette-Ware in a Class 3A state quarterfinal at MTSU’s Murphy Center on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Parker/5Star Preps).
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Say this for the rims at the Murphy Center: they can take a beating.
The Alcoa Tornadoes hammered home copious amounts of dunks throughout the first half Wednesday of their Class 3A state quarterfinal en route to a 23-point lead at the break, and the fun continued into the second half, as well.
By game’s end, four Alcoa players had reached double figures and a matchup with a 26-win Fayette-Ware team that had plenty of experience had been turned into an all-out rout.
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Jamir Dean scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Jay Kirk had 16 points and nine boards, as Alcoa shot 50 percent from the floor in a 77-33 win in the Class 3A state quarterfinal round.
Condis Cherry added 17 points and Kamden Lanxter added 12.
But the rim-rocking dunks that Dean and Kirk showcased in the first half had the Murphy Center abuzz.
“The dunks, they bring us up. We get hyped when we play,” Dean said. “You sit in the (defensive) gaps, and it leads out to the dunks. Defense translates to the dunks.”
Alcoa (22-13) advanced to Friday’s semifinal round where it will face Tullahoma (28-4) at 2:15 p.m. Central time.
Tullahoma was the 2025 Class 3A state runner-up.
Alcoa was the runner-up in 2A but looking to make a run this week in its first-ever run through a 3A tournament.
The Tornadoes looked determined from the tip Wednesday.
Dean opened the scoring with a corner 3 in the first 20 seconds of the contest. Kirk added a dunk 15 seconds later.
Kirk’s second dunk gave Alcoa a 7-5 lead at the 5:41 mark of the first quarter. Dean added one 25 seconds later.
Alcoa never trailed and finished with nine total dunks.
Alcoa took an 18-10 lead into the second quarter, and Cherry buried two 3s in the opening minutes of the to burst the game wide open, 26-11.
Lanxter’s dunk made it 28-11. Dean and Kirk added poster dunks midway through the second quarter for a 32-11 lead.
The Tornadoes reached the break ahead 40-17.
Six different players scored in the first half for Alcoa.
“It makes me happy,” Dean said. “It’s not just one person. We do this for each other.”
Fayette-Ware reached the state tournament for a third consecutive season, having lost in the state semifinals last season in 3A.
However, Kylon Terry — a Mr. Basketball finalist from Fayette-Ware — has not been available of late for the Wildcats for disciplinary reasons. The sophomore guard was averaging 18 points per game.
Still, Fayette-Ware entered the tournament this week on a seven-game win streak.
“A lot of respect for Fayette-Ware. They’ve been down here a couple of years in a row,” Collins said. “They’re down here consistently. They’re a good program.
“Nothing changed in our game plan. We half-expected (Terry) to show up and play. We didn’t know, really, any different. And they haven’t missed a beat without him. If you look at their schedule and their success, I told our guys, ‘The game plan is not going to change.'”