The Fulton Falcons faced the Upperman Bees on Friday, March 20, 2026, in a Class 3A state semifinal at MTSU’s Murphy Center. (Photo by Danny Parker/5Star Preps)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — As the Fulton Falcons ran off the Murphy Center floor on Friday following a state semifinal win and then down into the tunnel towards their locker room, one player yelled: “They doubted us, Coach!”
No doubt that pre-tournament pundits likely picked Upperman to have a chance at repeating as Class 3A state champions this week.
The Bees featured two-time Mr. Basketball winner and a newly minted Gatorade State Player of the Year in junior guard Ty Cobb.
But Fulton blocked the Bees’ path Friday afternoon — and reserved a spot for itself instead in the state title game once again.
Cobb scored 33 points, but a more balanced Fulton offense prevailed in the 3A state semifinal, 54-51.
Six players for Fulton scored six or more points, led by Rejuan Womble’s 10 points. Fulton forced 18 turnovers, got 20 points off turnovers and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds for 12 second-chance points.
The Falcons (26-9) return to the championship round for a 12th time in program history and for a third time in the last four years. Fulton repeated as state champs in 2023 and 2024, giving them five overall state championships.
Fulton will take on either Alcoa (23-13) or Tullahoma (29-4) at 1:30 p.m. Central time on Saturday.
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HOW THE GAME
WAS WON
Fulton led 45-41 heading into the fourth quarter, as its lineup — namely, Albert Harris, came up with huge perimeter shots in the third to stay ahead of the Bees.
Cobb’s drive to the bucket at the midpoint of the fourth got Upperman to within one (47-46).
But Steen knocked in a jumper and Rejuan Womble took a charge on Upperman’s ensuing possession to give Fulton the ball with 2:30 to go, leading 49-46.
That same score held up for the next 1:30 of game clock.
Cobb turned the ball over during a drive into the lane with 1:00 to go.
Justin Burris got the foul line for Fulton at 50 seconds remaining. He made both for a Fulton 51-46 advantage.
Cobb answered though, making amends for his previous turnover with a 3 with 38 seconds to play.
Burris, back at the foul line with 37.9 left, made two more free throws to give Fulton a 53-49 cushion.
“We’re not here without Justin,” Wright said. “He’s got the ball. Justin has been solid. He’s been so solid taking care of the ball. Free throws. I trust him. He’s made good decisions.
“You’ve got to have a solid point guard down here. Justin was a wing. He became a starting point guard mid-January. I felt like we needed to make a move, and he’s grown so much.”
Cobb connected on two foul shots roughly six seconds later, keeping the Bees within striking distance of Fulton — if Fulton happened to make a mistake.
Womble found himself at the foul line with 29.8 second remaining. He made just 1 of 2 there.
Cobb got two contested 3-point looks but neither fell and Fulton finally got a defensive rebound to seal the win.
“It’s a sigh of relief,” said Fulton junior Nick Steen, who had eight points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
“He hit a big one from really far, I think, on the possession before. Seeing the ball go up, in those last seconds, both of them, we didn’t do our job in terms of boxing out — we got to get better at that. But it was a sigh of relief that we held on.”
SETTING THE STAGE
Fulton relished a dream start, darting out to a 14-4 lead in the first 6:30 contest. They forced seven Upperman turnovers in that span — and held Cobb scoreless.
Cobb got on the board with a pair of foul shots at the 1:07 mark of the first, sparking a personal 4-0 run by him that trimmed Fulton’s lead to 14-8 after the opening quarter.
Fulton stretched the lead to nine (21-12) in the opening minutes of the second quarter thanks to a transition bucket by Steen and a 3 by Rejuan Womble.
“We knew what we were going up against,” Wright said about Upperman. “They’ve been No. 1 for a reason. Very deserving of their stature. But I felt like we could play with them and that our defense would give us an opportunity.
“Any time you get a start in a game like that, it’s huge for you.”
The swelled to 10 near the midpoint of the second, but Cobb’s 3-point play knocked the margin down to 26-19.
And then he followed that with a deep 3 from the left wing to make it 26-22 game.
Cobb reached the break with 22 points, and the Bees closed the half on a 16-4 run to lead 32-30 at the half.
Upperman went 15 of 15 at the line, Cobb accounting for nine.
Steen sat the final 5:38 of the half with two fouls.
Harris and Womble hit a 3 apiece by the midpoint of the fourth, giving Fulton a 36-34 lead.
Cobb didn’t score the first 4:56 of the third, but his 3-point play at the 3:04 mark of the third put Upperman ahead 37-36.
Harris added another 3 for a Fulton 41-37 lead late in the third.
Fulton took a 45-41 lead into the final eight minutes.
That lead held up.
And now, just one more game to play — the big one.
“You talk about staying in the present,” Wright said. “This will be the 11th time I will have coached in this game. You can’t let the implications — you can’t start thinking about the implications. ‘If we win this game, we win state.’ You can’t do that.
“Focus on winning the game. Regardless of Alcoa or Tullahoma, we’re going to have our hands full.”