The Maryville Rebels fell to Cookeville, 70-60, in a Class 4A state quarterfinal at MTSU’s Murphy Center on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Photo by Danny Parker).
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Perhaps Maryville High School senior center Alex Akard, with that booming voice of his that emits from a 6-foot-9 frame, said it best Wednesday, following the Rebels’ first-round loss in the Class 4A state tournament.
“I think I’m leaving Maryville in a good place. I think all the sophomores that are coming up, I think we have good freshmen with them. I think they can definitely get back here to state,” he said.
And so that will be the big takeaway for Maryville from its 70-60 quarterfinal loss to Cookeville: the experience of it all, and can that spur on a deeper run in Murfreesboro in 2025?
All of the roster returns, save for Akard and Luke Garman.
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Still, Maryville coach Wes Lambert liked the Rebels’ draw for this week, though tournament-favorite Bartlett (31-4) would likely be waiting in the semifinals.
“We felt like we could play with Cookeville, and I’d love to play them again to see what we could do,” he said. “We felt like we had a chance. We liked our draw.
“Even though Cookeville is 31-3, we felt like we matched up well with them. We were excited about it.”
Making its first state appearance since 1958, Cookeville entered with prodigious numbers from the perimeter, having made 301 treys through 33 games and averaging 9.1 makes from there per game.
But for the better part of the first half, they couldn’t find that stroke.
That changed, though, and Cookeville finished the contest five of 14 at the 3-point line.
Cookeville led by eight (53-45) when Jaren Davis sank a 3 just 1 minute into the fourth. Davis scored in the post at the 5:30 mark for a 10-point advantage (57-47), prompting Maryville to call a timeout.
The Rebels faced their largest deficit of the day, and that stoppage in play did little to reverse the momentum.
Davis made a 3 from the left wing with 4 minutes to play, pushing Cookeville’s lead to 62-49.
Sophomore standout guard Jonathan Woodlee, who had 15 points for Maryville, cut the gap to nine points for Maryville with two foul shots at the 3:26 mark. The Rebels got as close as seven down the stretch.
Davis kept scoring, though, to fend off the Rebels. He was the team’s fifth-leading scorer (9.1 points per game) entering Wednesday.
He finished with 18 points off the bench in 25 minutes.
SETTING THE STAGE
Maryville (26-8) trailed 31-29 at the half, as Cookeville finally found its 3-point stroke late in the second quarter.
For the first 14 minutes of the first half, Cookeville was 0-for-3 at the 3-point line. The Cavs stayed close to Maryville by making nine of 11 foul shots.
But when Jack Oakley — who had made 94 treys this season entering this week — made a 3 from the wing with 1:39 remaining in the second quarter, Cookeville pulled ahead 27-26. The Cookeville crowd also woke up, realizing the defining offensive trait of its play this season had finally shown up on the floor at the Murphy Center.
Woodlee’s mid-range jumper with 7 seconds left in the half gave Maryville a 29-28 lead. He led the Rebels in the first half with nine on 4-for-7 shooting. Fellow sophomore Brayden Hazelbaker had eight before the break.
But Cookeville’s Colin Ayers knocked in a 3 at the buzzer to negate Woodlee’s shot. Ayers led Cookeville with 19.
Oakley pushed the lead to 38-31 in the early minutes of the third on another 3, and Maryville faced its largest deficit of the contest.
Woodlee picked up his third foul with 3:47 left in the third. Both he and Akard stayed on the floor with that amount of personal fouls each. Akard got hit with his fourth foul just 1:36 later. He checked back in to start the fourth.
Hazelbaker proved to be the bright spot for Maryville after half. He scored 10 points in the third and finished with a team-high 20. He banked in a 3 from the wing to trim Maryville’s deficit to 44-43 at the 3:13 mark of the third.
Cookeville took a 48-43 lead into the final eight minutes.
The Cavs scored 22 points in the fourth to pull away.
“We don’t want our 3-point shooting to bail our defense out. I thought today was a testament to our defense,” Cookeville coach Josh Heard said. “We got stops when we needed.
“I knew our shooters would come around. That aspect, I never worry about.”
BOX: Cookeville 70, Maryville 60
Cookeville (70): Jalen Heard 10, Colin Ayers 19, Josh Heard 6, Jack Oakley 7, Bennett Reaves 10, Jaren Davis 18
Maryville (60): Brayden Hazelbaker 20, Alex Akard 11, Luke Robertson 2, Eli Owensby 10, Jonathan Woodlee 15, Luke Garman 2
Cookeville 14 17 17 22 — 70
Maryville 17 12 14 17 — 60
FG percentage: Cookeville 26-43 (60.5 percent), Maryville 24-50 (48.0)
3-pointers: Cookeville (5 of 14) — Ayers 1, Oakley 2, Davis 2; Maryville (5 of 14) — Hazelbaker 2, Owensby 2, Woodlee 1.
Free-throws: Cookeville 13-15, Maryville 7-9
Rebounds: Cookeville 26, Maryville 18
Turnovers: Cookeville 12, Maryville 8