The Fulton Falcons took on the Ridgeway Roadrunners in the TSSAA Class 3A state championship game at the Murphy Center on Saturday, March 16, 2024, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Fulton boys won 68-47. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — You’d be hard-pressed to find a defining moment Saturday night in Fulton’s 68-47 win over Ridgeway in the Class 3A state tournament.
Maybe you single out a Tyler Lee play at the rim or an acrobatic score by Derrick Smith.
Perhaps you think of a transition play one of the Kimber twins produced.
But you’d be wrong.
This Fulton win was only about one thing: a group of promising players who arrived in high school back in August 2020 carrying the weight of community’s expectations upon them — and those same players winning a second consecutive state championship Saturday night, doing so against a Memphis power.
“Lot of emotions. There really are,” Fulton coach Jody Wright said, stopping for a moment to fight back tears but to also try and put into words the legacy being left behind by seniors like Lee, Denaj Kimber and Taj Kimber.
“Hard to put into words, really, what these guys have meant to our program. Our message to these guys today was: enjoy the moment. I know the expectations. I knew what they were coming in. If you don’t win the state, your season — regardless of how many games you win — is considered a failure. You won it last year in convincing fashion. And so, we talked about today: let’s enjoy the moment. I think we played the last two nights like we had the weight of the world on our shoulders. We didn’t shoot it well. Body language got iffy at times. Today was: ‘We’re here. Pressure’s off. Let’s go be Fulton.'”
Fulton (35-2) shot 50.8 percent against Ridgeway (27-6) in the Class 3A title game and snapped their opponent’s 21-game winning streak by forcing 22 turnovers.
The Falcons won their final 17 games of the season and recorded the second repeat in Fulton basketball history (2008, 2009). Fulton now has five championships, all-time, in boys basketball. Ridgeway remains on four, the last of which came in 2008.
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Lee, who was named 2024 Class 3A Mr. Basketball on Tuesday, earned tournament MVP honors. He scored 22 points and made 10 of 17 field goals Saturday to claim the award for a second consecutive season.
By his own admission, he hadn’t been at his best in the quarterfinals or semifinals.
That changed Saturday, just by changing his mentality.
“I was really just focusing on being aggressive today,” Lee said. “The last two games, I was settling too much in my game. Today, I was just focusing on being aggressive, being on the defensive side, and getting my teammates involved.
“I was having fun today. The last two games, I hadn’t been having fun. So it just showed today.”
Fifteen of the turnovers Fulton created came in the first half, when the Falcons built a 30-21 halftime lead.
The Falcons took that same nine-point lead into the fourth quarter and proceeded to shoot 63 percent from the floor in the final quarter of the season. Derrick Smith scored with 6:45 to go, giving Fulton an 11-point lead.
Ridgeway never managed to get that to single digits in the final 6:45.
“Defensive pressure. … I felt like we did not let those guys get comfortable,” Wright said. “We knew how dangerous they could be and how good they were.
“We’ve said it before: you got to have some toughness down here to win. It can get hairy. We never let it get hairy. We played solid. That’s how you win on Saturday night.”
Joining Lee on the all-tournament team from Fulton were: Denaj Kimber, Taj Kimber, Nick Steen and Dexter Lewis.
Lewis had 10 points and nine rebounds Saturday against Ridgeway.
Taj Kimber added 13 points, seven boards and five assists.
“It’s gratifying. It’s satisfying. It’s same emotions you have as a parent when you see a child making an accomplishment or meeting a milestone. As a coach, you have those same emotions. These are like my kids. You spend so much time with them. You invest that time in them,” Wright said.
“So, I couldn’t be more proud of a bunch of guys.”
5STAR PHOTOS powered by SmartBank — Fulton Falcons vs. Ridgeway (2024 Class 3A Championship)