The Bearden Bulldogs faced the Beech Buccaneers in the TSSAA Class 4A state tournament quarterfinals at the Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Bearden boys advanced, 55-52. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — For the last 10 days, since the Bearden boys’ basketball team won its state sectional game and learned of its first-round matchup with Beech High, Bulldogs head coach Jeremy Parrott, his staff and players have mulled over and prepared for Cutter Sisk.
Sisk, the burly 6-foot-8 senior forward and Mr. Basketball finalist with nimble feet and a deft touch, looked to be a mismatch for an undersized Bearden club, whose prowess is perimeter scoring and perimeter defense.
“It’s one thing to watch a guy on film for a week and a half,” Parrott said, “and quite another thing to get here and have to defend him.”
And while much of what Bearden tried against Sisk on Thursday failed to hem him up, the Bulldogs still found a way to side step him and Beech and get into the next round.
Bearden senior point guard Justin Nordin scored 17 points while Sean Capshaw and Carson Asbaty pitched in 11 apiece, and Bearden overcame a 33-point night by Sisk to down Beech, 55-52.
Bearden (37-1) led by as many as nine early in the fourth quarter but free-throw struggles by Beech (32-3) helped Bearden survive, as the Bulldogs had some of woes of their own at the line late.
Next up: Bearden will face tournament-favorite Bartlett (33-4) at 5:30 p.m. Central time Friday in the semifinals. Bartlett has not lost to an in-state opponent this season.
“Bartlett looks a lot different than the rest of us, personnel wise. They’re, obviously one of the better teams in our nation, not just our state,” Bearden coach Jeremy Parrott said. “So, I think ball possession is important. I think trying to keep them off the glass is important. And I think not being afraid of the moment is important.
“So, we’re going to look at them overnight. Right now, we’re happy to still be playing, one of the final four teams standing. That’s what we’re used to in this program. And I’m proud of these guys for upholding that tradition.”
SmartBank is the proud sponsor of 5Star Preps postseason basketball coverage.
HOW IT WAS WON
Beech led 34-29 with 4 minutes, 58 seconds left in the third quarter, but Bearden junior Damian Cullom popped in a 3 that triggered an 8-0 Bearden run over the next 2 minutes, 10 seconds of the third, giving the Dawgs a 37-34 advantage.
Beech missed its final four shots of the third and also had three turnovers in the final 3 minutes of the quarter.
Sisk, who had 18 points in the first half, managed just two points in the third quarter.
Justin Nordin’s 3-point play with 32 seconds left helped usher Bearden ahead 41-34 with 8 minutes left.
But after Beech sliced a Bearden nine-point lead down to a five-point margin, Carson Asbaty knocked in his second 3 of the day. And that shot, with 5:24 remaining, put Bearden ahead 48-40.
Sisk got free for a layup and score with 2:12 remaining, and Bearden’s advantage was just 50-45.
With just under 2 minutes to go, Sisk went coast to coast and scored, drawing a foul. He made the foul shot, too, to trim Bearden’s lead to just 50-48.
Sisk, though, made just 1 of 2 at the foul line with 1:26 to go, leaving Bearden ahead 50-49.
That trend 1-of-2 trend trickled down into the final 86 seconds.
After Capshaw’s floater gave Bearden a 52-49 lead, Beech got possession with 30 seconds to go. Bearden fouled Sisk on a drive to the basket.
At that point Sisk was 5 of 10 at the foul line.
He made 1 of 2.
Bearden still led 52-50.
Beech pressured Bearden and got a loose-ball steal, but Nordin stole it right back.
He made 1 of 2 at the free-throw line with 10.9 left. Bearden 53, Beech 50.
Mari Bowman of Beech went to the line shortly after, and he only made 1 of 2.
Asbaty rebounded on Bowman’s miss.
Asbaty made 1 of 2 with 5.9 seconds left to give Bearden a 54-51 lead.
Sisk took matters into his own hands and got fouled on a drive with 3.1 seconds to go, trailing 54-51.
He made the first. Missed the second on purpose.
Capshaw rebounded. He went 1 of 2 from the line with 2 seconds left — leaving the door open for Beech to heave one from just past half court.
The shot sailed right on target but hit off the front iron.
Beech finished 10 of 20 at the free-throw line. Bearden made 12 of 18.
Sisk went 7 of 14 at the line after shooting better than 90 percent, his coach said, in the region championship round and state sectional round.
“I think that was the difference in the game,” Sisk said.
THE FIRST HALF
An early 3 by Justin Nordin sparked a 7-1 burst out of the gates by Bearden, and senior guard Sean Capshaw tossed in another 3 at the 5:37 mark of the first to give the Bulldogs a 10-5 advantage.
Sisk did some damage early, too, scoring eight points by the halfway mark of the first quarter but did struggle at the foul line, where he made just 2 of his first six free-throw attempts.
Bearden took an 18-14 lead into the second quarter after Nordin hit a 3 from the right wing with 23 seconds left in the first, giving the Dawgs a 3-for-8 start from behind the arc.
Capshaw and Carson Asbaty bettered that trend, each hitting a corner 3 to help build a 21-17 lead in the opening moments of the second quarter.
Sisk, though, scored 10 points in the second quarter, and he accounted for six points in a Beech 10-0 to close the first half. The Bucs shot 57.9 percent from the floor in the first 16 minutes and led Bearden 27-24 at the break.
“(Sisk) is a tough cover. We went back and forth with how to handle him. Do we give him all the attention in the world? Do we just play? I’m not sure I’d do it the same if we had it to do over again,” Parrott said.
“But, yes, our team battled down the stretch.”