B.J. Edwards (right) and Knoxville Catholic took on MBA in the TSSAA Division II Class AA state tournament semifinals at the Hooper Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tennessee, on Friday, March 5, 2021. The Big Red won 60-49. (Photo by Danny Parker)
By JESSE SMITHEY
COOKEVILLE – Momentum can be a fickle, unpredictable and disloyal element to a postseason basketball game.
It can stay for minutes, quarters, halves.
But for the Catholic boys’ basketball team Friday night, momentum didn’t reside with the Irish much at all in a Division II-AA state semifinal at Tennessee Tech.
Even when Mr. Basketball finalist B.J. Edwards buried a 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 45 seconds to play, cutting Montgomery Bell Academy’s lead to 43-40, the moment didn’t see to deter Catholic’s opponent whatsoever.
MBA (15-2) only closed stronger.
The Big Red ousted the defending state champions, 60-49, and advanced to Saturday’s championship game against rival Brentwood Academy (20-3) — which eliminated predicted finalist Christian Brothers (21-1).
The loss to MBA was the first for Catholic (21-4) to a Division II opponent this season. The Irish shot 36.8 percent from the floor, only attempted five foul shots, turned the ball over 18 times and got out-rebounded, 41-34.
“They took us out of our offense. And we had some shots roll out,” said Catholic coach Mike Hutchens. “We just did not shoot the ball good in the second half, and that was the downfall.
“They (MBA) were getting 50-50 balls. They were getting more offensive rebounds than we should have gave. And when you add that up to not shooting the ball well, that was it.”
Edwards led all scorers with 16 but did so on 7-for-21 shooting. He also had seven rebounds, two assists and seven turnovers.
Catholic actually led 29-25 at the break, though. Edwards’ offensive game shone in the second quarter with nine points.
He tied the game at 17-, 19- and 23-all with buckets inside the arc.
Blue Cain, who had eight first quarter points thanks to a pair of 3s, made a three-point play with 1:34 left in the first half for a 26-23 advantage. All his 11 points came in the first half.
Edwards made yet another floater in the lane to go up by five and made a foul shot with 10.9 seconds left in half for a 29-25 lead.
MBA stayed close by outrebounding Catholic, 16-13, and confusing the Irish defense with an unrelenting system of back door cuts and flashes into open scoring space. The Big Red shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half.
“When we do what we’re supposed to do, we have floor space and a number of guys who are capable of driving in and shooting and making plays. That’s how it’s designed to be,” said MBA coach Kevin Anglin. “Teams at this stage are really good. They pick at whatever little warts you have. We’re like all teams; we got a few.
“But, when (the offense) is working like it’s supposed to, it can be a fun thing to play — and hopefully to watch.”
An MBA 11-2 run out of half gave the Big Red a 36-31 lead with 1:20 left in the third. An Edwards slash and score stopped the run momentarily. But MBA’s Kayman Cooke made good on a three-point play with 35 seconds left to up their lead to 39-33.
MBA’s lead persisted in the first half of the fourth quarter, as Catholic could do little to swing the momentum their way. Turnovers, missed shots from point-blank range and a physical brand of play stymied the Irish.
Edwards’ 3 at the 3:45 mark that cut it 43-40 only seemed to ignite MBA, which had no problem handling Catholic’s attempt to ramp up pressure late.
Sam Sompayrac made a reverse layup for Catholic with 1:37 to play that got the Irish to within six of the lead. And he tried to fire up his teammates during the ensuing timeout.
But a 10-0 MBA run soon after ended the title defense.
“We couldn’t get anything to fall, and they were hurting us on the boards,” said Hutchens. “They were killing us on offensive rebounds. For whatever reason, we picked a bad time to have a bad half.”
Catholic is expected to return its entire starting lineup next season, as reserves Sompayrac and Nicholas Renfree depart from the program as Class of 2021 graduates.
“We didn’t get it done tonight,” said Hutchens. “But we got a lot of people coming back next year.
“We’ll try to work our way back down here again.”
5STAR PHOTOS: Catholic vs. MBA (2021 Division II-AA state semifinals)