Austin McKeehan (13) and the Cosby Eagles lost to the Eagleville Eagles 66-55 in the TSSAA Class A state tournament at Middle Tennessee State’s Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Thursday, March 14, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Looks of frustration and what-if glazed over the faces of the Cosby boys’ basketball team late in Thursday’s Class A state quarterfinal.
The fourth quarter proved to be an unwelcoming stage upon which the Eagles ended their season.
Eagleville outscored Cosby by 13 points in the final eight minutes, and eliminated Cosby from the state tournament via a 66-55 win.
Eagleville (29-3), back in the state tournament for the first time in 11 years, will play either Columbia Academy or Manassas at 4:30 p.m. Central time on Friday in the Class A state semifinals.
The scout for Cosby (24-9) to stop Eagleville was simple. Try to find a way to mute Ryley McClaran and 6-5 forward Mari Stoudemire. Neither happened. McClaran finished with 26 and Stoudemire 29.
Jeremy Wise and Braden Shaffer led four Cosby players in double figures with 14 points apeice. Austin McKeehan had a double-double in his final high school game: 12 points, 10 rebounds. Trey Johnson added 10 points.
But Cosby went 3-for-14 in the fourth quarter from the floor.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win,” said Cosby coach Brad Flatford. “We couldn’t do enough down the stretch to pull it through, though.”
Cosby did well to start the second half just down three points, giving its shooting and rebounding deficiencies from the first 16 minutes. And when Stoudemire, Eagleville’s 6-foot-5 forward, drove in from the left wing for a two-handed dunk, Cosby found itself down 33-27 with 6 minutes, 13 seconds, left in the third.
No matter.
Cosby didn’t fold.
Johnson, one of Cosby’s first-quarter stars, buried a 3 to tie Eagleville at 41-all at the 2:18 mark. Shaffer popped in a 3 for a 44-43 lead with 1:35 left in the third.
Braden Shaffer (22) and the Cosby Eagles lost to the Eagleville Eagles 66-55 in the TSSAA Class A state tournament at Middle Tennessee State’s Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Thursday, March 14, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
And then Wise provided the capper, a 3-point play with 34 seconds left in the quarter for a 47-45 lead.
“Our team’s got a lot of character. We’ve had a lot of character all year,” said Cosby coach Brad Flatford. “I wasn’t surprised by that. I think our eyes were a little big at the beginning of the game.
“But, we started making some shots and dug in and got some stops. I was proud of our guys for fighting back.”
Cosby went cold, though, to start the fourth quarter — missing their first seven shots. Eagleville made them pay and went on a 9-0 run to seize control.
McKeehan’s layup temporarily stopped the run at the midpoint mark, but then he was whistled for a technical foul with 3:36 remaining.
He fouled out on that infraction, and Eagleville took a 57-49 lead.
“It was my last high school basketball game, and it was my first time fouling out,” said McKeehan. “It wasn’t very fun.
“But there was nothing I could do about it.”
The helpless feeling started early for Cosby, as it got off to a tepid start while Rutherford County’s own Eagleville race to a 10-0 lead. Five quick points from Johnson settled the Cosby Eagles down, and when Shaffer hit a 3 with 6:48 left in the second quarterback Cosby tied Eagleville at 20-all.
Shaffer added another 3 with less than a minute to play before the break, but Eagleville still took a 28-25 lead into the half. Cosby likely felt fortunate the deficit was that small given it shot 35.7 percent and was outrebounded by 11.
“We had to get hit in the mouth first to kind of wake up and play,” said Cosby coach Brad Flatford.
Cosby returns all but three players for next season.
“We got to keep pushing and getting better and see what happens,” said Flatford. “I think we have a chance to be a good team again next year.”
5STAR PHOTOS: Cosby vs. Eagleville in Class A boys state quarterfinal