BY JESSE SMITHEY
Get caught up fast on what happed Friday in postseason basketball.
AND … see which HUGE rematches are now on the docket.
One of the top workplaces in East Tennessee now 7 years running, SmartBank is the proud sponsor of 5Star Preps postseason basketball coverage.
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District 3-1A BOYS
Jellico took down Wartburg 88-59 behind 37 points from Isaac McNealy and 20 from senior guard Carson Bolton. The Blue Devils will face Oliver Springs in the tournament championship at 8 p.m. Tuesday night. Oliver Springs held off Sunbright, 48-45, to reach the finale.
District 3-2A BOYS
Aaron Layne pumped in 32 points while Kingston teammates E Clifton, A O’Leary Corey Raymer added 15, 13 and 11, respectively, in Kingston’s 85-78 win over Sweetwater. Kingston will face McMinn Central in the tournament championship 7:30 Tuesday night. McMinn Central defeated Tellico Plains, 74-70, in overtime Friday to win a semifinal game. Daylen Spradling hit a 3 for McMinn Central to force OT.
District 3-3A BOYS
Carter erased a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit to rally past tournament-host Northview , 67-64, and into a district tournament championship for an eighth consecutive year. But, they’ll face defending state champion Fulton there in the tournament final. Fulton jumped out to a 32-6 lead Friday and never looked back in the 94-30 win. Travis Turner led Fulton with 21.
District 4-3A BOYS
Hayden Craig scored 17 and Cole Russell 12, as the Mavericks got the 56-55 win over Scott High in the tournament semifinals. Russell hit four 3s in the second half to comprise his 12, and his 3 with 2.6 seconds left lifted the Mavs to the win. Wyatt Lloyd led Scott with 17.
Anderson County will square off with rival Clinton for the tournament championship on Tuesday. Clinton secured its spot there via a 67-52 win over Union County on Friday. AC and Clinton split their regular-season meetings.
District 5-3A BOYS
Eli Williams continued his stellar 2023-24 campaign, firing in 37 points in Heritage’s 72-60 win Friday over tournament host Lenoir City. The Mountaineers will face South-Doyle in the tournament final on Tuesday. South-Doyle overcame a motivated Loudon, 76-66, in overtime.
District 5-3A GIRLS
Tournament-favorite and 1-seed Heritage looked every bit the part of that Friday, storming to a huge lead and coasting into Monday’s tournament championship behind 20 points from Carsyn Swaney. They’ll face Lenoir City — which beat South-Doyle 39-33 on Friday — at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Lenoir City for the district tournament title.
Division II-A GIRLS
The fourth installment of the budding CAK-TKA rivalry is coming up. The two girls teams will meet for the Division II-A East Region Championship at 6 p.m. Saturday at Silverdale in Chattanooga. CAK is 2-1 this season against TKA, including a 43-33 win last Saturday in the district tournament championship.
CAK got 20 points and eight rebounds Friday from Colie Thompson, and Maddie Braden added 13 points, as the Lady Warriors beat Boyd-Buchanan 51-31 in a semifinal. Meanwhile, TKA downed Silverdale, 47-40, behind 13 points from freshman guard Skylar Walden and 10 points and 14 rebounds from junior Brady Branam.
Division II-AA GIRLS
The Webb School of Knoxville girls team did what it had to do to earn a shot at rival Catholic for a region championship. Webb beat GPS 55-16 on Thursday and then topped Chattanooga Christian 56-45 on Friday to land in a 1 p.m. Division II-AA East Region Championship Game against defending state champion Catholic.
Kyndall Mays scored 17 Friday for Webb, Meeyah Green 15, and Cailyn Taylor 12, as the Lady Spartans neutralized CCS standout MoMo Moore — an eighth-grader and TSSAA Miss Basketball Finalist. Webb led 26-25 at the half but posted 30 points after the break to pull away. Moore finished with just eight points for CCS.
Webb (21-8) is 0-2 against the Lady Irish this season and has lost four straight in the series; however, Webb pushed them to a 44-39 final on Feb. 9.
2023-24 BASKETBALL POSTSEASON SCHEDULES & DISTRICT AWARDS presented by SmartBank
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