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BY DAVE LINK
MARYVILLE — An overflow crowd got its money’s worth Tuesday night at the Region 2-4A elimination semifinals at William Blount.
Bearden and Maryville survived and advanced – at the expense of Oak Ridge and William Blount.
The Bulldogs (28-7) won on a buzzer beater, extending their season with a 48-47 victory over Oak Ridge (25-8) in Tuesday’s opener.
In the second game, Maryville (25-7) overcame a slow start and posted a 54-52 victory over host William Blount (24-10).
Bearden will play host to Maryville on Thursday night for the region championship and home-court advantage in next Monday’s state sectional round.
Sectional winners advance to the state quarterfinals in Murfreesboro.
“Tonight in high school basketball is one of the best nights in all of sports,” Maryville coach Wes Lambert said. “Do-or-die games, so many good teams are playing, so just to be able to survive this night is great. Now we’ve got a chance to win a region. We slipped up and lost the district tournament, so hopefully our guys can get a little revenge. Last time we played Bearden they beat us.”
Maryville defeated visiting Bearden 59-46 on Jan. 9, and the Bulldogs beat visiting Maryville 65-59 on Jan. 26.
“The way it’s structured, we know we’re playing through Monday,” Bearden coach Jeremy Parrott said. “We want a region championship obviously, but all we’ve got to think about now is we’re still alive through the sectionals. That’s a sectional berth that was on that (buzzer-beating) shot. I’m just really happy about it.”
Here’s how the region semifinals unfolded:
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