BY DAN FLESER
NASHVILLE — The celebration started a bit early for Webb School on Saturday night.
Charlie Wyrick, the Spartans’ lone senior, was the first to join the fun. He departed the Spartans’ Division II-A state championship game against Tipton-Rosemark Academy with more than four minutes left and proceeded through a conga line of hugs and congratulations. Teammates Luke Burnett, Emory Lanier, Uriah Powers and Tariq Daughton followed shortly thereafter.
Perhaps this happy gathering on the team bench came together a little earlier than expected. Then again, the Spartans had been preparing for this moment all year, summoning and sharpening the effort that went into a 75-40 victory at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena and the school’s first gold ball for boys’ basketball.
“I think it reflects the amount of work we put in during the season,” Lanier said, “and the commitment we made to coming together as a team and playing unselfishly and having a common goal.”
Powers, Lanier, Burnett and Tariq Daughton were named to the all-tournament team. Powers, who scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds Saturday, was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
Burnett, the transfer from Heritage, was the leading scorer against Tipton-Rosemark with 25 points. Daughton had 14.
Before they clutched the trophy, there were many Spartans’ fingerprints on Webb’s dominant weekend, which began with a 69-47 rout of Christ Presbyterian Academy in Friday’s semifinals. In its two games, the Spartans (30-6) never trailed and shot a staggered 62.1 percent from the floor (45-for-87). They were 15 for 32 (46.8 percent) on 3-pointers. They also were a plus-27 in rebounds.
“From day one, we felt like we were good enough to win but our division is so tough at the top,” Webb coach Ricky Norris said. “Tonight we were pretty good.”
The Spartans’ defense set the tone for Friday’s victory, creating transition opportunities that resulted, among other baskets, in three dunks by Lanier.
Against Tipton-Rosemark, sharp ball movement was the catalyst for an opening that featured 11 for 13 shooting from the floor in the first quarter. The Spartans were even more dead-eye from long range, converting six of seven 3-point attempts.
“They were all open shots,” Norris said. “You saw guys pass up good shots for what was a great shot.”
The Webb School of Knoxville boys’ basketball team captured the 2018-19 Boys’ Basketball state title in Division II-A. (Photo: Steve Wheeler).
Burnett, who shot 8 for 11 from the floor for the game and hit four 3-pointers, scored 11 of his points in the quarter.
Tipton-Rosemark, which beat The Webb School-Bell Buckle and top prospect Keon Johnson 67-62 on Friday, stayed within 29-18 through the first eight minutes. But the Rebels couldn’t match the Spartans’ firepower. Other than Alex Anderson’s 21 points, no other player scored in double figures.
The rout ensued when Webb outscored Tipton-Rosemark 18-5 in the third quarter. At that point, the evening became something to savor, the opposite of last season when the Spartans lost by two points in the final to Grace Christian.
Many of the celebrants crowded into the post-game interview room afterward.
“Coach talked about this the whole year,” Powers said. “We all have the ability. This weekend we put in great teamwork.”
Norris seconded that notion in saying, “they’re not going to remember those medallions (around their necks). They’ll remember what our team did this weekend.”
It was something to celebrate – the sooner the better.