generic TSSAA boys basketball tournament 2022: Peabody advances to first title game since 2005
MURFREESBORO – Follow our live updates from the 2022 TSSAA boys basketball state tournament held at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center.
Note: You can see the latest Twitter updates from our team of writers and from schools competing this week at the bottom.
Peabody defeats Clay County 51-43 to advance to first title game since 2005
The Golden Tide defeated Clay County in the Class 1A state semifinal game 51-43 to advance to the state championship game to face East Robertson. They outscored Clay County 29-19 in the fourth quarter.
Peabody limited Mr. Basketball award-winner Grant Strong to 19 points on 6 of 21 shooting.
The teams combined for 1 of 31 on 3-pointers. The first 3-pointer of the game came in the last two minutes of regulation by Jason Hunt, who scored 13 points. Derek Kee led the team with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Peabody will be trying to win its first championship when they face East Robertson on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Clay County leads Peabody by two points at the half
Mr. Basketball award-winner Grant Strong nearly has a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds to lead Clay County to a 24-22 halftime lead in the second Class 1A state semifinal.
Clay County (24-7) is 10 of 19 from the field and 0 of 6 on 3-pointers.
Demarkus Kee leads Peabody (24-9) in scoring with eight points on 3 of 8 shooting from the field.
Peabody is 0 of 11 on 3-pointers.
Clay County is looking to return to the championship game and repeat as champions after winning its first title last season.
Peabody is trying to reach its first championship game since 2005.
East Robertson advances to 1A title after overtime win
Elijah Groves and Taylor Groves knocked down three of four free-throws in the final 20 seconds as East Robertson hung on to beat Hampton 58-56 in overtime of in the Class 1A state semifinal game.
East Robertson advances to the state championship game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday . It's the program's first state championship game since 1992 as East will look to capture its fifth title in program history. Taylor Groves led the way with 27 points while Jordan Barnard finished with 10.
Hampton was led by Morgan Lyons' 19 points.
East Robertson-Hampton goes into overtime
Taylor Groves connected on a 3-pointer with 16.6 seconds left to tie the game at 51-51. After Hampton was called for a double-dribble, East Robertson had one more shot with 1.1 seconds left but Groves' attempt was well short as the Class 1A state semifinal game goes into overtime.
Taylor Groves' 14 leads East Robertson to halftime lead
Taylor Groves drained a deep 3-pointer as time expired in the first half as East Robertson holds a 33-27 lead on Hampton in the Class 1A state semifinal game.
Groves has 14 points, including a four 3's while igniting a 15-0 run by East Robertson that turned a first-quarter deficit into a nine-point second quarter lead midway through the period.
Jordan Barnard has a trio of 3's for East Robertson and has eight points at the half.
Hampton has forced 11 East Robertson turnovers and has eight points from both Michael Harrison and Cadon Buckles.
Just like the girls, it's an all East Tennessee final in Class 4A
It's Knoxville Bearden and Dobyns-Bennett for the Class 4A boys basketball state championship. Bearden eliminated Lebanon 62-44 in the second semifinal to join Dobyns-Bennett in Saturday's championship game.
The 4A final tips off at 4 p.m. at Murphy Center.
Elijah Bredwood led all scorers with 26 points for Bearden (31-6). Jarred Hall led Lebanon (29-7) with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Bearden leads Lebanon at halftime
Walker Kyle has three 3-pointers for nine points to lead Knoxville Bearden to a 30-17 halftime lead in the second Class 4A state semifinal.
Bearden has hit 7-of-15 3-pointers in the first half.
Lebanon's Jarred Hall has been held to just three points. Yarin Alexander, Rolando Dowell and Wyatt Bowling all have four points for the Blue Devils, who are trying to reach their first state championship game in school history.
Bearden is trying to reach its first championship game since winning the 2019 Class AAA title over Memphis East and current Golden State Warrior James Wiseman.
Madness continues: Dobyns-Bennett shocks Bartlett on buzzer-beater
Malachi Hale scored just five points in the Class 4A semifinal, but one of his two field goals in the game was a jump shot at the buzzer of overtime to give Dobyns-Bennett a stunning 70-69 victory over Bartlett after Bartlett hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game to OT.
Jonavan Gillespie was remarkable for Dobyns-Bennett, scoring 27 points and missing just one shot the entire game. He was 5-5 from three, 4-4 from the free throw line and 9-10 from the field. Four other Dobyns-Bennett players scored in double figures, and Jack Browder nearly reached a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds. Bartlett star Amarr Knox led the Panthers with 33 points.
Dobyns-Bennett advances to the state championship Saturday for the first time since 1973 and will face the winner of the semifinal between Bearden and Lebanon.
Surprise, Surpise: Dobyns-Bennett leads Bartlett at halftime
Jonavan Gillespie is perfect from the field and Dobyns-Bennett is a surprise 37-32 leader over Bartlett in the first of two Class 4A semifinal games.
Gillespie, who is a younger cousin to Greeneville Mr. Basketball winner Ja'Kobi Gillespie, is 6-of-6 from the field along with four 3-pointers for 18 points. He is also 2-of-2 at the foul line.
Amarr Knox leads Bartlett with 14 points and is 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
South Side withstands second-half rally to advance to second straight title game
The Hawks will return to the state championship game to face Greeneville in a rematch of last year's title game after South Side defeated Fulton 51-50 on Friday.
In what was predominantly a defensive battle, South Side withstood Fulton's second-half surge after having a five-point lead heading into halftime.
Rico Sain had a game-high 15 points.
Taj Kimber had a team-high 13 points for the Falcons.
South Side leading Fulton at the half
The Hawks (24-3) lead Fulton (30-5) at the half 20-15 behind stellar defensive play. South Side held Fulton to four points in the first quarter on 1 of 10 shooting.
Both teams were sloppy with the ball as South Side committed 14 turnovers while Fulton committed 10.
South Side's Rico Sain has a game-high seven points on 3 of 4 shooting.
Jordan Wrancher has a team-high five points for the Falcons.
South Side
Greeneville holds off Stone Memorial to reach second straight championship game
Despite an impressive charge from Stone Memorial in the second half, Greeneville held on to beat the Panthers 59-55 in the Class 3A semifinals to reach a second consecutive state championship game.
3A Mr. Basketball winner Ja'Kobi Gillespie finished with 32 points and seven rebounds. No other Greeneville player scored in double figures. Gillespie shot 10-20 from the field and 6-11 from three.
A three-pointer that circled the rim and bounced out with seconds on the clock ended the game for Stone Memorial.
Upset watch: Stone Memorial within one point of Greeneville in fourth quarter
This is March!
After falling behind late in the second half, Stone Memorial exploded out of halftime and finished the third quarter down just 37-36. Ja'Kobi Gillespie was held to just three points in the quarter. Matthew Bilbrey leads the Panthers with 11 points and Cade Capps has six points and 10 rebounds.
Greeneville pulls away after slow start against Stone Memorial
After leading by just two points for most of the second quarter, Belmont signee Ja'Kobi Gillespie opened the floodgates to give Greeneville a 26-18 lead over Stone Memorial heading into halftime. The defending state champs outscored the Panthers 13-7 in the second quarter of the 3A semifinal.
Gillespie sank three three-pointers in the final four minutes of the half to finish with 16 points and four rebounds. The 3A Mr. Basketball winner is 4-7 from beyond the arc and shooting 100% from the free throw line. Stone Memorial is 0-4 from three and 4-20 from the field.
TSSAA basketball state tournament schedule
Class 3A
Semifinals
Greeneville (29-6) vs. Stone Memorial (21-10), 10 a.m.
Jackson South Side (24-3) vs. Knoxville Fulton (30-5), 11:30 a.m.
Class 4A
Semifinals
Dobyns-Bennett (31-6) vs. Bartlett (34-6), 1:15 p.m.
Bearden (30-6) vs. Lebanon (29-6), 2:45 p.m.
Class 1A
Semifinals
Hampton (27-8) vs. East Robertson (25-6), 4:30 p.m.
Clay Co. (24-6) vs. Peabody (24-9), 5:45 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA basketball scores, live updates: Boys state tournament Friday
