Senior Jayden Thompson scored 21 points, including 11 in the first quarter, and hauled in seven rebounds to lead the Tullahoma Wildcats to a 76-51 win over Lawrence County at The Cat Palace Tuesday night. Thompson earned the Midtown Nutrition Player of the Game.
With the victory, the cardinal and black extended their winning streak to 18 games.
Tullahoma (25-4) advanced to the Region 6-3A championship game against Giles County (17-10), scheduled for Thursday night at 7 at THS. The Bobcats beat Creek Wood 69-53 in Tuesday’s first semifinal contest. Thursday’s game will be broadcast on 93.9 The Duck.
Thompson and Alex Bobo jump-started the Wildcat offense early, with Bobo scoring five quick points and dishing out three assists on Thompson’s buckets. Leading 25-11 after one quarter, the Wildcats coasted to their 25th victory by stretching the advantage to 40-17 at halftime, thanks to late three-pointers by Price Harden and Lukas Price.
Lawrence County connected on 12-13 free throws in the third quarter to keep Tullahoma from building a large enough lead to start the mercy clock in the fourth. The Cats led by 30 with one minute left in the third, but the visitors stayed close enough to keep the regular clock active, thanks in part to Dierks Boyd’s 10 fourth-quarter points.
The home team shot extremely well, hitting 6-10 three-pointers and shooting 60% from the field, while the pressure defense forced the visitors into 32% shooting, and they turned the ball over 19 times.
Alex Bobo finished with eight points, five assists, and two steals; Price Harden scored eight points and had three steals; and Austin Tinnon scored eight points with five rebounds. Sam Bobo added seven points, three rebounds, and two assists. Andrew Carmack had five points, with Jackson Knight, Alex Miller, and Lukas Price adding four points each. Payton Behrendorf connected on all three of his free-throw attempts, and Noah Jones scored one basket.
