The Tullahoma Wildcats advanced to their second consecutive state tournament by beating visiting Maplewood 69-39 Monday night in the sectional round of the state playoffs at the Cat Palace.
Tullahoma (27-4) will face Tennessee High School (29-7) on Wednesday, Mar. 18, at 8:45 pm at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro. The winner will play either Fayette Ware (26-4) or Alcoa (21-13) on Friday at 2:15 pm. Hear all state tournament games on 93.9 The Duck.
The Wildcats never trailed against the Panthers (21-12), holding Maplewood to only nine points in the first quarter while scoring 22. Lukas Price led the way early with six first-quarter points, while Payton Behrendorf and Sam Bob connected on three-pointers.
Tullahoma built the lead to 33-10 with 5:23 remaining in the first half, but Maplewood went on an 11-2 run to close the gap to 35-21 at the half. The visitors kept the deficit between nine and 12 points until the end of the third quarter, with the Wildcats leading 49-35. Tullahoma closed the fourth quarter by outscoring the Panthers 20-4.
Sam Bobo earned the Midtown Nutrition Player of the Game with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Austin Tinnon was dominant inside with 10 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and four blocked shots.
Behrendorf, Jackson Knight, and Price each scored nine, with Price Harden adding eight points and Jayden Thompson seven. Tullahoma shot 48% from the field and forced the Panthers into 28 turnovers.
The other four teams advancing to the state tournament are South Gibson (23-9), Upperman (30-5), Fulton (24-9), and Portland. Upperman beat Tullahoma by 10 points in last year’s state championship game.
Tullahoma will play in its fourth men’s basketball state tournament. The first came in 1960, and the second was in 1978. The Wildcats had not won a state tournament game until last year, when they beat Fayette Ware and Jackson South Side to advance to the championship game.
