Top 10 games of the 2018-19 High School Basketball Season
The 2018-19 TSSAA High School basketball season officially ended last Saturday in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and I have had time to reflect on the entire season and quickly wrote down my top 10 games of the regular season. I had to…
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Continue ReadingThe 2018-19 TSSAA High School basketball season officially ended last Saturday in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and I have had time to reflect on the entire season and quickly wrote down my top 10 games of the regular season.
I had to think very hard, because I covered a lot of games this season. On average, I was inside a gym at least four times a week, sometimes five, maybe six, depending on how my mind and body were feeling. I saw some of the best talent in the state of Tennessee, and if anyone says there’s hardly any talent in this state, then he or she simply didn’t walk into enough gyms.
AAU basketball will be kicking off soon, so now is the right time for me to reflect on the best games I witnessed this past season.
Here are my top 10 regular season games of the 2018-19 season:
Whitehaven at Memphis East (Jan. 24)
Memphis East had to win a game without its best player in James Wiseman. The Memphis commit picked up his fifth foul (technical), with his team trailing 42-39 late in the second half. Malcolm Dandridge, Wiseman’s future teammate in college, scored 10 points after Wiseman went to the bench to help Memphis East defeat Whitehaven 56-55 in overtime on Senior Night.
The Tigers led by as many as 13 points, but couldn’t maintain the lead due to turnovers. Dandridge finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Wiseman added 19 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Houston at Southwind (Jan. 29)
This was another overtime thriller and another lead blown by the home team. Southwind, which was led by point guard Ashton Smith, was up by as many as 16 points in the first quarter. Smith converted on five 3s in the first eight minutes, but those shots stopped falling, and Houston started to chip away at its deficit.
It took two overtimes for the Mustangs to come away with the 77-75 win. Houston had three players to score in double figures. Junior guard Alex Marshall led the team with 15 points. Sophomore point guard T.J. Madlock had 14, and sophomore forward Zander Yates added 13.
Houston is bringing everything back next season and should one of the best teams in Class AAA.
Cordova at Bartlett (Feb. 8)
Bartlett needed Ole Miss commit Antavion Collum to play big on Senior Night against Cordova. Collum had a game-high 30 points in the 68-60 win and converted on a 3 when the Wolfpack were trailing 52-46 after once being down 50-39. Collum finished 8 for 8 from the free throw line to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block.
Iona commit Bruce Guy Jr. led Cordova with 19 points and was a matchup problem all game for the Panthers.
Hamilton Heights vs. Bartlett (Dec. 14, 2018)
Hamilton Heights’ junior point guard Jordan Rawls scored a game-high 25 points in the 85-83 win over Bartlett, which built a double-digit lead four times. The Hawks had four guys to score in double figures. Rawls was named MVP of the game.
Jefferson Walker led the Panthers with 18 points, while Antavion Collum had 15. This marked Bartlett’s first loss of the season, and it also marked the first time I witnessed the Panthers squander a lead after playing so well for two and a half quarters.
On the following night, Rawls dropped 34 points in a win over Memphis East. The 2020 guard did not once show he was afraid of making the much-needed shots for his team.
Center Hill at Olive Branch (Feb. 5)
These two schools are in Mississippi, but they are right outside of Memphis, so I had the chance to cover the two regular season meetings. Center Hill’s game plan was so much better than it was in the first meeting. Olive Branch had to play slow pace basketball, and the Mustangs were on the verge of getting a win on the ‘Quistors’ Senior Night until Joe Cooper’s 3 in the corner over two defenders changed the outcome of the game.
If it wasn’t for Cooper’s 3, Olive Branch probably would’ve lost. Defensively, the ‘Quistors were bad as their head coach Eric Rambough admitted to after the game.
Calvin Temple and Kenneth Lewis did their usual work, combining to score 38 points. D.J. Jeffries led Olive Branch with 23 points, and this marked the final time the ‘Quistors would beat Center Hill this season on the hardwood floor.
Briarcrest at Christian Brothers (Jan. 11)
It was obvious in the game that neither team liked one another. There was a lot of trash talking being conversed between players and the fan bases. Both teams had premier point guards and two coaches with championship resumes.
Sophomore point guard Kennedy Chandler didn’t have his best game offensively, and Michael Malone made sure freshman point guard Chandler Jackson would have his coming out party, either. Briarcrest’s defense propelled the Saints to the 45-42 win over the Purple Wave. Chandler only had 11 points on 2 of 11 shooting and went 1 for 5 from the free throw line, but junior forward Omari Thomas had a monster first half, scoring 10 points.
Jackson added 13 points and three assists to lead Christian Brothers.
Both teams have key pieces coming back next season, so it will be interesting to see this battle continue.
Mitchell at Wooddale (Jan. 17)
Wooddale won this game by the final score of 79-67, but the Cardinals had a hard time putting Mitchell away. The Tigers stopped making shots, and their defense stopped getting stops as well. Wooddale finished the game on a 13-4 run, but for the most part, it was an entertaining matchup.
For three and a half quarters, both teams traded leads. The Cardinals didn’t take the lead for good until junior guard Johnathan Duncan made one of two free throws to start the closing run. Chandler Lawson finished with 31 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Duncan added 16 points, two assists, and three rebounds.
Harding Academy at Lausanne (Feb. 7)
In what-would-be Sky Forest’s final regular season home game at Lausanne, he made sure to go out with a bang. Forest had 26 points in his team’s 62-57 win over Harding Academy. Forest scored six of his team’s 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Forest went 6 for 8 from the free throw line, and junior forward Johnathan DeJurnett slowed down senior forward Luke Howard, who was held to just 14 points. DeJurnett finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks.
Bobby Parks, the Lions’ best ball handler, had 13, but Forest proved to be too much for Harding Academy on a night he didn’t want to lose.
Jackson Christian at Tipton-Rosemark Academy (Jan. 3)
This is the game when I discovered sophomore Alex Anderson. This is the game when I discovered a senior class that was hungry for a strong finish to the season. Anderson scored 33 points in Tipton-Rosemark Academy’s 59-57 win over Jackson Christian.
The Rebels trailed for most of the game, but a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter helped TRA take a 55-47 lead with 1:36 left. The Eagles led for three full quarters. Conner Richardson scored 20 points. Seth Snider added 18, and Malik Richardson pitched in 13.
Jackson Christian ended up getting tired in the final eight minutes, and the Rebels were able to score 29 points in the final quarter.
This wouldn’t be my final time watching TRA as I followed the team all the way to Nashville for the Division II-A Boys’ State Tournament Championship. The Rebels’ run to the state championship was one of the biggest highlights of the season.
Olive Branch vs. Bartlett (Jan. 5)
Olive Branch had something that Bartlett didn’t have in this matchup, and that was a closer. Senior forward D.J. Jeffries was the closer the ‘Quistors needed to defeat the Panthers 61-60. Both teams went back and forth, with Bartlett having opportunities to win the game from the free throw line, but Wynne Brown Jr., Antavion Collum, and Shemar Johnson each spilt their free throws late in the second half.
Jeffries was big time, finishing with 27 points and eight rebounds in the final game of the ARS Rescue Rooter National Hoopfest.
This one could have went either way, but Jeffries’ dominance proved to be too much for the Panthers to contain.