3A Region 7 semifinals round: 4 observations

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bolivar Central defeated Dyersburg, 49-45, while Fayette Ware held on to defeat Haywood, 58-50.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers and Wildcats will battle it out on Thursday night for the TSSAA 3A Region 7 Tournament Championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are 4 observations from Tuesday night:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Turnage is a handful</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2274856' first='Breyden' last='Turnage']</strong> was a handful for Bolivar Central, especially when he caught the basketball at the elbow. The 6-foot-8 junior forward finished well around the rim and did so with multiple defenders in his face. Turnage has solid footwork and great awareness on the court. He doesn't force a lot of shots. Turnage allows the game to come to him. He can make shots from 15-feet out. Turnage finished with 17 points. Dyersburg's 2023 season is over, but Turnage did all he could to give his team a chance of extending its season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Calm place</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bolivar Central needed some calmness in the third quarter when the Trojans used an 11-0 run, which started at the end of the second quarter, to get within three. The Tigers' senior guard <strong>Kylan</strong> <strong>McNeal</strong> was the team's calm place. He scored five straight points to give Bolivar Central a 34-27 lead. McNeal started the game off hot, knocking down two 3s that helped the Tigers jump out to an early 14-2 lead. McNeal, who went 5 for 6 from the free throw line, finished the night with 15 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No quitting</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Haywood was down by as many as 23 points in a win or go home situation against Fayette Ware. The Tomcats battled back and got within 51-48 with under two minutes left to play. Haywood could have folded when it was outscored 18-5 in the third quarter. It could have folded earlier after being outscored 15-6 in the second quarter. But, the Tomcats, last season's Division I Class 3A State Tournament runner-up, didn't cave. They showed fight until the final buzzer. <strong>LeKendick</strong> <strong>Phillips</strong> and <strong>Jaybyon</strong> <strong>Snipe</strong> both finished with 15 points. <strong>Ron</strong> <strong>Brisbon</strong> added 12. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Surviving and advancing</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildcats will take losing their 23-point lead, especially since they're in Thursday night's regional tournament championship game and already has a spot in a sectional game next Monday night. Thursday night will decide whether or not Fayette Ware will host a sectional game, it's first since the 2021 season, or go on the road for the second-consecutive season. The Wildcats are on, sort of, a revenge tour, as they eliminated Haywood, which they lost to on the road last season in a sectional game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Also, Fayette Ware had lost to the Tomcats twice in the regular season, so this win meant a lot to guys like <strong>Tacarien</strong> <strong>Freeman</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2089495' first='Jeremiah' last='Hayes']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1676952' first='Eric' last='Jones']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1927473' first='Tarecous' last='Stevens']</strong>, and <strong>Devaurius Chearis</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”Tonight, Jeremiah was real vocal. He's been vocal all week about not going home and getting a sub-state game at home,” Wildcats head coach Demarius Chearis said about Hayes, who finished with a team-high 14 points. “But, Jeremiah, Eric, and Tarecous have been doing a lot of talking the last three practices. Those guys were hurt when Haywood sent us home last year, so he (Jeremiah) wasn't going to go out without a fight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”It was in him tonight to step up and be the leader that has been in him since he's been in the 10th grade.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freeman added 11 points, while Stevens pitched in 12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Special night</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At halftime of the Bolivar Central-Dyersburg contest, Fayette Ware's senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2089495' first='Jeremiah' last='Hayes'] was presented with his 1,000-point basketball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2362654,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2292-rotated.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2292-rotated.jpeg?w=768" alt="" class="wp-image-2362654"/></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->