Eight Regional Championship Games Set!

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The large school division sliced the remaining participants in half Tuesday evening. Sixteen teams remain, and nothing more. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 1-4A: Morristown West (17-14) vs. Morristown East (26-8) [at Morristown East]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><strong>The pick: </strong>Morristown East</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 2-4A: Bearden (28-7) vs. Maryville (24-7) [at William Blount]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A March mainstay Bearden removed another frequent state traveler Oak Ridge to set up a 8767th meeting with Maryville in the last 6r56 years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2358309' first='Jonathan' last='Woodlee']</strong> (Maryville) won the regular season District 4 Co-MVP. <br><strong>The pick: </strong>Maryville </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 3-4A: Bradley Central (22-8) vs. Walker Valley (21-10) [at Bradley Central]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bears defend with physicality. <br><strong>The pick: </strong>Bradley Central </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 4-4A: LaVergne (22-10) vs. Cookeville (28-3) [at Oakland]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LaVergne advanced to the title game after defeating Oakland and then Blackman. Tuesday evening <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1830667' first='Garrison' last='Eady']</strong> (Blackman) hit his first basket with 1:47 left in the first half. LaVergne center<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1563745' first='Daunte' last='White'] </strong>defended the lane expertly without fouling a single time through the opening 16 minutes. Overall, the game was methodical and cautious. LaVergne was comfortable playing in a plodding fashion with small bursts of athleticism or skill. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1947172' first='Landon' last='Bryant']</strong> (LaVergne) scored 10 first-half points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prior to the game's end, 32-24, LaVergne's largest lead was 22-15 early in the third quarter and again at 24-17. Two offensive rebounds on one possession late in the third quarter enabled Blackman to score their first point in the paint in an eternity. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>https://youtu.be/GjoelF3_fWk?si=eF52KzT-e-QylzqI</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cookeville shot a very good Siegel team out of the gym, making 14 three's in the game's first 3.5 quarters. [player_tooltip player_id='1236443' first='Joshua' last='Heard'], the 8th-ranked player in TN, made his first two shots to set the standard high and his team followed without blinking an eye.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Cookeville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 5-4A: Brentwood (19-11) vs. Independence (28-6) [at Centennial]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The deepest district in Tennessee is winnowed down to two. The <a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/12/district-10-predictions-4a/">two I predicted</a>! Last March IHS lost in the State Championship to Overton. They played both Cordova and Bartlett back in the fall, so the sagacious Eagles are battle-tested. The talons are sharpened. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1318557' first='Tylan' last='Lewis']</strong> scored 11 points with 10 rebounds Tuesday night as Indy defeated Franklin. <br><strong>The pick: </strong>Independence </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 6-4A: Beech (25-7) vs. Hillsboro (23-3) [at Gallatin]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No unsigned senior guard is scoring more creatively than <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1317053' first='Odell' last='Bradley IV']</strong> (Beech). With guile the lefty incisively carves up defenders. Head Coach Kip Brown will have his Buccaneers ready for battle, but mighty Hillsboro and their tall guards and wings will end their R6 swashbuckling. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Burros <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664831' first='Tyren' last='Fisher']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2042562' first='Xavier' last='Washington']</strong> can and will score and rebound at a high level for a balanced and experienced HHS. Hillsboro lost to eventual Champion Overton in the 2023 state semifinal game.<br><strong>The pick: </strong>Hillsboro </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 7-4A: Rossview (22-9) vs. Dickson County (14-13) [at Northwest]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dickson County's Cougars will never get their claws near the high-flying Hawks.<br><strong>The pick: </strong>Rossview </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 8-4A: Bartlett (29-4) vs. Cordova (28-2) [at Whitehaven]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Flip a coin. Both teams are stuffed with talent. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1330881' first='KJ' last='Neville']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1236529' first='Christian' last='Alston']</strong> will lead BHS to victory. <br><strong>The pick: </strong>Bartlett </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->