4A Region 8 Tournament Final: Everything you need to know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whitehaven defeated Memphis East, 52-44, Thursday night to win this season‘s 4A Region 8 Tournament Championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers will host the loser of Kirkwood/Dickson County next Monday in a sectional game, while the Mustangs will have to go on the road to the winner of the contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whitehaven is a win away from making a trip to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to compete in the 4A state tournament. The Tigers have racked up a lot of accolades this season. They're this season's 4A District 16 regular season champions, 4A District 16 Tournament champions, and 4A Region 8 Tournament champions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whitehaven is hopeful it can finish the season off with a 4A state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's everything you need to know from Thursday night:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Better second half</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers had a sloppy first half that featured bad turnovers and missed shots at the rim. They picked it up in the second half. Whitehaven held a 39-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter before senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1852698' first='Taquez' last='Butler'] converted on a 3-point play to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the night. After Memphis East cut it back down to single digits, senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2111745' first='Cameron' last='Brown'] converted on his second 3-pointer of the evening that made it 45-34. Whitehaven's defense smothered the Mustangs, especially at the rim. Memphis East had a lot of its shots altered at the rim by the long arms of <strong>Bob Dickson</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='1599938' first='Rashad' last='Bryant'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1760994' first='Dorion' last='Bowen'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Luckily, the Tigers had the intensity going early on defense, because their offense took a minute to get going. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Refuse to go away</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs refused to go away after they fell behind by double-digits to heavy-favorite Whitehaven. But Memphis East hung around with timely shots. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='2291144' first='Cassius' last='Vaughn'] made a 3 late in the fourth quarter to cut his team's deficit to 49-42. The Mustangs were pesky on defense, not allowing the Tigers to get into a steady rhythm offensively. Memphis East crashed the boards. The Mustangs were in this game because of their grit and toughness.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All-Tournament Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chance Terry</strong> (Germantown), [player_tooltip player_id='2111892' first='Jordan' last='Myles'] (Houston), [player_tooltip player_id='2194475' first='Braylon' last='Williams'] (Bartlett), [player_tooltip player_id='1400891' first='Kristopher' last='Carroll'] (Southwind), [player_tooltip player_id='2291144' first='Cassius' last='Vaughn'] (Memphis East), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2816281' first='Jacquez' last='Suggs']</strong> (Memphis East), [player_tooltip player_id='2111745' first='Cameron' last='Brown'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1852698' first='Taquez' last='Butler'] were named to the 4A Region 8 All-Tournament Team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior wing [player_tooltip player_id='1760994' first='Dorion' last='Bowen'] was named MVP. He finished with 10 points Thursday night. Butler led Whitehaven with 15 points and went 4 for 5 from the free throw line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->