4A Region 8 Tournament: First round results

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first round of the TSSAA Division I Class 4A Region 8 Tournament is complete. The semifinals round will be at Bartlett High School next Tuesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was on hand for the Panthers' 57-39 win over Memphis Central.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are 3 quick notes from Bartlett's win:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Perry is back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2083148' first='Axton' last='Perry'] made his return Saturday evening after missing last week's 4A District 15 Tournament due to an illness. The 6-foot-6 forward made his presence felt, finishing the night with 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. The Warriors sat in a zone defense due to their lack of size to match Bartlett's tall trees. To combat it, Perry was placed in the middle of the zone. That was a good idea because either he turned around, took a couple of dribbles and was at the rim or found a cutting<strong> DJ Okoth</strong> or [player_tooltip player_id='2116626' first='Ethan' last='Gatewood'] slashing from the baseline.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perry's presence alone is enough for the Panthers to be a serious contender in 4A. He does a lot of good things for Bartlett. It was evident on Saturday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Not afraid of the moment</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Okoth, a coveted prospect in the 2028 class, isn't afraid of the moment. The 6–5 forward scored 6 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter after the Panthers were outscored 25-8 by a pesky Memphis Central team. Those scores came at the rim. Okoth wants a guaranteed two each time he's in the air. He's slamming it home. No layups for the freshman. Okoth also had 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Another day of balance</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2291122' first='Dylan' last='Jones'] led Bartlett with 16 points. He made a deep 3 at the top of the fourth quarter that extended the Panthers' lead to 51-33. [player_tooltip player_id='2307628' first='Sydney' last='Thompson'] finished with 10 points. He scored 6 of the team's 8 third quarter points. Senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1330881' first='KJ' last='Neville'] added 8 points and 5 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rest of the bracket</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 1 seed Whitehaven defeated No. 4 seed Germantown, 56-40. Bartlett and the Tigers will battle it out in the semifinals round.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 4 seed Memphis East defeated No. 1 seed Houston, 57-46. The Mustangs will play No. 3 seed Southwind, which defeated No. 2 seed White Station on the road.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->