Glass House: Big moments from the 1A and 2A championship games

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saturday marked the final day of the 2024-25 season, and four champions were crowned inside the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are the big moments from the Class A and Class AA title games:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stifling defense</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chattanooga Prep leaves Class A and heads to Class AA in style, with back-to-back state titles after a relatively easy 77-50 victory over Hillcrest. It's the first team from Chattanooga to go back-to-back since the Tennessee Temple did it back in 2002 and 2003. What was telling throughout the contest was how well the Sentinels were on the defensive end, smothering the Vikings' junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2426391' first='Alex' last='Morgan'], holding him to just 6 points on 1 for 8 shooting, cutting off any scoring lanes he had wished to go in. Chattanooga Prep contested everything at the rim, limiting second chance opportunities for Hillcrest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sentinels played the way they wanted to play by getting out in transition, berating the Vikings with their pressure, and going on scoring runs to build a comfortable double-digit lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”Defensive performance was excellent,” head coach Christian Collins said while smiling. “I told them ‘This game isn't going to be a game of skill, it's going to be a game of will. Max effort was through the roof. They played defense today the way I have been wanting them to play all year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“They were consistent. They played together.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Offensively, Chattanooga Prep was just as impressive as it was defensively. The Sentinels shot 48.1 percent from the field as a team. They recorded 17 assists on 26 made field goals. Junior guard <strong>Demarion Bowman</strong> had another impressive day, finishing with 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting. Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1959198' first='Joel' last='Bulis'] recorded a double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds), while his teammate [player_tooltip player_id='2238576' first='Derrick' last='Roberson'] added 10 points and 7 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All-Tournament Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1959189' first='Cayman' last='Camfield'] (Wayne County), <strong>Justice Bell</strong> (Wayne County), [player_tooltip player_id='2622887' first='Darion' last='Taylor'] (Humboldt), [player_tooltip player_id='1959198' first='Joel' last='Bulis'] (Chattanooga Prep), <strong>Austin Jones</strong> (Chattanooga Prep), <strong>J'acoby Lewis</strong> (Hillcrest), [player_tooltip player_id='2238576' first='Derrick' last='Roberson'] - MVP (Chattanooga Prep), [player_tooltip player_id='2426391' first='Alex' last='Morgan'] (Hillcrest), <strong>Cadence Collins</strong> (Chattanooga Prep), and Bowman were named to the Division 1 Class A Boys All-Tournament Team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Twin towers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Loretto had to scratch and claw to finish at 35-0 - the first public school since 2008 (Union City in Class A) to go undefeated - and become this season's Class 2A champs, its second in school history (2018), with a 68-66 gutsy overtime win over an Alcoa program that was looking for its third straight 2A title. It took effort from all five players on the floor to withstand the Tornadoes pressure that's been the staple of the program under head coach Ryan Collins during their reign at the top of 2A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The twin towers, seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1317550' first='Grayson' last='Burleson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2611750' first='Kasen' last='Buie'], played a big part in the way the 2024-25 has ended. Burleson finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Buie added another good performance, finishing with 19 points and 14 boards. Both had advantages when they were well-positioned in the post. Each prospect scored over the top with ease. Both made shots from the perimeter and at the elbow. Offensively, Buie and Burleson were the 1-2 punch the program to get to the finish line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”I kind of thought we were better than them to be honest. But when they got out there at first, they were quick,” Burleson said. “They were fast and getting by people. Me and Buie had to really help. I had to rebound. I knew he was going to do his rebounding. I knew we had to step up as a team.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Late in the fourth quarter when the Mustangs seemed to have the game in the bag after a made 3 by [player_tooltip player_id='2638983' first='Mason' last='Tidwell'] that put them up 54-47 with 3:24 left, Alcoa made a run to send it into overtime, which started with a [player_tooltip player_id='2281190' first='Jibriel' last='Koko']'s layup then a layup by [player_tooltip player_id='2333265' first='Condis' last='Cherry']. But in overtime, Burleson made a jumper and split free throws. Loretto didn't give up the lead this time. And it's a big thanks to the grit, grind, and toughness of Burleson, Buie, Tidwell, <strong>Corbin Reynolds</strong>, who was in foul trouble in the first half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”It was a physical game. In those kind of games, you have to let them play a little bit,” Burleson said. “You can't be calling everything. I know every time something happened, I told my team, ‘Calm down. We're good.' We wind up coming together and winding up finishing it off.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All-Tournament Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1259390' first='Rodney' last='Henderson'] (Tyner), [player_tooltip player_id='1500690' first='Adarius' last='Brewster'] (Tyner), [player_tooltip player_id='2364080' first='Will' last='McCrary'] (Jackson County), Corbin Reynolds (Loretto), [player_tooltip player_id='2260983' first='Jamir' last='Dean'] (Alcoa), Burleson, Cherry, Buie (MVP), Koko, and <strong>Jaxson Roberson</strong> (Loretto) were named to the Class 2A Boys All-Tournament Team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->