Glass House: Big moments from the 3A and 4A 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 3A and Class 4A title games:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carrying the load</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Since his freshman season, [player_tooltip player_id='2133810' first='Ty' last='Cobb'] has carried Upperman on his shoulders. He had a phenomenal freshman campaign, but had an even bigger sophomore season where he became the school's first-ever Mr. Basketball award winner. Now, let's add Class 3A All-Tournament Team MVP and state champ to the superstar's resume after finishing with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in his team's 65-55 win over Tullahoma.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each game this season, the point guard has seen double teams. Each opponent has had to game plan to limit his spectacular plays and solo scoring runs. And yet, well up to this point, teams from across the state of Tennessee haven't been able to stop him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After being crowned Mr. Basketball in Class 3A, Cobb has continued to play at a high level. He's continued to play with a chip on his shoulder, despite having lots of success early in his high school career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What keeps him going?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”It's all credit to my teammates,” said Cobb, who scored 10 of his team's 13 points in the second quarter. “They give me the ball. They trust me. I do what I do, so all credit to my teammates.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Side note: Cobb tied a single-game state tournament record for best free throw percentage, going 14 for 14 from the charity stripe. The sophomore missed just 2 out of 40 attempts for the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Reminds me of someone</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2675160' first='Bronzden' last='Chaffin'], at 6-foot-4, is the Draymond Green on this Bees team. He rebounds, he sets good ball screens, he can get the team in its offensive sets. Chaffin is the do-it-all guy for this Upperman. It showed throughout the tournament, especially on championship Saturday where he had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”He's tenacious,” Bees head coach Bobby McWilliams said about Chaffin. “His intensity level, when he's locked in, is second to none to anybody I have ever coached. Just what he's able to do, his aggressiveness. He's so competitive, and that's makes him do the things he does out there. It's fun to watch, and see these two (Cobb and Chaffin) on the same team do what they do.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All-Tournament Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1959160' first='Trey' last='Thompson'] (Greeneville), [player_tooltip player_id='1927473' first='Tarecous' last='Stevens'] (Fayette Ware), [player_tooltip player_id='2796643' first='Kylon' last='Terry'] (Fayette Ware), [player_tooltip player_id='1971524' first='JaDyn' last='Lee'] (Munford), [player_tooltip player_id='2816168' first='Xavier' last='Farrell'] (Tullahoma), [player_tooltip player_id='2675160' first='Bronzden' last='Chaffin'] (Upperman), [player_tooltip player_id='2817312' first='Khani' last='Johnson'] (Tullahoma), [player_tooltip player_id='2352126' first='Austin' last='Tinnon'] (Tullahoma),<strong> Evan Huddleston</strong> (Upperman), and Cobb (MVP) were named to the Division 1 Class 3A Boys All-Tournament Team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sending the seniors out the right way</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2042562' first='Xavier' last='Washington'], [player_tooltip player_id='1259396' first='Cortez' last='Graham-Howard'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1664831' first='Tyren' last='Fisher'] were sophomores the last time Hillsboro played inside the Murphy Center. The Burros suffered a loss to Memphis Overton that season. The following year, Hillsboro fell short in a sectional game to Brentwood.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In 2025, the trio of Washington, Graham-Howard (a Mr. Basketball finalist in 4A), and Fisher are leaving Murfreesboro, Tennessee as this season's Class 4A state champions after defeating Oak Ridge, 57-42, to capture the program's first-ever state title. Graham-Howard finished his high school career with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Add in [player_tooltip player_id='1549189' first='Max' last='Burtner'], who provided 12 points and was a key piece that has been part of the journey as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This group put all of their eggs in one basket and banked on getting to the final day of the season and cashing in on a state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Well, these guys hit the jackpot by sticking to what works for them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”The system is setup for multiple guys,” head coach Rodney Thweatt said. “We try to build an offensive system where the ball moves, gives energy to every player, and every player is capable of stepping up. We didn't want to be one guy dominant, and they bought into that. When you have a Mr. Basketball finalist, you don't have to buy into that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”For him to be okay with X (Xavier) being the leading scorer one night, a sophomore being the leading scorer one night, Tyren being the leading scorer one night. If Max gets going, he can be the leading scorer one night. That's what really makes us tough because I don't know what you will concentrate on.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1477574' first='Jalen' last='Heard'] just got to the team this season and has been a plus on both ends of the floor. He made big shots in the title game. Heard finished with 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Side note: Oak Ridge senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1825510' first='Ray'quan' last='Watson'] started the game 4 for 8, but finished the contest 8 for 19. The Burros picked him up 94 feet and blitzed the ball screens Watson was running off of. In the fourth quarter, Watson couldn't muster much offense. Hillsboro wore him down as the game went along.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All-Tournament Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2265965' first='Tyrese' last='Stovall'] (Bradley Central), [player_tooltip player_id='2101848' first='Ottabwa' last='Dickson'] (Whitehaven), [player_tooltip player_id='2111745' first='Cameron' last='Brown'] (Whitehaven), [player_tooltip player_id='2199936' first='Cooper' last='Williams'] (Oak Ridge), [player_tooltip player_id='2042562' first='Xavier' last='Washington'] (Hillsboro), [player_tooltip player_id='1825510' first='Ray'quan' last='Watson'] (Oak Ridge), [player_tooltip player_id='1659680' first='Garrett' last='Giles'] (Oak Ridge), [player_tooltip player_id='2816354' first='Lonny' last='Holland'] (Hillsboro), Fisher (MVP), and Graham-Howard were named to the Division 1 Class 4A All-Tournament Team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->