Memphis East will meet Whitehaven in the Region 8-AAA Tournament Final

<p>Way before the buzzer sounded in the Memphis East-Houston matchup, Whitehaven knew which team it would have to play Thursday night in the Region 8-AAA Tournament Final.</p> <p>To most, it wasn’t a surprise that the Mustangs pounced on the Mustangs of Houston High School in the early minutes of the first quarter. Memphis commit <strong>James Wiseman</strong> started the demolition by scoring eight of the team’s first 21 points as Memphis East jumped out to a 21-2 lead.</p> <p>Wiseman finished with 21 points, six rebounds, three blocks, one assist, and one steal in the 59-44 victory and made things looks relatively easy for most of the game.</p> <p>Wiseman was solo in the post as his future teammate at Memphis, Malcolm Dandridge, didn’t play as he’s dealing with a knee injury. The Mustangs were also without senior shooting guard Derrein Merriweather, who suffered a concussion against the Tigers in the District 16-AAA Championship game nine days ago.</p> <p>Memphis East head coach Javonte Holmes mentioned he’s not sure if Dandridge and Merriweather will play on Thursday, and he also mentioned he doesn’t know the extent of their injuries.</p> <p>If Dandridge and Merriweather can’t go, Holmes said “It’s the next guy up.”</p> <p>The Mustangs know Whitehaven very well. Memphis East won both meetings in the regular season, but the Tigers got revenge in the district championship game. Both schools will meet for the fourth time this season and this time, there’s more at stake.</p> <p>The loser of Thursday night’s matchup will have to play the winner of Bartlett and Bolton of the Region 7-AAA Tournament final next Monday on the road for a chance to go to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to compete for the 3A state championship.</p> <p>The Tigers almost didn’t get to this point, having to lean on <strong>Matthew Murrell’s</strong> game-winning 3-pointer against Southwind in the final seconds, with his team trailing the Jaguars 50-48 with 2.1 seconds left.</p> <p>Whitehaven trailed Southwind for the entire first half and didn’t take the lead until late in the third quarter off a score from junior guard Jesse Payne. The Jaguars took the lead back off two made foul shots from senior point guard <strong>Ashton Smith</strong>. With his team trailing 48-46, junior point guard Kavion McCain was stripped at mid-court by senior point guard Ashton Taylor, who found senior forward Kameron Jones cutting to the basket. Jones got fouled by Devine Owens and made 1 of 2 shots from the free throw line.</p> <p>Jones went to the line once more to split his foul shots, setting up Murrell’s dagger.</p> <p>Murrell doesn’t appear to be nervous in big moments. He finished the game with 19 points and will pose a problem for the guards of the Mustangs.</p> <p>“Whitehaven is a good team,” Holmes said. “They have a great coach in Faragi (Phillips), and you know, our dynamic of a team is different, so they have to prepare for a different dynamic of our team.”</p> <p>The Tigers aren’t going to stop Wiseman, but someone else will have to step up for Memphis East in the backcourt, especially if Merriweather can’t play. Nautica Harwell could fill that void. He’s a 6-foot-1 point guard that’s very good at attacking the basket. He also can shoot from mid-range.</p> <p>In Tuesday night’s win against Houston, Harwell finished with 10 points, five assists, three steals, and three rebounds on 4 of 9 shooting.</p> <p>“Nautica has always been a great outside threat,” Holmes said. “Defensively, he can do it. He can get to the rim. He can shoot the 3. He can play in between the lines. I put a lot of pressure on him. I told him “We need you.” If we are going to make this state championship run, he’s going to be a crucial piece to what we do.”</p> <p><strong>Other notes</strong></p> <p>Tuesday night marked sophomore guard Tadarius Jacobs’ second game back with Memphis East after sitting out for the entire second half of the regular season with a broken wrist. Jacobs, 6-2, is a guard the Mustangs can use to stretch the floor and open up shooting gaps for Harwell, Antonio Thomas, and Isaiah Cathey.</p>