CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Fourteen years ago, Clarksville High boys basketball took down Franklin 63-44 in the substate game at William Workman Gymnasium. The Wildcats were hoping that history might repeat itself on Monday, as they welcomed in the Admirals nearly a decade and a half later for another meeting in the sectionals.
For the first time since 2012, Clarksville punched a ticket to the state tournament after defeating Franklin 59-53.
FINAL@CHSWildcatHoops 59@wcsFHSHoops 53
Clarksville punches its ticket to the @tssaa state tournament. What a game. pic.twitter.com/0wEjRPhpJu
— Neil Rye (@NryeTBB) March 9, 2021
“There’s not a lot of firsts at Clarksville High,” said Clarksville boys basketball coach Ted Young. “This is my seventh one that I’ve gotten to be a part of and each one is special. The four road games we had to win got us ready for tonight. This Franklin team was the most difficult I’ve had to prepare for all year. All five of their starters can do everything offensively.
“We did make one major change the last four minutes of the game. We decided to put JJ (Wheat) on their Division I guard and he didn’t score again. Then we nailed our free throws to spread the lead. I still wasn’t comfortable until I saw three seconds on the clock and we were up by six.”
CHS struggled to get shots to fall in the first half, missing point-blank looks at the rim on a number of occasions.
“Any time that we had them in a timeout, especially at halftime, we were like, ‘Guys, we are tickled to death with every single shot that we’ve gotten on the offensive end,'” Young said on the message to his team. “Those are shots that we’re going to make in the second half. Keep getting in there and getting those shots. Our key was to make sure that the other team didn’t get easy shots inside.”
The Wildcats were able to get into passing lanes all night, forcing the Admirals into uncharacteristic turnovers in the half court.
2nd QTR- 1:41@CHSWildcatHoops’s ability to get into passing lanes has been the difference so far in this one. Clarksville goes back out in front 25-24 on this @JJwheat3 score. pic.twitter.com/Yl8SghWID1
— Neil Rye (@NryeTBB) March 9, 2021
“We run drills on that in practice,” Young said. “First, you have to stop the dribble penetration. Teams like Beech, Northeast and Franklin are so good at penetrating and getting shots off that when you bring your help, it leaves open the shooters. What we wanted to make them do is pick their dribble up one-to-two dribbles earlier than what they wanted to, but stay in the passing lanes and we were able to do that. … My guys’ hands are just so quick and they’re just on top of their game right now. It’s a joy to watch them play.”
In the first half, Charles Freeman recorded a putback for two points, knocked down a three-pointer and came up with a blocked shot. The senior forward’s presence was critical early on in the contest when his teammates struggled to generate offense.
2nd QTR- 4:52
Charles Freeman with the putback makes it 18-17 @CHSWildcatHoops. pic.twitter.com/LRZrc7x272— Neil Rye (@NryeTBB) March 9, 2021
“Defense wins games,” Freeman said. “I knew I had to step up it up on that end of the floor and it would lead to good things on the other.”
When he first transferred in from Georgia, Freeman was confident that the roster he was joining was more than capable of making a deep run in the postseason.
“I knew when I got here that the team was focused and ready to go,” Freeman said. “We trust each other. We’ve had a great bond from the start and all worked together on and off the court.”
After Franklin jumped in front to take a six-point lead to start the second half, Clarksville closed out the third quarter on a 10-0 run.
The Admirals came out hot once again out of the break, rattling off seven unanswered points to take a 45-42 fourth-quarter lead.
According to Wildcat junior guard JJ Wheat, his team never wavered despite facing multiple deficits.
“We just had to come out and hit shots,” Wheat said. “In the beginning, we were all off. We just had to forget about the misses, leave them in the past and not carry them over in the future. We were able to play with a lot more energy from there which helped us move forward.”
The Region 5-AAA Tournament MVP was big time down the stretch, helping Clarksville retake a one-point lead with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on a basket through contact.
4th QTR- 3:08
@JJwheat3 with the and-one to put @CHSWildcatHoops back in front 48-47. pic.twitter.com/ct0OUJM7IE— Neil Rye (@NryeTBB) March 9, 2021
In crunch time, Wheat went four-of-four from the charity stripe to make it 53-50 CHS with 23 seconds remaining in regulation.
“I was just thinking Kobe mentality,” Wheat said. “I’ve been able to continue developing my game through hard work.”
Wheat later sent the Wildcat crowd into a frenzy when he picked the pocket of Franklin guard Reed Kemp before slamming it home to seal the victory.
4th QTR- :5.4
@JJwheat3. Nothing more to say. pic.twitter.com/SAVW49CrrI— Neil Rye (@NryeTBB) March 9, 2021
“I was telling my team I was going to get one,” Wheat said. “I wanted to lock their point guard up. He’s a great player, but I just have that mindset on defense where I want to lock everyone up who is in front of me. I wanted to dunk on the first attempt I had, but he fouled me so I had to redeem myself on this one.”
After the game, Young praised the home team’s fans for their passion and commitment to the program.
“I knew we were going to have home-floor advantage, but I wasn’t sure we would have home-crowd advantage because we have to split the tickets up evenly,” Young said. “The fans for Clarksville High that came here tonight were loud, rowdy and you can tell they had a lot of basketball knowledge. They knew when they needed to pick us up and knew when they needed to cheer.”
Wheat scored a team-high 23 points followed by Jaheim McDonald with 13 points and Wesley Booth who added nine points for the Wildcats.
Kemp led all scorers with 26 points while Matt Thurman put up 13 points for the Admirals.
What’s next
Clarksville will take on Houston Thursday, March 18, at 8:30 p.m. in the first round of the TSSAA State Tournament at Middle Tennessee State University.
Young shared what he believes has led to his team’s evolution in recent weeks.
“We don’t scout the opponent during the regular season,” Young said. “We might tell you a little bit about what the best players on another team will do, but I think high school athletes will start to tune you out if you grill them real hard in November.
“Our guys know once we’re into region play, they’ll start coming into my room early in the morning and start getting breakfast. They know when they come to practice, there will be a pop quiz on what the man you’re guarding is able to do. It gets them geared in mentally, gets them geared in physically and that’s where you start building that team bond I think.”