Murfreesboro, Tenn. — 9th ranked Blackman set the tone from the opening tip Monday night and cruised to a 41-33 win over visiting Ravenwood to secure its spot in the TSSAA Class 4A state tournament. The Blaze (27-4) were locked in defensively from the opening tip, never trailing in what was a wire-to-wire victory. Blackman advances to the state tournament for the ninth time in program history and first time in two years.
Quarter-by-quarter recap:
Ravenwood 4 | Blackman 9
Ravenwood 6 | Blackman 4
Ravenwood 11 | Blackman 18
Ravenwood 12 | Blackman 10
Blackman finished with 41 points, holding Ravenwood — who was trying to make its first state tournament appearance in program history — to just 33 points.The defense for Blackman was immense, pressuring the Raptors all game long while forcing them to take tough shots. Ravenwood hit several shots in the lane and made trips to the free throw line late, but Blackman’s defense never relented. Will McCarter hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in the game to bring Ravenwood within eight points (41-33), but Blackman made key stops down the stretch. The Blaze return to Murfreesboro for state play after missing last year’s state tournament. Blackman will now take on No. 5 Whitehaven in round one of the Class 4A state tournament. Ravenwood will hang its hat on this season, coming up just short in their second state-qualifier game in school history.
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