BY BRIAN HAMILTON
KNOXVILLE – Bearden and Maryville both played up to the standard of state tournament teams all year, but when the Rebels were upset last Thursday night in the region championship by Sevier County, that changed everything.
It sent Maryville, as the region runner-up, to Bearden on Monday night for a matchup that featured two teams with a combined five losses on the season — the type of game you usually see in Murfreesboro.
“It was unfortunate that it ended up being that way and a lot of the crime committed there was the TSSAA aligning us like that,” Bearden head coach Jeremy Parrott said after the game. “I mean, we hosted a sectional against a team that’s 20 minutes down the road. That is the most attended substate sectional that I’ve been a part of here. Typically, they’re kind of sleepers, but that one was pretty loud.”
Maryville’s Jonathan Woodlee (3) goes up for a layup in the first quarter of the Rebels’ 53-50 loss. Photo by Brian Hamilton
The matchup lived up to the hype, as the teams traded leads and battled back and forth throughout the game. What might have been the difference was when Bearden took a 10-point lead late in the third quarter, and Maryville was never able to climb all the way back, as Bearden came away with a 53-50 win and earned its first berth in the state championships since 2022.
“It never gets old — it’s just such a great feeling,” Parrott said of being able to cut down the nets Monday night. “In that moment, you’re flashing back to a hot gym in June somewhere, you’re flashing back to August when you’re doing your preseason stuff and then all of the emotions of having a successful game just all attack you at once. It’s just great to see the joy on their faces.”
Maryville scored on its first possession, as the Rebels won the tip and Jonathan Woodlee drove to the basket for a layup to make the score 2-0. Carson Asbaty answered on the other end with a basket to tie the score at 2-2.
Woodlee found Luke Sigmund for an alley-oop slam to put the Rebels up 5-2 with 5:39 left in the first quarter, but Asbaty would once again respond with a layup to trim the Bearden deficit to 5-4.
A layup by Sigmund would push the Maryville lead back to 7-4 midway through the first period, but Asbaty answered with a three-pointer to tie the game at 7-7, as the senior guard registered the first seven points for the Bulldogs.
Sean Capshaw was fouled on a three-pointer on the next Bearden possession and sank 2-of-3 free throws to give Bearden its first lead of the game at 9-7 with 2:46 left.
Eli Owensby hit a layup on the next Maryville possession to tie the game at 9-9, but Brendan Murphy sank a jumper to put Bearden back in front 11-9.
The teams would continue to go back and forth, as Woodlee made a layup to tie the game at 11-11 with just over one minute left in the quarter. Bearden’s Jack Ferraris hit a layup with 10 seconds left, as the Bulldogs would lead 13-11 after one quarter.
Asbaty hit a layup on an up-and-under move to give Bearden a 15-11 lead early in the second quarter, but Sigmund responded with a layup to make the score 15-13.
A three by Will Luhn gave Maryville a 16-15 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the period, but Justin Nordin would hit a jumper to put Bearden back in front 17-16.
The teams traded one-point leads five more times in the second quarter, but Bearden would take a 22-20 lead at the half after a Murphy layup and a free throw by Capshaw.
Bearden’s Justin Nordin cuts down the net after helping the Bulldogs advance to their first state tournament since 2022. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Theo Mills scored on a layup to give Bearden a 24-20 lead to open the third quarter, but Sigmund answered with a layup to cut the Maryville deficit to 24-22.
A three by Julian Douglas put the Rebels back in front 25-24 with 6:28 left in the quarter. Murphy answered with a triple for Bearden, putting the Bulldogs back in front 27-25 with just under five minutes to go.
Douglas hit a layup to tie the game at 27-27, but a Nordin layup would give Bearden a 29-27 lead. Murphy extended the Bulldog lead to 31-27 with a long two-point shot with 3:36 left.
A pair of three-pointers by Mills and Murphy stretched the Bearden lead to double digits, at 37-27, forcing a Maryville timeout with 1:17 left in the third quarter.
Sigmund made a dunk and was fouled, but missed the free throw, leaving the Rebels with a 37-29 deficit, but Woodlee drained a three-pointer with 36 seconds left and Maryville would go to the fourth quarter trailing 37-32.
Nordin sank a foul-line jumper to give Bearden a 39-32 lead to start the fourth quarter, but Owensby grabbed a rebound and scored on a put back to make the score 39-34. Nordin would answer with a reverse layup to push the Bearden lead back to 41-34 with 6:35 left.
A steal and score by Maryville’s Owensby pulled the Rebels to within 43-38 midway through the fourth quarter, but Asbaty would respond with a layup to push the lead back to seven.
Woodlee was fouled on the next possession and hit both free throws to cut Maryville’s deficit to 45-40, but Murphy drove for a baseline layup to extend the Bulldogs’ lead back to 47-40 with 1:45 left.
Sigmund hit a pair of free throws to get the deficit back to five, but another Murphy layup would give Bearden a 49-42 lead. Luhn drained a crucial three for Maryville to trim the deficit to 49-45 with just over one minute left in the game, but Asbaty answered with a layup on the other end to make the score 51-45.
Maryville began to play the foul game at that point and Damian Collum missed a pair of free throws for Bearden with 10 seconds left. Woodlee drove the court and scored a layup with five seconds left to make the score 53-50. Sean Capshaw grabbed the ball to inbound, but before Maryville noticed, Capshaw had tossed the ball in the air and the game was over, as the clock was running during the inbounds and the Rebels did not foul.
Bearden would earn a hard fought 53-50 win to improve its record to 36-1 and secure the Bulldogs’ first state tournament berth since 2022, when they finished as state runner-up.
“You go down there (to Murfreesboro) and whether its great or its not great, you just hope you get back,” Parrott said. “As an older coach, you say, ‘hey when is that opportunity going to come again?’ I’m very appreciative to be able to go to Murfreesboro at least one more time.”
Jonathan Woodlee led all scorers with 19, while Maryville’s Luke Sigmund finished with 13 points.
Bearden was led by Brendan Murphy’s 16 points, while Carson Asbaty finished with 15 and Justin Nordin added 12.
“I can’t say enough about all of our guys,” Parrott said. “You don’t win that many games without commitment from everyone and I’m very proud of this team.”
The Bulldogs (36-1) will face Beech (33-2) in the Class 4A state quarterfinals on Thursday, March 19 at 2:15 p.m. Maryville ends its once promising season with a record of 29-5.