Farrell Powers Tullahoma to First State Tourney Victory

The third time was the charm for Tullahoma basketball. Led by a masterful performance from Xavier Farrell the Wildcats won their first state tournament game in program history 68-48 over  Jackson South Side in the boys class 3A state quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro. 

Xavier Farrell go up for a shot vs Jackson South Side Thursday in the State Quarterfinals. Photo Holly Peterson-Peterson Media Group

Farrell finished with a game high 33 points on 15 of 21 shooting and also tallied 5 rebounds and 6 steals.Farrell who entered the state tournament as the Tullahoma career and season point leader eclipsed 1,500 for his career and 800 on the year with his first basket of the game and was named the Owens Provision Player of the Game. 

Matching the physicality and athleticism of Jackson South Side the Wildcats were able to cash in off of turnovers and in transition to stymie the Hawks. 

Tullahoma scored 36 points off  27 South Side turnovers. The Cats also won the battle in the paint, out scoring the Hawks 46-32, and on the fast break where they held a 26-10 advantage. 

The Cats jumped out to a 12-2 lead  with 2:32 left in the first quarter before Southside closed the frame of a 5-2 run to trim the lead to 14-7 at the break. 

The Hawks opened the second quarter with an 8-4 run to pull within three and from there though Tullahoma maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the half the Hawks never let the Wildcats have much breathing room. The teams traded baskets and despite Southside winning the quarter 18-14 Tullahoma led by three at the half. 

The third quarter was again a heavy weight fight with the Cats and Hawks trading blows and trips to the free throw line as both teams entered the bonus with more than half of the quarter remaining. Tullahoma came out on top this time 21-17 and up 6 49-42. 

The Cats shut the door on a Hawk comeback in the fourth which they dominated 19-6. Again it was the tenacity of the Wildcats that made the difference. Unwaivered by the physical hawks, they battled for loose balls and rebounds and made the plays given to them to turn a nip and tuck affair through three into a 20 point bench emptying victory this despite losing the battle on the boards 32-24. 

Tullahoma held South Side to 36 % from the field and 8% from three. Tullahoma meanwhile was 29-49 (59%) from the field. Tullahoma only attempted 5 threes (1-5) and rebounded from a slow start to go 9-15 from the line. 

Khani Johnson also finished in double figures with 16 points as well as 5 assists and 5 steals. Sam Bobo added 9 points. Robert Liggins led Jackson South SIde with 18 points. 

The Wildcats, now 31-4 on the season, will play in the class 3A semifinals tomorrow at 5:30. Coverage begins at 5:00 on 93.9 The Duck.