The Greeneville basketball team is going to have buy new nets at Hal Henard Gymnasium after cutting them down on Monday, and they may have to get new rims as well after Trey Thompson hammered them time after time with his punishing dunks in their Class 3A State Sectional win over Knox Carter.
After Thompson poured in the 30 points and the Greene Devils made the tough plays on defense late in the game Greeneville was able top the Hornets 55-51, earning the program a ninth appearance in the state tournament.
“This is awesome, I’ve never had this feeling before,” Thompson said. “It’s a tradition here, but it’s the first time I get to experience it. It feels amazing. This was extremely important to us, we wanted to get back to state, and we want to win the whole thing.”
Greeneville will be making its first trip to the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro since winning the state title in 2022. The Devils will begin Class 3A State Tournament action on Thursday, March 20 at 11:00 a.m. Central Time against Munford. Munford beat Dyersburg 65-63 on Monday to earn its first trip to the state tournament since 1930.
“At the end the night when you look at how this one broke down, we made about two more plays than they did,” Greeneville coach Brad Woolsey said. “We get two steals late and Trey finishes, and Isaac (McGill) finishes and that’s what it came down to. One of the hardest things in sports is to continue to play good defense when your offense isn’t clicking. We were off kilter all night on offense, but the way these guys played defense and rebounded was impressive. It’s great to go back to state, and it was earned. For us to have to gut this one out here tonight was special.”
Monday’s second half started with Greeneville trailing 29-27 and looking for a way to stop Hornets’ guard Chris Cowan who scored 17 points in the first half. On the first play of the second half Isaac McGill and Zaydyn Anderson quickly met Cowan on the perimeter and forced him to get rid of the ball. The new level of intensity set the tone and swung the momentum in Greeneville’s favor.
“We knew at halftime we had to stop (Cowan) and we had to make adjustments,” McGill said. “We had to meet him at half court and that changed the whole momentum of the game. Once it worked the first time we knew there was a weakness, we knew we could get at him.”
On the other end two free throws by Anderson tied the game at 29-29 and then 15 seconds later a steal by Thompson led to a fast break layup from McGill.
Thompson then brought the crowd to its feet when after two offensive rebounds he made a determined drive down the left side of the lane and pounded the iron with a two-handed slam. Thompson then drained a triple, and he put the Devils in front 40-33 when he pumped faked and stepped around the defense for a mid-range jumper.
Thompson, a Mr. Basketball finalist led all scorers on Monday with 30 points, and it seemed like every time the Devils needed a boost he brought the crowd to a roar with one of his thunderous slams.
“Those energy giving plays were huge,” Woolsey said. “When he scores like that it gives energy to the whole team. But when you look at the first quarter he is distributing the ball and guys are knocking down shots. That feeds the team as well. Whether he was scoring or passing he made a huge difference.”
In the final minute of the third quarter a steal by Taren Claridy led to a layup by Thompson and then McGill took his own steal the distance for a 46-40 lead heading to the final frame.
With 7:03 left to play Cole Smith knocked down a three-pointer that put Greenville on top 49-43, but the Hornets’ defense stiffened up and held Greeneville scoreless for the next 5:27.
In that stretch Navyion Shipe scored on a putback and Dave Stokes sank a jumper from the elbow. With 3:34 left to play Cowan drove the lane for his first field goal of the second half and tied the game at 49-49.
While shots were not falling for Greeneville Thompson kept Greeneville in the game with his tough defense in the paint and a dominant rebounding effort. He then gave the Devils the lead back at 51-49 on a layup with 1:36 left to play. Next Cole Franklin ripped a rebound away from the Hornets and got the transition started. Thompson fired a pass from midcourt to McGill for a layup that put Greeneville up by four points.
With 20 seconds left, and Greeneville leading 53-51, Shipe looked as though he gave Carter the break it needed when he intercepted an inbound pass. As he broke to the goal Thompson stepped up again and took the ball back to preserve the lead.
Two free throws by Thompson iced the 55-51 win.
Monday’s action began with Thompson passing out of the paint and the Devils using the outside shot to build a 16-8 lead. Anderson and Dominic Tweed each hit from behind the arc once, Thompson fired in a pair of quick-release three-pointers, and Jherivus Moore sank a toe-on-the line two.
With two seconds left in the period Cowan drove the lane and cut Greeneville’s lead down to 18-12.
Thompson started the second quarter on the bench and Carter took advantage. With 5:45 left in the half Cowan got to the rim again and evened the score at 18-18.
Thompson reentered and with 3:43 left Yordan Mills used a steal to set him up for a breakaway dunk that put Greeneville in front 24-18.
After the Hornets tied the game again Thompson came up with his most powerful jam of the night. The junior post took an inbound lob in the paint and swung it over his head and over defender Zion Oliver for a powerful posterization.
Cowan scored five points in the final 1:19 and gave Carter a 55-51 halftime lead.
Cowan finished Monday with 23 points.
