KNOXVILLE – The Greeneville boys basketball team’s postseason run came to an end on Monday night one game short of a return to the state tournament.
In the Class 3A State Sectionals the Greene Devils fell to Fulton 66-52.
“Fulton just came out and got us,” Greeneville coach Brad Woolsey said. “They got up in us defensively. We got in a hole that we never could get out of. But after we came out flat I felt like our guys really played hard. We did some things that were really good, and we gave ourselves a chance. We almost did it, we almost made it to state, but we ran into a really good Fulton team.”
While Monday’s loss stung in the moment, the turnaround that took place over the second half of the season is something that should be commended. After losing seven of the nine players who took the floor during the 2025 state tournament the Greene Devils started the season 0-13. There were plenty of bumps along the way, but Greeneville ended the year with a 9-22 mark and as one of the final 16 teams standing in Class 3A.
“This has been a great group of kids. They grew together and loved each other. They could have wilted or grown apart, but they got 32 minutes from Murfreesboro,” Woolsey said. “They were willing to be coached and that allowed them to get better. I’ve coached this group hard. Here at the end they had an opportunity to spread their wings, and they did such a great job down the stretch. This is one of the most rewarding years I’ve ever had.”
Monday’s action started with the Flacons jumping in front 10-0. Nick Steen and Jymari Martin each scored on offensive rebounds and Martin capped the run by turning a steal into breakaway dunk.
Second-chance points and points off turnovers made Greeneville’s battle with the Falcons even tougher. The extra possessions proved to be too much to overcome and Fulton was able to play from in front all night.
“We were uncomfortable all night. To play against athleticism you have to play against athleticism, and we just didn’t handle it well tonight,” Woolsey said.
Greeneville broke the streak with 3:29 left in the opening frame when Taren Claridy sank a short jumper from the left block.
Zy Neal and Braylen Kidwell were able to knock down three-pointers for the Greene Devils to close the gap to 16-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter began with Fulton’s Justin Burris taking a steal the distance.
Greeneville’s was able to bring the deficit back to six points at 22-16 with 3:42 left in the first half when Claridy nailed a corner three.
The Falcons scored eight points in the final 1:26 of the first half to take a 34-22 lead. Joe Hairston ran ahead of the Devils for a breakaway dunk and Steen powered home a pair of layups.
The only reprieve Greeneville had during the stretch was a triple by Neal.
Fulton’s lead reached 39-23 in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but then Greeneville’s offense found a little life.
Yordan Mills got things started by finding Kidwell cutting to the basket for a layup. Mills followed by running the length of the floor before dropping in a floater, and William Woolsey closed the gap to 39-30 with a pair of free throws.
From there the margin fluctuated from 14 to nine points the rest of the way. The Devils showed fight, but they could not put together enough stops to challenge the lead.
With 1:56 left Parker Quillen drained a trey from the top of the key to close the gap to 42-33, but six free throws from the Flacons sent them to fourth quarter leading 50-37.
Inside the first minute of the fourth quarter Steen and Chaz Wood scored on layups for Fulton, but Greeneville answered with three-pointers from Woolsey and Quillen.
With 3:53 left to play Claridy landed a fade-away jumper on an inbound play that cut the Falcons’ lead to 58-49.
Greeneville closed the gap to 62-52 with 52 seconds remaining when Zy Neal finished a steal by Woolsey. The Greene Devils were not able to make another shot.
Neal led Greeneville on Monday with 13 points, Claridy had 11 and Kidwell scored 10 points.
For Fulton Nick Steen led the way with 30 points.
The loss brought an end to the Greene Devil careers of seniors Ryan Maggart and Williams Woolsey.
