The 2-time state champion Greeneville Greene Devils had won 27 straight postseason games but would fall in the Region Semifinals to a red-hot Unicoi County team on Tuesday from Elizabethton High School 59-51. In search of a fourth straight region title, the Blue Devils would get hot from the field led by Grant Hensley, who finished the game with 26 points. The Greene Devils were led by 21 points from Adjatay Dabbs and 18 from Trey Thompson.
Greeneville finishes the season 21-12 and for the first time since 2019, will not advance into the State Tournament.
In Greene County, all three teams in action would find themselves in a battle, but would all see their seasons come to a close including two in overtime. Beginning at West Ridge in Region 1-A, North Greene would trail Hampton in the second half by 12 but would storm back in typical Husky fashion. Led by Mr. Basketball finalist Jason Britton, the Huskies would take a one-point lead late in the game and end up forcing overtime against Hampton. In the end, Hampton would score the final five points in overtime and earn a Region Semifinal win over North Greene 57-53.
Britton would finish with 25 points while fellow Mr. Basketball finalist Cadon Buckles finished with 18 points to lead Hampton. North Greene finishes the season 19-15 and will be the first time in three years the Huskies do not advance to the State Tournament.
In the Region 1-AA Semifinals, both South Greene and Chuckey-Doak would face two of the toughest teams in the state but would battle until the final horn. In the first game, the Rebels would lead for the majority of the game, but would not be able to hold off the Gatlinburg-Pittman comeback as the Highlanders would win in overtime 60-58. South Greene finishes the season 21-11 and took home both the district regular season and tournament championships.
In game two, Chuckey-Doak would face Alcoa and would stay within striking range, but never be able to close the gap and would have their season come to a close with an 86-71 loss. Jahvin Carter led Alcoa with 35 points while junior Christian Derry led the Black Knights with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Chuckey-Doak spent nearly the entire season state-ranked in Class AA but sees their season end with a record of 24-8.
Only local teams still alive this season will play tonight in the girls’ region title games as Greeneville plays Elizabethton from Elizabethton High School (7:00 p.m. on 99.5 FM WGRV) and North Greene will battle rival Hampton from West Ridge High School (7:00 p.m. on 103.1 FM WIKQ).
