Bearden basketball reaches second TSSAA championship in four years with chance to sweep 4A titles
MURFREESBORO — Exactly one week after the Bearden girls basketball team won the program's first state championship, the Bearden boys basketball team will have a chance to make more history.
The Bulldogs earned a dominant 62-44 victory over Lebanon to reach their second state championship game since 2019. Bearden (30-6) will face Dobyns-Bennett at 5 p.m. ET Saturday at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center in the title game.
It is the first time in school history that both the boys and girls teams have reach the final in the same season, and if Bearden wins, it will be the first time a school has won both titles in the largest classification since Blackman in 2015.
"That's special. It's a credit to our community, our school and the kids that are in both programs," coach Jeremy Parrott said. "I'm happy to be a part of another Bearden team in a state title, my second time in six seasons... and Coach Underwood has been right there along the way too. If we could do that tomorrow, that'd be very special to see that happen, because that's not not a common thing."
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The boys Class 4A championship game will also be between two teams from East Tennessee thanks to Dobyns-Bennett's overtime upset against Bartlett. The girls 4A final also featured two teams from the east, Bearden and Farragut.
Lincoln Memorial signee Elijah Bredwood led a merciless Bearden offense, scoring 26 points and shooting 14-15 from the free throw line. He also dominated defensively with five steals and seven defensive rebounds. However, Parrott said the biggest factor in the victory was Bearden's 12 bench points compared to Lebanon's two.
The Bulldogs also had to contend with a hostile atmosphere thanks to massive turnout from Lebanon's student section and fans. Bearden is nearly two hours farther from Murphy Center than Lebanon (29-7), and the team's cheering section was conspicuously empty, but Walker Kyle said the players were unfazed by the rowdy opposing crowd.
"It was the same way the other night (in the quarterfinals)," Kyle said. "It was just like one of the Farragut games. It's kind of a rivalry where we didn't have anybody here. We really relied on each other for the support, and we know we always have that. We all just kind of zoned it out and knew what we had to get done was between the black lines."
After pulling off a dramatic two-point upset over 4A title favorite Cane Ridge on Wednesday, the Bulldogs showed no signs of fatigue. Twelve of Bearden's first 16 points came from three-pointers, and three of those were from Kyle, who finished 3-6 from beyond the arc with nine points and five rebounds.
As a freshman, Kyle was a member of the Bearden team that won the 2019 state championship over Memphis East. While he didn't earn any playing time in that contest, he said he still remembers the atmosphere and is excited to get the full experience.
"I'm tired of (Parrott) calling me a tagalong," Kyle laughed. "I really just remember the feeling. The air is heavy, like not pressure but just what's on the line and what you've worked for for the four years you've been in high school."
Contact Emily Adams at eaadams@gannett.com or on Twitter @eaadams6.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Bearden basketball: Bulldogs rout Lebanon to attempt TSSAA title sweep
