Walker Valley Mustangs ride confidence to semis

There haven't been any magic formulas during Walker Valley's recent run of boys' basketball success. Two necessary ingredients have been prevalent, though: confidence and a little luck.

The Mustangs enter the Region 3-AAA semifinals Tuesday having won four straight games and eight of their last 10. They were seeded fourth going into the District 5-AAA tournament but claimed that championship last week with a victory over county rival Bradley Central after edging Ooltewah 62-59 when senior guard Caio Hysinger banked in a 3-point heave from midcourt at the buzzer.

"To be honest, I really don't know what it is," Walker Valley coach Bob Williams said. "We're just clicking at the right time, which is what you want to have happen. We know that on Tuesday, we're going to be facing a good Ooltewah team that rebounds the ball very well, so we're going to have to play well again to win."

District 5-AAA swept the region quarterfinals, with Ooltewah and Cleveland claiming road wins while Walker Valley and Bradley held serve at home. The Tuesday games are rematches of the district semifinals on Feb. 16.

"I just think that top to bottom, we're a pretty good district," Williams said. "For Ooltewah to go into White County and get a win and for Cleveland to go to Cumberland [County] and win are huge for us."

District 5-A boys also swept region quarterfinals with wins for Boyd-Buchanan, Grace Academy, Arts & Sciences and Silverdale Baptist Academy.

In Region 4-AA, the girls' teams from District 8 swept, and their semifinals and finals will be held at Cookeville High School instead of Sequatchie County. Bledsoe County's boys were the only District 7 team to win, yet that tournament will still be held in Dunlap.