CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The weather may have been unusually warm for February, but inside Walker Valley’s gymnasium Tuesday night there definitely were some flurries. They were of the scoring variety, and all provided by Cleveland’s Blue Raiders.
The District 5-AAA regular-season champion and No. 5-ranked team in the Associated Press boys’ high school basketball state poll was equally effective with its pressure defense and half-court offense, and the result proved to be overwhelming for Walker Valley, which fell to the Blue Raiders by a score of 81-36 in the district tournament final.
East Hamilton defeated McMinn County 81-70 in the third-place game. All four teams advance to the Region 3 tournament.
Boys’ region quarterfinals are Saturday at 7 p.m. local time of the host school. Cleveland (22-4) will host Cookeville and Walker Valley (18-15) will host Warren County. East Hamilton (22-7) will play at White County and McMinn County (10-17) will play at Stone Memorial.
The Mustangs owned a 3-0 lead at the outset of the title game, but once Cleveland took a 5-3 lead on Romeo Wykle’s 3-point goal midway through the first quarter, the landslide began.