MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Instead of showing any signs of dejection after losing 69-47 to nationally ranked Bartlett in the TSSAA Class 4A championship game Saturday night, the Walker Valley boys’ basketball team instead lifted the silver ball runner-up trophy for its community to celebrate inside Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center.
With tears flowing and his voice breaking in the postgame media session, coach Will Campbell spoke to the significance of what this season’s Mustangs accomplished after playing in the program’s first state final.
“I am so proud of our program. We do things the right way,” Campbell said. “To compete on the biggest stage in the state championship game with kids who played their whole lives at Bradley County schools is special. These are all homegrown kids. You don’t see that now a lot in today’s environment we live in.
“They played for each other and loved each other more than any team I have been around. We knew it was a serious uphill battle, and they welcomed that challenge and finished a phenomenal season today.”
Walker Valley finished the best season in program history with a 31-4 overall record, which included going 7-1 against state-ranked opponents during the regular season, and a trio of Mustangs were selected to the all-tournament team at the BlueCross Basketball Championships, with seniors Turner Clayton and Isaac Sausville joined by junior Zach Davis in being recognized.
Davis put on a show over three consecutive days in Murfreesboro as the 6-foot-1 junior guard scored 63 points (shooting 21-of-38 from the field, including 6-of-13 from 3-point range) and collected nine assists. He scored a game-high 24 in the title game as he shot 8-of-14 from the field, went 3-of-6 from behind the arc and made all five of his free throws.
“What we accomplished together is super special,” said Davis, who subbed out of the game with his older brother Ashton with just more than a minute left in the fourth quarter. “We all came up together. Doing it as a collective is super special to us. Setting history is always fun. You can’t be mad or hang your head about this. We had a great season.”
(READ MORE: Walker Valley boys beat Whitehaven, earn program’s first title shot)
Walker Valley vs. Bartlett boys’ basketball on March 21, 2026
Sausville drilled his second 3-pointer with 2:11 left in the third quarter on a cross-court find by Davis, who received a gesture of appreciation in return. Sausville finished with eight points, three rebounds, a block and a steal despite playing through a shoulder injury sustained late in Friday’s thrilling semifinal victory over Whitehaven.
“It was pretty rough after the Whitehaven game. I was hurting,” Sausville said. “But just being able to get back out there and play that one last game, I am truly blessed. God really made a way that I could get one more game with these guys that I really love. No matter what happened, I was happy to have one last game with them.”
Clayton made a 3 from the left wing in front of the Mustangs’ bench with 1:26 left in the fourth quarter for the final basket of Saturday’s game and his standout prep career. Clayton finished with nine points, three rebounds, two assists, one block and a steal.
“We all came up together,” he said. “To do this together is really special. It’s the first time in school history. Being a part of that is something I will always remember.”
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Bartlett (35-4) was too much too quickly, as the Memphis program exploded to a 23-4 lead by the end of the first quarter in which the Panthers forced seven turnovers and shot 55.6% from the field. Sophomore DJ Okoth had a monstrous alley-oop dunk in the opening frame, while Axton Perry’s defense was stellar from start to finish as he had a game-high four blocks and steals to go along with his team-high 15 points.
Bartlett entered the day ranked seventh in the nation by MaxPreps.com. The Panthers won their second state title but first since 2001.
“They are a totally different animal than what Whitehaven was yesterday in the sense of the energy they bring and the way they play,” Campbell said. “They got up big so fast. I thought we battled even in spite of that start. We never hung our heads or were out there not competing as hard as we could have. I couldn’t be prouder of these guys.”
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.