CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Not even a 14-for-34 performance from the free-throw line hampered McMinn Central on Monday.
Nor did it keep coach Doug Armstrong from beaming after the Chargers defeated Sequoyah 88-54 in one of the District 5-AA boys’ high school basketball semifinals at Cleveland State.
Joe Fritts, a 6-foot-4 senior wing who played at Sequoyah last season, made five 3-point shots and sparked the victory with 32 points.
In the other boys’ semifinal, two of Corey Billingsley’s 27 points gave Sweetwater the lead with 1:17 to play and ultimately a 55-54 victory when Polk County’s 60-footer at the buzzer was off the mark.
Sweetwater (12-13) will play McMinn Central (14-10) for the championship Wednesday night at 7:30 after Sequoyah (11-18) plays Polk County (10-16) in the consolation game at 6.
The girls’ title will be decided tonight when Polk County takes on McMinn Central at 7:30. Sweetwater plays Meigs County in the consolation game at 6.
The Chargers made up for their lackluster free-throw shooting Monday by making 32 baskets and holding the Chiefs to 15. McMinn Central also had a 10-6 advantage in 3-pointers with five players making at least one.
“Before we came down here, I told them there were three things we needed to do,” Armstrong said. “‘Play defense, get on the boards and play hard. Do that and the offense will take care of itself.’ I really thought the kids hit the boards, were physical and played hard. We also kept their scorers in check. It was one of our best efforts.”
The key stretch began with the Chargers leading 17-15. Fritts took a swat at the ball and it fell through the basket at the first-quarter horn, and that started McMinn Central on a 24-5 surge.
“We were ready to play then,” Fritts said of his lengthy tip. “We knew we had momentum.”
The Chargers increased their 19-point halftime lead to 69-39 with a 28-point third quarter that included half their 3-point goals.
“We just kept building on our lead after halftime,” Armstrong said. “A lot of those 3s were inside-out and we were able to get our feet set. I thought we had good shot selection.”
Dillon Williams had 15 points off McMinn Central’s bench. Josh Moss added 11 points and Ben Stiles chipped in with 10.
Jethro Griffin topped Sequoyah with 15 points, and Tevin West totaled 14.