Led by senior star point guard Jordan Frison, Memphis Overton won its first state tournament game in 60 years in a 74-55 win over McMinn County in Tuesday's BlueCross Basketball State Championships Class 4A boys quarterfinals.
The 6-foot Frison came close to a triple-double as he scored 27 points to go with 10 rebounds and seven assists while also adding two steals and a block. Earlier this season he scored a career-high 54 points for the Wolverines against Nashville Overton.
Memphis Overton (31-11) will face Hillsboro (28-4) in Friday's state semifinals at 11 ET. Jailen Hardaway added 21 points in the win and did not miss any of his eight shots from the field.
McMinn County (27-8) was led in scoring by sophomore Reese Frazier, who had 15 points and made a trio of 3-pointers.
The Cherokees were led by a balanced scoring attack this season, which was led by seniors Hayden Smith, Tucker Monroe, Caden Hester and Davion Evans. Smith averaged near a double-double with points and rebounds while blocking two shots per contest. Evans, Frazier and Hester combined to average 14 assists and nine steals per game.
This was McMinn County's ninth trip to the state tournament and first since 2011 for Randy Casey's crew.
Hester scored 12 points and added four assists in the defeat, while junior Trent Peak scored 11 points. Smith had nine points and seven rebounds, while Evans scored seven points.