MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — As wake-up calls go, the one Chattanooga Prep got during Friday’s game was much more of a jolt to the system than the 6 a.m. alarm clock that woke the team for its morning tipoff.
After winning their three state tournament games by an average of 22 points last season, then opening this year’s BlueCross Basketball Championships with a 40-point win Wednesday, the Sentinels had to overcome a list of self-inflicted challenges as well as a determined opponent before pulling away late for a 65-59 win against Humboldt in a TSSAA Class 1A semifinal at Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center.
Faced with their first true challenge in a state tournament game since a semifinal loss in 2023 — during the program’s first appearance at the event — the reigning champions showed calmness and maturity down the stretch well beyond a team with just two seniors on the roster and none in the starting lineup.
However, that was only after a frustrating struggle to execute the fundamentals that have made the Sentinels so dominant for two seasons.
“It was a tough battle. A hard-fought battle, and a win is a win,” Sentinels coach Christian Collins said. “It wasn’t the prettiest, but we’ll take the ‘W.’
“If you want to be a champion, you have to go through all the adversity and hard-fought battles, but if you ask me, I’m not happy with the win. Our performance wasn’t great at all. Humboldt played their butts off from start to finish, but (the frustration) goes back to what we didn’t do. We didn’t play disciplined at all today.”
Chatt Prep (28-8) will face Hillcrest (28-3), which defeated Wayne County 44-41 in the second semifinal, in Saturday’s title game at noon Eastern at MTSU. The Sentinels will try to become the first repeat boys’ basketball state champion from Chattanooga since Tennessee Temple in 2002-03.
They have that opportunity despite a semifinal in which they committed 18 turnovers, made just 18 of 34 free throws and gave up 14 offensive rebounds to the scrappy Vikings (29-6) — who entered on a 19-game streak of wins, including 13 by double digits, and had not lost to a Class 1A opponent all season.
“They think they’re about to go back to the hotel and get some sleep. We’re going right to Cane Ridge,” Collins said of a plan to take his players to the nearby high school where the team practices during state tournament week. “If we can get in there, we’ll get to work on free throws and basic stuff like boxing out.
“They may not like it, but it’s going to pay off tomorrow. We can’t afford to have another game like this one. I know it’s a big stage, a big environment, and sometimes our guys can get out of character, but they’re going to have to play with more focus, more control of themselves and the environment.”
After the teams battled to a 24-all tie entering halftime, the Sentinels began the third quarter with a 7-2 scoring run and never trailed in the second half. But they also never could put together enough mistake-free possessions to pull away to a comfortable margin until the final three minutes, when they built a nine-point lead before the Vikings closed the gap in the final seconds.
“We had to come out and get the early jump on them to start the second half,” said Chatt Prep junior guard Demarion Bowman, who led a balanced offense with a 15-point performance that included making all three of his free throws. “They already had the momentum from the first half, so we had to take that away. Coach has prepared us for these type moments, so that’s how we were able to step up.”
Junior forward Derrick Roberson added 14 points for the Sentinels, and sophomore guard Austin Jones had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.