GRAY DEYOSports Writer

The Wildcats were able to survive a storm of threes in the first half from Oakland, but some poor shooting in the fourth quarter and a strong individual performance from the Patriots would be their demise—losing their season opener 75-62.

Oakland knocked down eight threes compared to the Wildcats’ three in the first half. Xavier Ferrell, forward for Tullahoma, played a big part in keeping the ship steady during Oakland’s surge from distance, scoring 21 points in the first two quarters.

“He is probably the heart of our team,” Tullahoma head coach Jason Welch said regarding Ferrell.

“He is a three-year starter and has been our leading scorer for two years in a row. He just works so hard for us, and he’s a silent leader, but he is a leader.”

Ferrell struggled to get his three-ball falling early and adjusted accordingly. He started attacking the rim scoring eight points in the first, with all his points coming from inside the arc. He showed that if one thing is not working, he has plenty of other things to go to, to remain effective. He ended up finding his long ball after the first period, knocking down four threes and finishing the game with a team-high 29 points.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the opposing Patriots had a player looking at the rim in their gym like it was the size of the ocean. Sophomore guard, Bryant Haggard tacked in a game-high 38 points for Oakland and was one of the main reasons his team got the win.

“He is unconscious; he just plays,” coach Welsh said regarding Haggard as a player. 

“Coach Birdwell (Oakland head coach) is a great friend of mine and played for me at Macon County. He just does a fantastic job. He just turns Haggard loose, and Haggard is a really good player and he plays free.”

The Wildcats had a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter—-leading 49-45. They came out missing shots they had hit virtually the whole game. The Patriots took advantage of the Wildcats’ shooting woes and went on a 6-0 run to get the lead at 51-49. Coach Welsh called a timeout to try to kill the six-point tear, but despite his attempt, it continued. Oakland extended their lead to 11 and extended their run to 13-0.

Tullahoma would start to hit the looks that their pass-heavy offense generated all night, but it was too little too late. Haggard counteracted the small wave of momentum being built by the Wildcats late in the game, with 24 second-half points. 

The Wildcats will look to learn from this loss and go get right this Sunday when they take on a team Coach Welsh used to coach—Macon County.