GRAY DEYOSports Writer

The West Middle School basketball team’s amazing season came to a close on Jan. 29 after they lost to Avery Trace Middle School 37-34 in the Region 3 Tournament.

The Bobcats, after winning the District 12 Championship, continued their postseason run last Thursday. They gained an advantage over Avery Trace in their first-round bout at the Region Tournament, leading 11-4 after the first quarter. Helping get this lead were four different WMS players, who logged points in the opening six minutes–Josh Vincent (2), Dominic Treuhaft (4), Jayden Behrendorff (3), and Reid Seabolt (2). Along with building this advantage with efficient offense, the Bobcats’ defense was strong and steady. The opposing Raiders were struggling to get to the bucket and get high-percentage looks against them, but this changed in the second quarter.

The Bobcats in the second period hit a shooting slump, heavily thanks to some high-level perimeter and interior defense from Avery Trace. On offense, the Raiders began to find holes in the WMS defense and scored 12 points in the quarter. They outscored the Bobcats in the second period 12-2 to take a 16-13 lead going into halftime. One of Avery Trace’s players, Cade Johnson, especially found his rhythm on offense in the second quarter, scoring 8 of his team’s 12 points. This continued in the third, where he tallied six more points to his name and helped his team maintain the lead going into the fourth quarter, at 30-22.

Johnson ended up being the leading scorer of this game with 22 points.

The Bobcats in the final quarter did all they could to generate a comeback, as they went on to win the quarter. They knocked down two threes in the period, one coming from Vincent and one coming from Treuhaft. But with these makes from distance, the Bobcats could not find one extra make from beyond the arc to keep their season alive, as they ended up losing the game 37-34.

West had three scorers with eight or more points in this contest: Eli Hibdon (10), Vincent (8), and Treuhaft (9).

Congratulations to the Bobcats on a great 2025-2026 season. With the season over, it will be exciting to see these talented 8th graders excel in the future for the Tullahoma High School basketball program.