Why the wait was sweet for Jackson County in 1st win of TSSAA boys basketball state tournament
MURFREESBORO ― While the school holds some historical value with TSSAA basketball state tournaments, Jackson County's boys program is trying to add value to its name.
The process may have started Wednesday night as the Blue Devils captured its first victory in the boys state tournament, knocking off Jackson Central-Merry 66-56 in the Class 2A quarterfinal, capping off a day of eight straight games at MTSU's Murphy Center.
"My granddad coached in the (1960s) and they went down to the state tournament two times in '64 and '68," Jackson County coach Kevin Thomas said. "My high school coach was on the (1977) team. It's been a basketball community."
Jackson County's girls already have a legendary program that includes 18 tournament appearances, eight state championships and five state runner-up finishes. Wednesday was Jackson County boys' sixth appearance.
And the Jackson County crowd was animated. Combined with Jackson Central-Merry's large following, it was one of the loudest games of the day.
"I thought our crowd was into it," Thomas said. "It's just memories these kids will never forget."
Jackson County's Will McCrary gave the crowd a show. He had 28 points and dominated the post with 16 rebounds. Jackson Central-Merry had no answer for him as he shot 12-for-21 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free-throw line. Alex Meadows added 17 points, going 3-for-3 from 3-point range.
"We have a banner up there in the school and there's never been a final four or a state championship game so we've been stressing the whole season," McCrary said.
If Jackson County (29-2) is looking for its first state championship appearance in school history, it'll have to get past two-time defending state champion Alcoa, which handled Hickman County on Thursday 65-55. That game will start at 2:15 p.m. Friday.
"We've got to eat right, we've got to rest and we'll do our part as coaches to get the scout," Thomas said.
"We've earned the right to be here, we deserve to be here and we've got to play like we deserve to be here."
Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2025: Jackson County makes history
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