Oakland boys fall in Class AAA state basketball tournament quarterfinals

In a game that was dominated by slow play and even stalls at times, Oakland rushed things at the most inopportune time in Thursday's Class AAA state quarterfinals at MTSU's Murphy Center.

Leading 47-46 in overtime, Oakland fired and missed a jumper with 49 seconds remaining, giving Brentwood an opportunity, which the Bruins cashed in.

"To be honest, us not executing frustrated me more than anything," Oakland coach Troy Bond said. "There late, we were supposed to be holding the ball for the last shot, but we took a shot for some reason."

It was the second time in three seasons Oakland has gotten to the state tournament – and the second quarterfinals loss in that span. The Patriots will return three starters, including junior Ray Tyler, who has played significantly in both state appearances.

"I'm just going to have to be more of a leader and do what I have to to get us back here," said Tyler, who finished with 11 points.

The team will lose senior Jaden Jamison, who started on both state tournament teams. A dejected Jamison was nursing a busted lip after the game, a play that forced him to miss some time in the third quarter. 

"Jaden had a four-year career that was fantastic," Bond said. "We'll definitely miss him, a guy that played that much for us."

Brentwood (27-8) outscored Oakland (24-6) 7-4 in overtime. Oakland led by a point inside a minute left, but Brentwood took the lead for good on a backdoor lob and layup, one of several in the game, to Harry Lackey.

The Patriots made a fourth-quarter comeback to send it to overtime after trailing by as many as six (40-34) midway through the quarter.

De'Arre McDonald's 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in regulation tied things at 43. Despite missing most of the second quarter with foul trouble, McDonald led all scorers with 17 points. The four-star 2020 football recruit shined in the second half of the season on the basketball court.

"It was just fighting for these dudes," McDonald said. "I'd do anything for them."

The Patriots held Brentwood to 3-of-15 shooting in the first half, but the Bruins were 12-of-21 in the second half. 

"We're absolutely proud of where we are and what we've accomplished," Bond said. "We need to keep climbing the ladder and advancing. We fell short today, but our effort was good through busted lips, foul trouble and everything else."

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.

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