Eagleville boys advance, to face familiar foe in Class A state semifinals

Eagleville's boys waited 12 years to get back to the Class A state basketball tournament, so the Eagles weren't planning on a short trip.

Now the Eagles will get a familiar foe in the Class A state semifinals after pulling away for a 66-55 win over Cosby in Thursday's state quarterfinals at MTSU's Murphy Center.

Top-ranked Eagleville (29-3) will face Columbia Academy (29-5 and 77-53 winners over Manassas Thursday in the quarterfinals) for the third time when the two square off in Friday's semifinals at 4:30.

"We're going to play Eagleville basketball, no matter who we play," said Eagleville first-year coach Davy McClaran. "We've played Columbia Academy twice already. We know what kind of athletes they have, what kind of game it will be."

Eagleville lost to Columbia Academy 86-78 on Dec. 8 before knocking off the Bulldogs 94-84 in double overtime on Dec. 28.

Friday's semifinal winner will advance to the state championship game Saturday at 6 p.m.

"We'll play hard and make gametime adjustments as we go," said McClaran. "With this team, I walk out (on the court) and am as confident as anybody. They'll fight hard through it and put themselves in a position to win. I'm excited to be there and watch them play hard and compete."

Eagleville showed no signs of nervousness in Thursday's win, jumping out to a 10-0 lead within the first two minutes.

Cosby (24-9) didn't fold, however, coming back to not only make a game of it, but lead (47-45) heading into the fourth quarter.

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Eagleville outscored the East Tennessee squad 21-8 in the final period.

"We wanted to make a first-game statement for everybody," said Eagleville junior guard Ryley McClaran, who scored 26 points, including eight of the first 10. "We wanted to set the tone early and show everybody what we can do."

Ryley McClaran and senior Mari Stoudemire (29 points, six rebounds) combined for 55 of Eagleville's 66 points.

"it was about coming out and proving a point we needed to prove - that we're the No. 1 team in the state," said Stoudemire, who was 11-of-13 at the free throw line and also hit two 3-pointers. 

"We play a little loose when we have the lead," added Coach McClaran. "Once we got down, our shot selection got better. We focused on finishing."

Ethan Cobb added six points and a team-high eight rebounds for Eagleville.

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

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