Sluggish start hampers Whitehaven in Class AAA semifinal loss to Bearden

MURFREESBORO — Whitehaven was looking to reach its second consecutive state championship game. Bearden was looking for its first since 2011.

Bearden dominated, leading wire-to-wire as Whitehaven fell 76-60 in a Class AAA state semifinal Friday at MTSU's Murphy Center. 

Whitehaven (25-8) got off to a sluggish start, trailing by as much as 21 in the first half. 

"It's not a good feeling but I mean, it's a part of life. You have your ups and downs, but I can assure you we'll be back next year," said four-star junior guard Matthew Murrell, who finished with 15 points. "... At the end of the day, the state championship was the goal and we fell a little short this time."

Kavion McClain finished with a team-high 20 points for the Tigers. 

Bearden (31-5) plays three-time defending champion East at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the AAA state championship game. 

Without Murrell in 2018, the Tigers lost 72-50 to Memphis East in the state championship game. The star guard missed the entire 2018 postseason with a broken wrist.  

Back healthy, Murrell led the Tigers back to Murfreesboro. Murrell and the rest of the team could not shake off a red-hot Bearden team in the first two quarters. 

"He's had a phenomenal year," Whitehaven coach Faragi Phillips said. "Our team has had a phenomenal year and it starts with him leading us. He's been everything we've asked of in terms of leadership and in terms of what he brings to the table on and off the court." 

Murrell will have one more shot next season at trying to return to the state championship game.

"You learn from any opportunity be it positive, be it negative," Phillips said. "Just like we learned from Wednesday's win, we're going to learn from (Friday's) loss. ... We're going to reflect on what a great season we've had, but we're also going to have to look at the negatives and look at the tough moments the same way and come back next year motivated."

Reach Luis Torres at ltorres1@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @LFTorresIII.

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