BRISTOL, Tenn. – Adam Wolfenbarger's worst nightmare came to pass Saturday night at Viking Hall, but it was a dream come true for Colin Brown.
A 6-foot-1 guard, Brown went bonkers in the quarterfinal round of the Region 1-3A boys tournament, setting Tennessee High's single-game scoring record and leading the Vikings to an 86-52 win over the Grainger Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies had no answer for the splendiferous Brown, who knocked down 8 of 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and was credited with 54 points by the Tennessee High bookkeepers, who had the left-hander making 20 of 25 floor attempts and 6 of 7 free throws.
Brown's night to remember erased Hugh McMurray's name from the Tennessee High record book. McMurray scored 50 points in a game 30 years ago, in January 1994.
Wolfenbarger tipped his hat before hopping a bus back to Rutledge.
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"We didn't have much for him," said the seventh-year Grainger coach. "He shot the ball lights out. We knew we couldn't guard him one-on-one. man-to-man, so we tried to set in a zone and he made four 3s in the first quarter.
"So that stretched us back out, and once we have to get out there and chase him, well, you see what happens. He's a special player. It is what it is, right? Kudos to them, man."
Michael McMeans has used every adjective in the book to describe his superstar, but Brown sent the fourth-year Tennessee High coach back to the dictionary on this occasion.
"He's unbelievable," McMeans said. "I mean, when he's locked in like that he is un-real.
"But he's doing it defensively, too, and when he gets hyped up defensively, it leads to offense – that's what I keep trying to tell him. He's out getting steals and just playing real aggressive and when he gets going, you're not going to cool him off. It's crazy."
Brown made 4 of 4 shots from the same spot beyond the arc in the game's first five minutes, helping Tennessee High get out of the gates quickly.
The Vikings, who hit 10 of 13 shots in the first period, led 26-14 after eight minutes, 42-25 at halftime and 67-41 by the end of the third stanza.
The junior had 23 points by halftime before scoring 16 points in the third quarter, giving him 39 through three periods and certainly within reach of McMurray's mark.
"Well, somebody told me when I got to 40," Brown said. "I got to 37 against Abingdon earlier this year and they pulled me out, so I wasn't able to get it. I had thought the record was 40, but then somebody told me tonight that it was 52. I felt good so I figured I'd try to go for it, and I got it."
Brown opened the fourth frame with a 3 from the corner, and he later added another 3 to get to 50 with more than five minutes still to play in the game..
One of his last buckets occurred when he grabbed a defensive rebound and sped downcourt for a 90-foot layup through contact. The Grizzlies fouled him and he converted the three-point play.
His final hoop happened with 4:36 to play, when he took his man off the dribble, cradled the ball in his left arm up against his chest, and whirled through the lane for a spinning layup.
On more than one occasion, Brown got a shooter's roll, like all big scorers seem to do.
He averaged six shots per quarter, and two quarters he didn't miss.
"When he's like that it's like cruising around in a Ferrari," said McMeans, who got an oh-by-the-way 10 points from sweet-shooting guard Braden Howard. "It's fun to drive, you know? It's fun to coach when you can call anything you have in the book over here, and turn him loose.
"He just knows how to make plays. Hope he stays like that about the next three or four games."
Brown's performance was so good it was almost laughable – he made it look too easy.
"I don't know, I just had a good feeling about tonight, I guess – big game, the region, at home, so you've got to come in with a lot of energy," Brown said. "I just took what they gave me."
Early on the Grizzlies gave him a couple of open looks from 20 feet, then they stretched out a step or two, so Brown hit a pair from about 23 feet.
Grainger went man-to-man thereafter, and Brown put his take-it-to-the-rack game in motion. The Grizzlies did what they could, but they had no one who could stay in front of him.
"No," Brown said. "No, they didn't. I have a move I like to do and I try to go with it when I can. If they stop that, then I just take what they give me.
"It's good and it's exciting, but we've got two more games and then substate, so I just want to focus on the big goal."
The big goal comes into full focus starting Tuesday at 7:45 p.m., when Tennessee High (17-15) meets Greeneville (20-7) in a Region 1-3A semifinal game at Claiborne High School.
THS is one victory from reaching the sectional playoffs, and a win in the Class 3A sectional round would send the Vikings to the state tournament in Murfreesboro.
Grainger, which got a 20-point game from Ashton Creswell and a 12-point outing from Kade Williams, finished its season with a 10-15 record.
THS is playing as the No.2 seed out of District 1. Grainger was the No.3 seed out of District 2. Greeneville is playing as the top seed out of District 2.
Greeneville defeated Tennessee High 63-57 way back on Nov. 18.
GRAINGER (52) – C.Williams 0 2-4 2, Jarnigan 1 3-4 5, K.Williams 4 1-2 12, Creswell 6 6-7 20, Wells 4 0-1 9, Morgan 0 0-0 0, Stratton 0 0-0 0, Trent 0 0-0 0, Kincaid 0 0-0 0, Foster 1 0-0 2, Maxey 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 12-18 52.
TENNESSEE HIGH (86) – Howard 4 2-2 10, Brown 20 6-7 54, Phillips 2 1-2 5, Singleton 0 1-2 1, Miller 3 1-2 7, Davidson 0 0-0 0, Lamb 2 0-0 5, Graham 0 2-2 2, Thatcher 0 0-0 0, Gentry 0 0-0 0, Norton 1 0-0 2. Totals 32 13-17 86.
Grainger 14 11 16 11 – 52
Tennessee High 26 16 25 19 – 86
3-point goals – Grainger 6 (M.Williams 3, Creswell 2, Wells), Tennessee High 9 (Brown 8, Lamb). Total fouls – Grainger 18, Tennessee High . Fouled out – Maxey. Technical fouls – none.