North Greene’s Jason Britton (24), who broke the Northeast Tennessee boys scoring record, exits the court after Wednesday’s state tournament loss to Santa Fe.
North Greene’s Jason Britton (24), who broke the Northeast Tennessee boys scoring record, exits the court after Wednesday’s state tournament loss to Santa Fe.
MURFREESBORO — Jason Britton hasn’t had much time to reflect on his North Greene basketball career yet.
Wednesday couldn’t have been a much more bittersweet day. On the one hand, Britton did become Northeast Tennessee’s all-time leading scorer. He dropped 29 points to finish his career with 2,958, eclipsing the mark of 2,935 shared by Langston’s Kenneth Hamilton (1964) and Tennessee High’s Derrick Hord (1979).
The downside: North Greene came up short against Santa Fe 53-50 in the Class 1A quarterfinal round.
“It feels great (to have the NET record),” an emotional Britton said after Wednesday’s game. “I’ve put a lot of work in to put myself in that position. And for it to pay off, it just feels good.”
It only seemed appropriate that his last shot in a Huskies uniform found its mark from 3-point range. But the buzzer sounded right before the ball left his fingertips.
Heartbroken as he understandably was, Britton is part of North Greene’s only boys basketball senior class to reach three state tournaments in four years. His senior year might have been the most satisfying of them all, though, because the Huskies sat below .500 after Christmas break.
Britton led North Greene to a sectional victory at Harriman, featuring Mr. Basketball winner Jordan McCollum, to get to Murfreesboro.
SIMPLY THE BEST
Even prior to Britton’s junior season, North Greene coach Sam Tarlton seemed to know exactly what kind of player he had. He not only believed Britton could be the program’s all-time best shooter but also perhaps its best player.
The numbers don’t lie. Britton averaged 30.5 points per game his senior season.
“I hope they’ll remember him as someone who did it the right way,” Tarlton said. “It’s not really sunk in how special it is to get to watch a player like that … you name it, he’s done it. It’s just been an honor and a pleasure to sit there and watch it and be a part of it.”
As if joining the school’s 1,000-point club weren’t special enough, Britton accomplished that feat this season alone with 1,087.
FAMILY TRADITION
Britton picked up where his mom, Holly, and older sister Emily left off. Mom helped the Lady Huskies reach their first state tournament in 1999, and Emily went to Murfreesboro three straight years from 2020-22.
And Jason’s younger brother Tyler also got in on the action Wednesday when the sophomore drained a 3-pointer.
“It means a lot, especially to get Tyler an opportunity down here since he was the only one who hadn’t been,” Jason said. “We’ve just played against each other a lot trying to help each other get better.”
And get better they certainly have.
Jason Britton will continue to contribute to basketball in Greene County next season when he dons the orange and black at Tusculum.
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