How Shane Cherry's impact on Austin-East basketball is unmatched after TSSAA tournament loss

MURFREESBORO — Shane Cherry trudged off the court after his Austin-East boys basketball team lost by 23 points. 

The disappointed two-time Mr. Basketball finalist and his squad were showered with applause from their fans who drove three hours Thursday to cheer for their team at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center. 

“The support (is) so crazy,” Cherry said. “Win or loss, they still here, still fighting for us. They come through for us every time. That's why I love it so much. Just a family.”

Austin-East fell to Frederick Douglass 72-49 in Thursday’s Class 2A TSSAA tournament quarterfinals.

The 5-foot-10 Cherry, a junior, finished with 14 points and three steals for Austin-East (23-12). His younger brother Condis Cherry had 16 points. 

Douglass (34-0) had four double-digit scorers and was led by Jarmon Brittman, who had 20 points and eight rebounds. 

Austin-East coach Denard Bertram said that Shane Cherry's play all year has propelled the Roadrunners to their third state tournament appearance since 2008 and invigorated the area.

“His athletic ability is second to none,” Bertram said. “He's done more with less than anybody else. … But as our players mature, I feel like that he'll even take a bigger step.”

It isn’t lost on Bertram that other high school programs have inquired about Cherry, who has offers from Tennessee, Auburn, etc., and his willingness to transfer. But the star’s preeminent quality is his loyalty.

“I told him, I told his father, ‘If you feel like there's a better opportunity for somebody else to coach your son … I support that 100%,’” Bertram said. “But they have stood behind what we're trying to do here at our school and I'm forever grateful for that.”

Despite the 23-point deficit in the final score, Austin-East battled in the third period. The Roadrunners trailed 35-20 at halftime and started the third quarter on a 10-0 run and trailed 47-42 entering the fourth. 

“I told them the community was behind them,” Bertram said. “We didn't come all the way down here to get punked ... that's not our identity.”

Shane Cherry, who averaged over 27 points this season, had a muted impact in his first state tournament appearance due to the relentless full-court pressure Douglass employed. 

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“Not letting me touch it, making me real uncomfortable,” Cherry said. “The whole game, no let-off.”

“We kept somebody in his face, he wasn’t (going) to get a wide-open look,” said Douglass coach Gregory Williams. 

The loss stings as Austin-East hasn’t won a state tournament game since 2007. However, the experience was valuable. 

“We have nothing to hang our heads about,” Bertram said. “But I'm telling you brighter days are ahead for our program and for our school,” Bertram said. “This was big for our community, they needed something good to happen and we gave it to them.”

Toyloy Brown III is a Knox News sports reporter. Email toyloy.brown@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly Twitter, @TJ3rd_.