TSSAA boys basketball state tournament state tournament updates: Fulton beats Ridgeway in 3A title game
MURFREESBORO – It's the final Tennessee high school basketball game of the 2023-24 TSSAA season.
Fulton plays Ridgeway at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the TSSAA Class 3A boys basketball state championship. Fulton is playing for its second straight state championship. Ridgeway is playing for its first since championship since 2008.
Mr. Basketball Tyler Lee leads Fulton (34-2). He was the state tournament MVP in 2023.
Follow our live updates for the Class 3A state championship game here.
FINAL: Fulton repeats as state champion, takes down Ridgeway in title game
The Falcons have claimed their fifth state championship in school history with a 68-47 final over Ridgeway.
Tyler Lee led the Falcons with 22 points while Taj Kimber had 13. Marlon McShane scored 15 for the Roadrunners.
Fulton shot 31-for-61 (51%) from the field while the Roadrunners shot 17-for-38 (45%) from the floor.
Fulton finishes the season 35-2, Ridgeway finishes the season with a 27-6 record.
Fulton continues to add onto its lead in fourth quarter
The teams have hit the final media timeout with 4:37 left to play, Fulton leads, 53-40, and has opened up the fourth quarter on an 8-4 run.
Tyler Lee leads the Falcons with 17 and Taj Kimber has 13. Brian Carter leads the Roadrunners with 12 points.
Fulton carries nine-point lead into fourth quarter over Ridgeway
The Falcons and Roadrunners each scored 15 points in the third quarter. Fulton leads, 45-36, with eight minutes left in regulation.
Both teams are shooting the ball well through 24 minutes. Fulton is 21-of-45 (47%) from the field and Ridgeway is 14-of-29 (48%) from the floor.
Tyler Lee has put up 17 points to lead the Falcons. Brian Carter, Marlon McShane and Jayden Williams have each scored 10 points for the Roadrunners.
Fulton opens up second half on 7-2 run, takes double digit lead
The Eagles have now forced 17 turnovers and opened up the third quarter on a 7-2 run and leads 37-21.
Tyler Lee has 13 points to lead the Falcons.
Fulton cruises to halftime lead over Ridgeway behind strong shooting
The Falcons shot 14-of-32 (44%) for the first half and carry a 30-21 lead to the break against Ridgeway.
Ridgeway has also shot well from the field, 9-for-19 (47%) from the field.
The Roadrunners are also winning the rebounding battle, 17-14. The big difference in the game is turnovers. Ridgeway turned the ball over 15 times. Fulton had just five turnovers.
The Falcons have 13 points off the Roadrunners' turnovers, while the Roadrunners have seven points off turnovers.
Ridgeway struggling with turnovers in first half as it falls behind
The Roadrunners have 10 turnovers at the media timeout in the second quarter with 4:49 to play in the first half.
Fulton has nine points off of those turnovers.
The Falcons lead, 24-12, at the media timeout.
Fulton takes 10-point lead early in second quarter
The Falcons got two buckets from Derrick Smith, one on a backdoor cut and another in transition.
Fulton leads Ridgeway, 22-12, for its biggest lead of the game so far with 5:59 left in the first half.
Timeout, Ridgeway.
Taj Kimber hits buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end big first quarter for Fulton
Taj Kimber caught a pass from his brother, Denaj, and buried a 3-pointer from the wing as time expired in the first quarter. Fulton leads Ridgeway, 18-12, after eight minutes of play.
Tyler Lee leads the Falcons with six points while three Roadrunners have four points to account for all of their scoring.
Fulton extends lead with 6-0 run midway through first quarter
Denaj Kimber hit an acrobatic layup to cap a 6-0 run over 1:10 for the Falcons, extending their lead to five points.
Ridgeway's Marlon McShane hit a free throw to stop the run.
Fulton leads, 11-7, with just under three minutes left in the first.
Fulton jumps out to lead at first media timeout
Three Falcons have scored to give Fulton a 5-4 lead at the first media timeout of the game with 4:58 to play in the first quarter.
Ridgeway hasn't scored in 2:01 heading into the timeout.