Knoxville Catholic loses in four-overtime thriller while Notre Dame makes semifinals for first time ever
By Dan McWilliams
The boys basketball team at Knoxville Catholic High School and the girls basketball squad at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga made state-tournament history in different ways this month.
The KCHS boys advanced to the state tourney for the first time since 2022 before falling 75-72 in a four-overtime heartbreaker on March 5 in the Division II-AA semifinals against eventual state champion Briarcrest Christian.
The Notre Dame Lady Irish made the state tourney for the first time in program history, losing to University School of Jackson 61-44 on March 6 in the II-A semifinals.
The Division II tourney semifinals and finals were played at F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville.
Marathon match
Knoxville Catholic and Briarcrest set a Division II state-tourney record with their four-overtime battle. The overall record for overtimes in a state-tourney game is six, when Knoxville East defeated Hampton in 1962.
Cade Murphy of KCHS (24-7), a Mr. Basketball finalist and Eastern Kentucky signee, led the Fighting Irish against Briarcrest with 23 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. He was the only Knoxville Catholic starter not to foul out in the game. Teammates Travis Martin added 18 points and Malachi Brown 10.
Joshua Huggins led the Saints (31-3) with 32 points, going 18-for-20 at the free-throw line as Briarcrest went to the stripe 40 times in the contest. Fred Smith, the Mr. Basketball winner for II-AA, scored 21 for the victors, whose three losses included one to the Irish in a regular-season game.
The Knoxville Catholic High School boys basketball team reached the state semifinals before bowing out in a four-overtime loss.
Knoxville Catholic trailed the Saints 15-8 after the first quarter. The Irish fell behind by eight on three occasions in the second period before Briarcrest entered halftime with a 27-21 lead.
KCHS was down by nine soon after the break but cut the deficit to as little as a single point. Jovis Erwan made a layup with 2 seconds left in the third quarter to bring the Irish to within 38-35 going into the fourth.
A dunk by Malachi gave Knoxville Catholic its first lead of the game at 41-40 with 6:30 remaining in regulation. The Irish led 50-46 when Landon Lee made a foul shot with 1:38 to play. Fred tied the game at 51-51 by sinking two free throws with 11 seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime.
Brady Renfree put KCHS ahead 57-55 on a 3-pointer with 2:04 left in the extra session, but Joshua made a layup with 45 seconds to go and the first OT ended at 57-all.
The second overtime was a back-and-forth affair with the Irish behind 64-62 in the final moments. Cade missed a 3-pointer, but Warren Brown rebounded the shot and made a layup as time expired to tie the game at 64-64.
Each team scored only four points in the third OT. Cade nailed a 3-pointer with 2:12 showing for a 67-66 KCHS lead. He made the second of two free throws with 1:04 remaining before Fred scored on a layup with 25 seconds on the clock to send the game into a fourth extra frame knotted at 68.
Cade made two free throws in the final OT to bring the Irish to within 72-70, and teammate Finn Kerschbaum tied the game at 72-all with a tip-in at the 51-second mark. Joshua sank two free throws with 29 seconds remaining for the go-ahead points and Fred made one foul shot with 3 seconds left for the final margin.
Briarcrest would go on to defeat Pope St. John Paul II 62-52 for the state title two days later.
Knoxville Catholic head coach Travis Mains was proud of his team after the loss.
“These boys came together amazingly with five transfers from three different states. We had a great year playing against the best competition we could,” he said. “Four of our losses were to nationally ranked Knox Webb (three) and nationally ranked Bartlett.”
Malachi is a Michigan signee and one of three seniors on the squad.
“These kids sacrificed for each other and had success because of how much they cared about one another. We definitely had some ups and downs, but overall every day was a lot of fun,” Mr. Mains said. “Very talented group and figuring our chemistry was really pretty easy due to the leadership of our seniors: Malachi Brown, Cade Murphy, and Luke Mishu. They made sure the pieces fit with their team-first attitudes and just being really good people.”
Mr. Mains saluted his wife, Missy, who served as an assistant coach for the Irish boys team.
“I was very fortunate to have a new staff along with my wife that really helped cultivate an environment of serving the young men and all their needs. We were one play away from playing for a state championship this year and have a good group returning that hopefully can take the experiences and return with a burning to try to take a step further,” said the Irish head coach.
The Mr. Basketball awards were presented March 10 in Murfreesboro, and Cade was among the three finalists.
“Cade Murphy set a standard for our program with his work ethic and how to treat others. Amazingly talented high-IQ player who always showed up ready to work and lead both vocally and with his effort,” Mr. Mains said. “Cade is going to be a standout at EKU next fall and was recognized for all his hard work at the Mr. Basketball presentations.”
A school first
Notre Dame’s girls basketball program had never advanced to the final eight, much less the state semifinals, until this season.
The Lady Irish walloped Trinity Christian 80-54 on their Phifer Gymnasium home court at NDHS in the quarterfinals on Feb. 27 to move on to the state semis.
That followed an epic 87-85 triple-overtime win over Christian Academy of Knoxville in the region tournament semifinals at Notre Dame on Feb. 20. The Lady Irish trailed in that game by 22 points in the second quarter. Sophomore MiMi Lee scored 37 points to lead Notre Dame, and Erin Spurgeon—the only Lady Irish starter who had not fouled out—hit the game-winning shot with 2.5 seconds left in the third overtime.
The Notre Dame High School girls team reached the state’s final four for the first time in school history.
The Lady Irish made the state semis despite a 56-47 loss to The King’s Academy at Phifer Gym in the region final on Feb. 21.
Against USJ in the state tourney, Notre Dame took its only lead of the game at 5-3 early in the first quarter on a layup by Javeah Myricks. The Lady Bruins, who finished 25-6 after a 60-49 loss to Providence Christian in the state-championship game, led the Lady Irish 21-14, 28-23, and 43-33 at the quarter breaks.
MiMi made a three-point play to pull Notre Dame to within 28-26 early in the third quarter, but USJ stretched its lead to the final margin of 17, its biggest advantage of the game. MiMi poured in 26 points to lead the Lady Irish, whose final record was 26-8.
Haylen Ayers scored a game-high 31 for the Lady Bruins.
“We have finished 10-0 in our district the past two seasons, winning back-to-back district championships. The farthest we have ever been was an opening-round state game in the round of 12,” Notre Dame head coach Jason Hill said. “Making it to the final four this year was the first time in school history. We graduate one starter (Callie McCormick), so our program is young and motivated to make another deep run next year.”
Sophomore MiMi Lee elevates to try a shot against University School of Jackson defenders Lilly Teague (5) and Haylen Ayers (20) in the state semifinals. Emma Wright of the Lady Bruins is seen at left.
The Lady Irish used a word containing their school’s initials as motivation.
“The girls started a motto this past summer called the ‘staNDard’ with the ‘ND’ capitalized to signify their dedication to how they will approach everything within our program on and off the court,” Mr. Hill said. “They raised the bar extremely high for their expectations in the classroom, in our program, and in the community. The greater Notre Dame community, the fans, the alumni, have just been extremely supportive of our girls the past few years, and we are so proud to place the Lady Irish in the discussions as one of the best programs in the state.”
Mr. Hill serves two Catholic sports programs.
“I have been the athletic director and PE teacher at St. Jude School in Chattanooga since 2002 and have been the head coach at Notre Dame since 2015. They are both dear to my heart, and I am extremely blessed to be a part of both schools and some of the greatest kids in the world,” he said. “George Valadie hired me in 2015, and I credit him for his mentorship and being the best role model throughout my career at Notre Dame.”