Fulton’s last two seasons have seen the boys’ basketball team barreling down the highway en route to the state tournament.
But in case of obstacles, it always helps to know the backroads.
The young Falcons — featuring eight underclassmen — finished the road less traveled Monday night, holding off visiting Unicoi County 49-46 in a Class 3A sectional to advance to the state tournament for the 28th time.
“This team has had a lot of adversity and we’ve grown because of that adversity,” Fulton coach Jody Wright said. “The saying around here is ‘faces may change, but the expectations don’t.’
“Regardless of who’s here and who’s not here, the expectations are that we’re gonna play a demanding schedule and hopefully by March, we’re still standing.”
Next stop: Murfreesboro, where the Falcons will be gunning for a third straight state crown.
Fulton (18-16) and Unicoi County spent Monday night trading runs during a back-and-forth affair. The biggest run came in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter, as the Falcons scored 14 straight points to turn a 40-34 deficit into a seemingly commanding 48-40 cushion with 2:27 left.
During the run, senior Derrick Smith Jr. hit a 3 — his only one of the game — to make it 40-39. Sophomore Nick Steen gave the Falcons the lead for good with a three-point play, and Smith came back with another three-point play to make it a 45-40 game.
Another Smith three-point play helped the Fulton lead grow to 48-40, and the Falcons had the ball. Time to finish with a flourish, right?
Well, that would be too easy.
“This way this year has been,” Fulton’s Smith said, “this game was kind of an example of that.”
Unicoi junior Jackson Simmons — who led all scorers with 21 points — and Kaden Cutlip hit back-to-back 3s, making it 48-46. A Fulton free throw set up the Blue Devils’ final possession. Unicoi tried three 3-pointers in the final 15 seconds, but none of them went in.
“That’s not a team you want to see get you into overtime,” Steen said. “They can really shoot the ball.”
Fulton struggled shooting, hitting only 41 percent from the floor and only two of its 16 3-point attempts. But that just meant it was time for the Falcons to work harder.
Steen and Smith led the Falcons with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
“When you’re down 10-12 points, that just means you have to work harder,” Smith said. “You gotta grind and get back up and work. … this is definitely going to be one of my favorite memories at Fulton High School.”
Article written by Dean Smith/5Star Preps To read more on area high school sports or to see photo galleries, videos, stat leaders, etc… visit 5StarPreps.com — and use promo code New2024 for 30% off your first year or month subscription.
