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MURFREESBORO — This year's Hillcrest boys basketball team is historic.
Regardless of the eventual outcome of the Vikings' first-ever TSSAA state tournament trip in the school's 61-year history, one name will be synonymous with the run — Ja'coby Lewis.
Two weeks ago, it was a halfcourt buzzer-beater to defeat Middleton in the Class 1A sectionals. On Wednesday at MTSU's Murphy Center, Lewis' 24 points carried Hillcrest to another piece of history as the Vikings defeated Pickett County 56-39 for the school's first state tournament win in the quarterfinals.
Hillcrest advances to play Wayne County in the state semifinals on Friday at 11 a.m.
Lewis made his first eight shot attempts and finished the first half with 20 points. The 5-11 guard finished the game on 9-of-13 shooting and had seven rebounds and three steals. Hillcrest (24-6) held Pickett County (25-8) Mr. Basketball finalist Jacob Amonett to 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
"He felt good, I could see it in his bounce," first-year Hillcrest coach Dareyon Terrell said of Lewis. "I saw it the first couple of shots he took, and I was like, 'It's gonna be a good game.'"
On paper, the pieces of Hillcrest's story don't always add up to the success they've had: A new coach in Terrell who spent the previous three seasons at Melrose, losing the season's first three games with a group that's never tasted this level of playoff success.
However, the group forged a sense of togetherness over time. Terrell knew the group had talent, but Lewis' leadership and clutch play in the postseason had been the factor in taking the group to the next level.
"Rome wasn't built overnight. It was a challenge, it was a big adjustment (coming to Hillcrest), but I knew I had the key guys to get us over the hump," Terrell said. "(Lewis is) a senior leader, he's been the big brother he's supposed to be," Terrell said. "He's been very vocal in the locker room lately. There was that big shot, I'm still in disbelief about it, but we're here now."
Lewis might still be in disbelief, too.
The shot that enabled Wednesday's star performance hasn't quite registered, but it's left him laser-focused on the games that lie ahead.
"It really hasn't clicked yet, me hitting that shot and putting our team into state," Lewis said." I didn't want to force no shots," he said of Wednesday. "I just took the shots they gave me and believed in my team. It's just another day in the gym. It's a business trip. It's not a field trip or nothing. We came here to win and put ourselves on the map."
Looking forward to Friday's semifinal, Terrell and his group are treating it just like any other game — locking in on film to play the standout defense that held Pickett County to 35% shooting, and that's locked opponents up all season since those early-season woes.
"We took our Ls to the chest like men. We went back to the lab, handled our business and made sure we made proper adjustments to get us over the hump," Terrell said of the beginning of the season. "Once they did get a taste of success, we just kept feeding the beast. It's become an itch to keep winning."
Wendell Shepherd Jr. is The Commercial Appeal's high school sports beat writer. Reach Wendell at [email protected] or on X @wendellsjr_.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2025: Hillcrest earns first win
Continue reading...
Regardless of the eventual outcome of the Vikings' first-ever TSSAA state tournament trip in the school's 61-year history, one name will be synonymous with the run — Ja'coby Lewis.
Two weeks ago, it was a halfcourt buzzer-beater to defeat Middleton in the Class 1A sectionals. On Wednesday at MTSU's Murphy Center, Lewis' 24 points carried Hillcrest to another piece of history as the Vikings defeated Pickett County 56-39 for the school's first state tournament win in the quarterfinals.
Hillcrest advances to play Wayne County in the state semifinals on Friday at 11 a.m.
Lewis made his first eight shot attempts and finished the first half with 20 points. The 5-11 guard finished the game on 9-of-13 shooting and had seven rebounds and three steals. Hillcrest (24-6) held Pickett County (25-8) Mr. Basketball finalist Jacob Amonett to 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
"He felt good, I could see it in his bounce," first-year Hillcrest coach Dareyon Terrell said of Lewis. "I saw it the first couple of shots he took, and I was like, 'It's gonna be a good game.'"
On paper, the pieces of Hillcrest's story don't always add up to the success they've had: A new coach in Terrell who spent the previous three seasons at Melrose, losing the season's first three games with a group that's never tasted this level of playoff success.
However, the group forged a sense of togetherness over time. Terrell knew the group had talent, but Lewis' leadership and clutch play in the postseason had been the factor in taking the group to the next level.
"Rome wasn't built overnight. It was a challenge, it was a big adjustment (coming to Hillcrest), but I knew I had the key guys to get us over the hump," Terrell said. "(Lewis is) a senior leader, he's been the big brother he's supposed to be," Terrell said. "He's been very vocal in the locker room lately. There was that big shot, I'm still in disbelief about it, but we're here now."
Lewis might still be in disbelief, too.
The shot that enabled Wednesday's star performance hasn't quite registered, but it's left him laser-focused on the games that lie ahead.
"It really hasn't clicked yet, me hitting that shot and putting our team into state," Lewis said." I didn't want to force no shots," he said of Wednesday. "I just took the shots they gave me and believed in my team. It's just another day in the gym. It's a business trip. It's not a field trip or nothing. We came here to win and put ourselves on the map."
Looking forward to Friday's semifinal, Terrell and his group are treating it just like any other game — locking in on film to play the standout defense that held Pickett County to 35% shooting, and that's locked opponents up all season since those early-season woes.
"We took our Ls to the chest like men. We went back to the lab, handled our business and made sure we made proper adjustments to get us over the hump," Terrell said of the beginning of the season. "Once they did get a taste of success, we just kept feeding the beast. It's become an itch to keep winning."
Wendell Shepherd Jr. is The Commercial Appeal's high school sports beat writer. Reach Wendell at [email protected] or on X @wendellsjr_.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2025: Hillcrest earns first win
Continue reading...
