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MURFREESBORO — In Memphis Business Academy basketball coach Tavaris Boga's nine years at various levels, he said this year's Execs squad is the best he's coached.
Not just because of the team's players which advanced to MBA's first-ever TSSAA boys basketball state tournament, but because they made him a better coach.
In Boga's continued evolution in his fourth year at MBA, Wednesday's quarterfinal game vs. Chattanooga's Tyner Academy made him and his team better. But the school's first state tourney win will have to wait.
After MBA led by six points early in the fourth quarter, Tyner, led by Mr. Basketball finalist Rodney Henderson, stormed back to defeat the Execs 56-49 in overtime.
MBA (23-8) had time for a final shot at the end of regulation but ultimately settled for a heavily contested three from Teryck White that fell just short. Henderson finished with a game-high 28 points.
"I pride myself on letting them make decisions. I trusted them at the end of the fourth quarter, but I feel like this loss is on me," Boga said. "I feel like we did a great job of letting the clock go down, but I really should've called a timeout and drew something up for them. I feel horrible, but it's a part of learning, and growing as a coach. I definitely feel like we let this one slip away."
White finished with a team-high 16 points and added eight rebounds and two steals. Fellow senior Jay'lon Hopson had nine points and 15 rebounds.
Over the last four seasons, Boga has taken a young MBA program from a zero-win season four years ago to the school's best-ever campaign. The Execs won the regular-season district title, district tournament, and region tournament and made it to state, all firsts for the school.
"It was a great experience with MBA's first year ever making it this far," junior guard Larry Benson III said, who had 13 points Wednesday. "It's a good feeling to be the first to ever do that in school history."
"It was definitely a special season," Boga added. "I appreciate these guys because they gave me an opportunity to coach them hard. They never back down. They always elevated me and allowed me to coach them hard."
Despite the many glowing takeaways from MBA's season, Boga is a competitor, and so are his players. Wednesday's game was a demonstration of what MBA can do, testing an experienced team with state experience, but also a sign of where it can still grow.
"Just getting here is not enough. I'm hungry," Boga said. "If it was up to me, with the young class I got coming in, I'd start getting ready next week. Now, I know what it looks like to be here. You gotta be physical, you gotta be strong, you gotta be disciplined. The skill is there, but it's those small things once we get here that'll get us over the hump. I wish 2026 state was tomorrow."
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: Memphis Business falls in OT
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Not just because of the team's players which advanced to MBA's first-ever TSSAA boys basketball state tournament, but because they made him a better coach.
In Boga's continued evolution in his fourth year at MBA, Wednesday's quarterfinal game vs. Chattanooga's Tyner Academy made him and his team better. But the school's first state tourney win will have to wait.
After MBA led by six points early in the fourth quarter, Tyner, led by Mr. Basketball finalist Rodney Henderson, stormed back to defeat the Execs 56-49 in overtime.
MBA (23-8) had time for a final shot at the end of regulation but ultimately settled for a heavily contested three from Teryck White that fell just short. Henderson finished with a game-high 28 points.
"I pride myself on letting them make decisions. I trusted them at the end of the fourth quarter, but I feel like this loss is on me," Boga said. "I feel like we did a great job of letting the clock go down, but I really should've called a timeout and drew something up for them. I feel horrible, but it's a part of learning, and growing as a coach. I definitely feel like we let this one slip away."
White finished with a team-high 16 points and added eight rebounds and two steals. Fellow senior Jay'lon Hopson had nine points and 15 rebounds.
Over the last four seasons, Boga has taken a young MBA program from a zero-win season four years ago to the school's best-ever campaign. The Execs won the regular-season district title, district tournament, and region tournament and made it to state, all firsts for the school.
"It was a great experience with MBA's first year ever making it this far," junior guard Larry Benson III said, who had 13 points Wednesday. "It's a good feeling to be the first to ever do that in school history."
"It was definitely a special season," Boga added. "I appreciate these guys because they gave me an opportunity to coach them hard. They never back down. They always elevated me and allowed me to coach them hard."
Despite the many glowing takeaways from MBA's season, Boga is a competitor, and so are his players. Wednesday's game was a demonstration of what MBA can do, testing an experienced team with state experience, but also a sign of where it can still grow.
"Just getting here is not enough. I'm hungry," Boga said. "If it was up to me, with the young class I got coming in, I'd start getting ready next week. Now, I know what it looks like to be here. You gotta be physical, you gotta be strong, you gotta be disciplined. The skill is there, but it's those small things once we get here that'll get us over the hump. I wish 2026 state was tomorrow."
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: Memphis Business falls in OT
Continue reading...
