How chasing perfection wasn't just a fantasy for Loretto in TSSAA basketball state title win

Yahoo

23-03-2025

MURFREESBORO — Despite dreaming of an unbeaten season since last October, it still felt like a fantasy for Loretto basketball.
But the Mustangs made history on Saturday knocking off two-time defending state champions Alcoa, 68-66, in overtime to claim the TSSAA boys basketball state tournament Class 2A championship. Loretto becomes the first public school since Union City in 2008 to win a gold ball with an undefeated record.
As the final buzzer sounded, the Mustangs erupted off the bench and into a frenzied mosh pit of smiles, hugs and tears, reaching perfection with a 35-0 season.
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Mr. Basketball finalist Grayson Burleson paused among the chaos and took a sigh of relief, doing his best to process just how special his first and last season in black and gold was. Burleson, who transferred from Summertown last summer, finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament team.
"At first I was like, dang, we might lose and then we kept going," he said. "Finally when Corben (Reynolds) blocked the shot and I caught it, its just, it's over. We're done. And it just felt so good. Everything that we've all sacrificed, everything I've sacrificed, my family, all of Loretto ― look at the support they brought tonight to watch us play ― and it just felt it's finally finished when we caught the ball. Like (coach Greg Tipps) always says in huddle, we always say finish at the end."
Nothing was easy for the Mustangs on Saturday, who throughout the year became accustomed to 20 and 30-point victories. Down by as many as 12 in the first half and leading by as many as eight in the fourth quarter, the game ebbed and flowed until ultimately requiring an additional four minutes to decide it. In the end, Loretto ended Alcoa's 2A title streak. The Tornados (25-6) captured the previous two state titles.
Reynolds came up with the game-sealing block as Alcoa's Condis Cherry, who scored 20 in the game, rose up for a 3-point attempt in an effort to make the game-winning play for Alcoa. Reynolds finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists and was named to the All-Tournament team.
"I don't think there's any feeling in the world that can match that," Reynolds said. "I mean, I can get a wife and kids, I hope she doesn't see (this) but, it's probably the best feeling I've ever had in my life."
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Mustangs coach Greg Tipps claims his second gold ball with the win and first since 2018. Hearing his players' preseason aspirations for not only a gold ball, but an unbeaten season as well, Tipps told his team he'd coach them to that standard. While the approach was painstaking at time for players, it ultimately led to the elation felt after making history.
"He pushed us every day in practice," Burleson said. "Our practices were different, he coaches us to perfection. That's hard sometimes, but we all bought in and we all had the same goal at the end. And without him, we wouldn't be here."
Kasen Buie was named Class 2A state tournament MVP after a 19-point, 14-rebound performance in the title game. It's a moment Buie had long anticipated after illness had limited his minutes throughout last season, which saw the Mustangs suffer defeat in the region semifinals after a buzzer-beating game winner by Cannon County.
"I knew it was going to be my last three games I'd ever play, so coming in I just knew I had to give it everything I had, night in and night out," Buie said. "And it led me to here, where I am now."
For some the season's end is bittersweet, making history on the biggest stage but playing their last game alongside teammates that have become brothers. While tears of joy flew for some, All-Tournament honoree Jaxson Roberson couldn't help but smile through it all, wrapping his Loretto career.
"I looked over at (my teammates) and they were crying, and I was like, I can't cry right now," Roberson said. "I know it's my last one and I'm never going to get to play with y'all again, but I was just so happy."
Harrison Campbell covers high school sports for The Daily Herald and The Tennessean. Email him at [e-mail] and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament 2025: Loretto goes 35-0, wins title