Raiders are ‘Boro bound 

jlamb@c-dh.net

SPRING HILL — For the first time in 13 years, Spring Hill is headed to the state tournament.

The Raiders earned their first state tournament berth since 1999 with a 71-55 win over David Lipscomb in a Class AA Sectional Monday night in front of a crowd of close to 2,000.

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for four years,” said Spring Hill senior Keilan Blanks. “It feels good to finally do it.”

Spring Hill (30-1), which has won 30 consecutive games, will learn its state quarterfinal opponent during the BlueCross Basketball Championships draw at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Murfreesboro.

“This feels great,” said Spring Hill senior Montrae Williams. “Four years playing with these guys, I can’t explain the feeling.”

The Raiders’ win was their 26th by double figures this season and their eighth in a row. Spring Hill has won its seven postseason games by an average of 29.1 points per game.

While Spring Hill was able to extend its postseason dominance by using the tried-and-true formula of stretching its lead with a quick run midway through the second half against the upset-minded Mustangs (19-11).

The Raiders used a driving basket from Blanks to spark a 9-2 run which stretched Spring Hill’s lead to 51-38 with 6:59 left to play. The run, which was highlighted by an emphatic dunk from Tony Sparkman, gave Spring Hill its first double-digit lead of the game.

“We needed that,” said Spring Hill coach Jimmy Young. “David Lipscomb did an excellent job of being patient, running their stuff and setting good screens. We were just able to get on a little run and push the lead out.”

has often been the case, once the Raiders got ahead by double figures, they didn’t let up eventually stretching their lead out to 20 points before settling for the 16-point win.

The game was much tighter in the first half which featured six ties and eight lead changes.

In addition to the closeness of the contest, Spring Hill also had to battle through foul trouble as starting guards Dathan Prewett and Blanks sat out the entire second quarter with two fouls each.

Fortunately for the Raiders, the scoring of Williams along with strong play from their bench allowed Spring Hill to lead 28-23 at halftime. Williams scored 17 points in the first half with 10 of those points coming in the second quarter.

“My players were in foul trouble and they needed me to take over the game,” Williams said. “That’s what I did.”

Williams would finish with a game-high 26 points to lead the Raiders, while Blanks and Sparkman added 17 and 14 points, respectively.

“I’m just happy for the kids,” Young said. “They’ve worked so hard the last four years and they’ve put themselves in position the past three years and they finally got over the hump.”

Addison Daws had 18 points to lead Lipscomb with Luke Simpson supplying 12 points.

Now, Spring Hill must wait nine days before opening play in the state tournament on March 14 in Murfreesboro.

“It’s going to be great,” Blanks said. “We’ll be ready.”