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Wiseman dominates again, propels East to State Championship tournament with win over Bolton

For the fifth straight year, the East Mustangs will make an appearance in the Tennessee Class AAA State Tournament. The Mustangs defeated the Bolton Wildcats 85-67 in front of a packed house on their campus in the state regional game.

When you’re a seven-footer in basketball, you get noticed by a lot of people. When you are also the No. 1 rated player in the country like James Wiseman, you tend to get your opponent’s best effort to shut you down. That was also the case when the Mustangs faced the Wildcats for a chance to make a trip to the State Championship tournament in Murfreesboro in a couple of weeks.

Bolton’s best efforts were not enough. Wiseman dominated on offense and on defense, tallying his second consecutive triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocks. Over the past two games, Wiseman has stuffed the stat sheet with 48 Points, 33 rebounds and 20 blocks.

“It is a great feeling” Wiseman said of winning his final game at East. “East has a long tradition of having great players and winning championships. I am just glad I had the opportunity to be a part of this program.”

With fellow seven-footer Malcolm Dandridge nursing an injury, Wiseman has been receiving triple team coverage from teams as they try to make other East role players step up. That load has shifted to the guard play for the Mustangs. Antonio Thomas (14 points) and Kaylan Haywood (13 points) combined for 27 points and they gave East the balance they needed to advance in the tournament.

Bolton used the long ball to stay close in the first half, connecting on five three-point shots to keep the game within range going into the half, trailing 41-30. The Wildcats connected on 10 of 19 three-pointers in the game. Ramone Ryan had 18 points including three makes from the arc and Jadarius Carter had 12 point and four three-pointers.

“It feels good,” said East coach Jevonte Holmes of the win. “And (to get the win) in front of our home crowd. We knew they were going to drape two men on James like that, so we prepared for it.”

On Wiseman, Holmes had nothing but praise.

“(It’s amazing) just to have the No. 1 high school player in the country,” Holmes said. “He had his second triple-double in a row. He has picked the level of his play up. He gets fouled and smacked and just keeps on going. He is a special kid.”

Meanwhile, Wiseman is keeping eye on the prize.

“Last year we had a lot of good athletes and a lot of experience,” he said. “This year, we are a fresh and new team but if we execute the game plan, we will be able to win it.”

The boys’ state tournament will be played March 12-16 on the campus of Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro.

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