To the ever-lasting credit of Siegel Coach Ben Dotson, he never panicked despite the early Bulldog lead.

His patience was rewarded as Siegel, behind a big night from Oscar Butler and Stephen Hurt fought back.

As a result, and this took a while, Siegel finally tied the game at 50-50 in the fourth quarter.

The Stars could never get a lead.

The Siegel squad could have used more support from an absent Siegel nation, which could now be called Siegel state, and may, in fact, have seceded from the union.

Regardless, this team was one of Siegel’s best and took us through a very entertaining 34-win season. They were unbeaten in district play and had won 21 in a row (including seven post-season tournament games) going into the Bearden contest.

The official stats in this one were fairly close.

Neither team shot 3s very well and both squads shot 44 percent from the floor.

Siegel led in blocks and assists but trailed in rebounds and steals.

The margins were close in every respect.

True, Siegel did have 22 turnovers but Bearden had 17 of their own.

One major reason the stats helped decide this one.

Bearden had only 12 personal fouls, which resulted in Siegel hitting seven of 10 free throws.

Siegel meanwhile was whistled for 28 fouls and Bearden hit 20 of 33 from the line. Ouch!

Scoring

Bearden: Rico White  27, Ty Greene 16, Spencer Peake 15, Dion Fair 4, Drew Standifer 3, Will Winton 3.

Siegel: Stephen Hurt 19, Oscar Butler 15, Cedrick Williams 6, Treyton Harris 6, Taj Abdul-Kauyder 4, Damien Clark 4, Aden Burton 3, LaBrock Thomas 1

Rebound Leader: Cedrick Williams 12, Stephen Hurt 6

Assist Leader: Taj Abdul Kauyder 5, Robert Brandon 2, Treyton Harris 2

Blocked shots: Cedrick Williams 5

Steals Leader: Treyton Harris 4

3s Leader: Oscar Butler 4

Field Goals: Stephen Hurt 8 of 14.

Boys State finishes Saturday afternoon and early evening at MTSU.

The District A final at 2 p.m. will feature Lake County taking on Middleton followed by Liberty versus East Literature in the District AA final at 4 p.m. At 6 p.m. Memphis Craigmont will play Knox Bearden in the District AAA final.

All three games will be on the Tennessee Sports Radio Network and TSSAA website as well.

Bill Hockenberry and I will be broadcasting the final District AAA game around 5:50 p.m.