Inside Alcoa's rally for fifth TSSAA basketball state championship

MURFREESBORO — Jibriel Koko held the trophy for the crowd to see, then gently lowered it into six tiny hands just a few feet above the court. Koko made sure a few grade-school Alcoa fans who wanted to touch the gold ball got their chance. If the Tornadoes keep winning at this rate, those kids will have their own state title before too long.

Junior guard Condis Cherry scored a game-high 20 points and led four Alcoa teammates in double figures, as the Tornadoes rallied their way into another echelon of TSSAA boys basketball state tournament success with an improbable 57-48 victory over Fulton in the Class 3A state championship on March 21. More: How Alcoa turned TSSAA boys basketball state tournament into 'Dunk City' Alcoa (24-13) erased a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter and closed the game on a 20-2 run, holding Fulton (26-10) without a field goal over the final 4:56 to capture its third title in four years and fifth overall. “Coach told us ‘it’s not over until it’s over,” Cherry said.

“We just kept fighting. ” Alcoa basketball hasn’t formed a dynasty like its football program — winner of 11 straight state titles — but the Tornadoes have taken a huge leap over the past seven years. They’ve made four consecutive state championship game appearances and won three state titles, capturing 2A championships in 2023 and 2024.

Before 2023, Alcoa's last boys basketball titles came in 1959 and 1967. Alcoa junior Jay Kirk, who scored 13 points in the final and was named tournament MVP, grew up around the program while his dad, Joel, was the coach from 2014-19. “Going to state three years in a row … My dad went to state a couple times when he was there and it was just awesome,” Kirk said.