Wildcat senior Chance Askins drives to the basket during Tuesday night's win over Coffee County.

  The Tullahoma Wildcats rolled to a 72-36 win over Coffee County Tuesday night at the THS gym in preparation for a couple of big district showdowns in the next week.
  After playing three of their first four district games on the road with a 2-2 record, the Cats (now 3-2) were at home Tuesday for the first of three straight district games that could go a long way toward determining their fate in the standings. They face league-leading Shelbyville (5-0) Friday night then welcome the number-two team in the district, Franklin County (4-1), to town next Tuesday.
  Tuesday’s result was not surprising since the Raiders are in a down year and have yet to break into the win column. Tullahoma pretty much decided matters early with 15 straight points after Coffee County had jumped to a 2-0 lead. Cass Barnes poured in 13 second-quarter points, and the Wildcats carried a 38-7 lead into the half-time break.
  With the game secured, coach Jeff Taylor pulled his team out of its full-court press in the second half. Adam Barnett nailed a pair of three-pointers, and Tyler Hatfield scored the final five points of the period to give the Cats a 59-21 lead going to the fourth period.
  Both coaches substituted liberally during the second half, and every player on both teams found his way onto the floor.
After scoring 15 points in the first half, Barnes was mostly content to distribute the ball during limited playing time in the second half, and he wound up not adding to his scoring total. Still, he led the Wildcats’ balanced attack with 15, and post player Alan Prince was right on his heels with a solid game that included 13 points. Barnett and Chance Askins both scored nine.
  Shelbyville, which finished second in the state last year, has apparently recovered from the graduation of several star players, at least well enough to sit atop the district standings again. The Eagles thumped one of their top rivals, Columbia, by 21 Tuesday night in Shelbyville, and they handed Franklin County its only district loss early in the year.
  Not only is Friday night’s game important for the Wildcats’ hopes of winning the district regular season, it is also important to finish among the top-four district teams in order to play host for a first-round tournament game. Currently, Tullahoma is tied for third with Lawrence County at 3-2, though Lawrence County does own a win over the Wildcats that technically puts Tullahoma in fourth place. The two teams will play again in Tullahoma.

Coffee County (36) Robert George, 2; Jeremy Estill, 3; Trey Adcock, 7; Derek Jones, 3; Evan Magourik, 10; Craig Jarrell, 4; Kyle Kriz, 1; Robbie Gonzales, 2; Tyler Thornton, 4.
Wildcats (72) Tyler Hatfield, 5; Jared Olive, 4; Tryston Horton, 7; Jordan Haugen, 7; Chance Askins, 9; Adam Barnett, 9; Cass Barnes, 15; Bobby Dowdell, 2; J.D. Crabtree, 1; Alan Prince, 13.