District 8-AAA Player of the Year Cass Barnes drives for two of his game-high 25 points in Saturday's 52-44 win over Franklin County.

  FAYETTEVILLE---The Tullahoma Wildcats (17-14) will play for the District 8-AAA championship Tuesday night thanks to a 52-44 win over Franklin County (20-11) Saturday night in the tournament semi-finals.
  District Player of the Year Cass Barnes led the Wildcats to the upset win over the second-seeded Rebels with 25 points and yeoman’s work on the boards. The Cats, specifically seniors Alan Prince and Dominique Williams, hit pressure-packed free throws in the final 30 seconds as the Rebels fouled in an attempt to get the ball back.
  For the second night in a row, the Wildcats struggled offensively in the first half, but for the second night in a row, their opponent struggled even more. The Cats led Lincoln County 17-12 at the half Friday night in a quarter-final match-up, and they held a 16-11 half-time lead over Franklin County Saturday night. Barnes had 11 of Tullahoma’s 16 first-half points. Chance Askins hit a three-pointer, and Alan Prince hit two free throws for the other five.

All-District 8-AAA player Adam Barnett drives for two of his 10 second-half points.

  Things got cooking fairly quickly in the second half, however. It took just over two minutes for the Rebels to wipe out the five-point deficit, but the Wildcats responded and jumped back on top. The battle was fairly equal until midway through the fourth-quarter when Tullahoma made another run that spread the lead to 12 with under three minutes to go.
  All-District performer Adam Barnett scored all 10 of his points in the second half, including a pair of three pointers. The Cats were nine of 11 from the free-throw line in the final period and 14 of 16 in the game.
  The Rebels fought back and got it within three with P.J. Burks leading the way with a pair of three-pointers. Prince hit a pair of nail-biting free throws with 26.7 seconds left to give the Cats a 48-43 lead, then Williams grabbed a rebound and drew a foul with 17.6 seconds left. Hit hit both free throws to make it 50-43. After Franklin County hit a free throw, Tryston Horton sealed it with a break-away layup.
  The win sets up a championship game Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Lincoln County High School against the Shelbyville Golden Eagles (22-7, 13-0 District). The semi-final victory also assures Tullahoma (8-6 district) of a home game in Saturday’s first round of the Region 4 tournament against either White County or Blackman who will play in the consolation round of the District 7-AAA tournament. Oakland and Riverdale will face off for the championship in that district.