Harris boys cap undefeated season with title
The Harris boys’ basketball team is the undefeated champion of the Western Highlands Middle School Conference.
The Blue Devils (19-0) wrapped up their undefeated season with a 40-37 come-from-behind win over Cane River in the conference championship. It’s the program’s first conference tournament championship in 14 years.
Harris knocked off Rosman and East Yancey to earn its spot in the conference title game.
The postseason conference title was the icing on the cake of an unblemished regular season during which Harris went 16-0 to earn the program’s first regular season title in 16 years.
Harris breezed through conference play with a 14-0 mark and won a pair of non-conference contests over Cloudland.
The Blue Devils’ dominant run saw them win by an average of 19.7 points per game while out-rebounding opponents by more than 8 rebounds per contest.
Harris made the most of its possessions. The team committed 7.1 fewer turnovers than their opponents on its road to perfection.
Jacoby Dale fueled the Blue Devils throughout the year with a team-best 12.3 points per game. AJ Mackey chipped in 8.7 per game, Kaden Buchanan scored 6.7 per game and Owen Riddle averaged 5.7. Cylas Carver averaged 3 points per game.
Mackey led the team in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game. Owen Riddle pulled down 4.1 per game and Dale had 3.6.
Tate Pitman kept the Harris offense on schedule with a team-leading 3.7 assists. Riddle dished out 1.7 per game and Dale had 1.3.
Dale led the team in steals with 3.6 per game. Pitman swiped an average of 2.3 per contest and Mackey added 2.1.
The Blue Devils were guided to perfection by head coach Dustin Burleson and assistant Jeremy Sparks.
The Harris roster also featured Asa Peterson, Peyton Pitman, Hayden Quinn-Moore, Eli Snyder, Jax Burleson, Luke Burleson, Isaiah Barnett, Alex Wences and Elijah Gregory.