MURFREESBORO-The Celina Jr. High Bulldog basketball team claimed their second-straight James C. Haile State Championship here the first weekend of February in dramatic fashion.
The Jr. Dawgs won the Division AAA title in a double-overtime thriller, where they knocked off Lipscomb Academy (LA) 48-43, after rallying from behind in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 36 by the end of regulation.

Celina led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter, before an even second stanza followed sending the game into the half with the same margin (19-16).
LA then sliced the Jr. Dawg advantage to a single basket (28-26) heading into the final period of regulation.
There Celina found themselves trailing by three, after Lipscomb buried a pair of their seven made three-pointers on the night in the waning minutes, but the Jr. Dawgs fought back to force the extra period.
A Celina game-winning shot missed its mark to end the first overtime at a 41-41 stalemate, before the Jr. Dawgs outscored LA 7-2 in the second one, to win the title by the five-point margin.
After missing most of the first half due to foul trouble, John Hamilton scored 14 of his game-high 17 points in the second half and overtime to lead Celina, while both Joseph Marcom and Bryce Bailey added nine apiece in the victory.
Jimmy Burchett (7), Aden Smith (4), and Sawyer Kerr (2) also contributed with crucial points in the championship game.
Celina advanced to the title game with a 39-32 quarterfinal win over Southside, before dominating Jackson County 46-29 in the semifinal round.
Bailey led the way in the Jr. Dawgs’ opener with 13 points, while a half-dozen others also found the basket in the seven-point victory—including Hamilton (7), Burchett (6), Kerr (5), Marcom (4), Smith (2), and Levi Garrett (2).
In the blowout of the Jr. Blue Devils, Burchett took over with a game-high 18 points and Kerr nailed four three-pointers en route to 15 points in the win. Hamilton (6), Marcom (6), and Bailey (4) also added buckets in the victory.
Hamilton, Burchett, and Bailey were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts, while the entire team, cheerleading squad, and a large crowd of supporters celebrated the history-making achievement of back-to-back championships.
The team finished the season with an impressive 22-2 overall record, with their only pair of losses coming to Avery Trace—who also won the Division AAAA title here over the weekend.
Celina battled with the team from Cookeville six times this year, winning four and coming up short only twice.
The Jr. Lady Bulldogs were also trying to defend their title from last year, after both Celina teams claimed gold a year ago, but the Celina girls’ quest for the championship was upended in the semifinal round by Livingston.
After winning their opener over South Cumberland by a lopsided score of 48-18, the Jr. Lady Dawgs fell to the Jr. Lady Wildcats 39-30, before Rickman claimed the title by defeating Livingston 42-37.
The Hermitage Springs Jr. Wildcats and Lady Wildcats also played in the Division A tournament.
The boys won their first game over Dekalb West 39-30, but fell in the semifinal round to York, while the girls followed suit. They won their opener by a score of 31-29 over North Elementary, before bowing out in the semifinals with a tough 34-33 loss to Scotts Hill—who went on to claim the title.
Celina K-8 also had a pair of 5th/6th-Grade teams in the event. The boys beat South Cumberland 44-43, but lost their second contest to Middle Tennessee Christian—while the girls dropped their opener to South Cumberland.
For complete results from the event, visit jameschaile.com.