TOP SEEDS-Both Pickett County High School teams enter the District 7-A Tournament as #1 seeds, after Tri-Lakes Conference MVPs Jacob Amonett (left) and Emmy Lowe (right) led the Bobcats and Lady Bobcats to their second-consecutive league titles during the regular season. (Michael Lindsay/uppercumberlandreporter.com photos)

LIVINGSTON-Conference tournaments tipped off across the state this week, but the ones to be held here at Livingston Academy may mean a little bit more than most.

The District 7-A Tournaments are special, according to the league’s coaches, including Pickett County head coach Joseph Amonett, whose Bobcats (19-7, 7-1) are the boys #1 seed for the second-straight year looking to repeat as tournament champions.

“What makes it difficult is really good coaching and really good players, and what also makes it special is you are going to play in front of a lot of people in a really good environment,” he said.  “Our district tournament is special because of the fan support from all the communities, and it is exciting for the kids to get the opportunity to play in it.”

On top of that, history shows if teams can fare well in their respective Tri-Lakes Conference Tournaments, they have a good possibility of making the State Tournament.

For over two decades straight, the girls competition has produced at least one qualifier for the TSSAA’s version of the Elite Eight, while boys teams advancing out of the district have made a State Tournament appearance 13 times over the same 21-year span.

Like all but eight times since 2004, District 7-A had both girls and boys representatives playing on MTSU’s Murphy Center floor at the 2024 BlueCross Basketball Championships in Murfreesboro last season.

This year’s Tri-Lakes Conference Tournament #1 seed and reigning Class A State Champion Pickett County (23-3, 8-0) and #2 seed Clay County (13-12, 5-3) were there on the girls side last year, along with boys #2 seed Gordonsville (17-10, 5-3).

And many times in the past, two boys and/or two girls teams from the same district made State Tournament appearances together, which even further elevates what is expected of District 7-A squads, especially those who have been there before.

“It’s kind of gold ball or bust I guess,” Lady Bobcat head coach Brent Smith said of the expectations placed on his team, which swept the league in the regular season.  “But anytime you are the defending State Champs you are going to get everybody’s best effort, and hopefully we will continue to give our best effort too.”

The second-seeded Lady Bulldogs and Tigers are also looking to make a return to the State Tournament, and their coaches know it’s a real possibility.

“Anytime you can get through the grind of District 7-A you are going to be pretty battle tested, and you are going to have a chance to go,” Clay County girls head coach Matt Walker said.  “Whoever is going up against Pickett County in that district championship definitely has a good path to go, but you gotta get to it first.”

Walker’s Lady Bulldogs will have to beat #3 seed Clarkrange (18-10, 4-4) a third time this year to advance to the girls championship game, after they swept the Lady Buffaloes in the regular season.

“It is always hard to beat a good team three times, especially a team with as much history as Clarkrange has and as well-coached as they are,” Walker said.  “It should be an exciting game.”

Gordonsville boys head coach Greg Bibb also said his team’s goal was to earn the right to play for the district title and position themselves for another State Tournament run, but like Walker, he knows it takes a one-game-at-a-time mindset to get there.

“That is the only thing on our minds right now,” Bibb, who led his team to the Final Four last season, said of the Tigers’ semifinal matchup with the #3 seed Clay County Bulldogs (17-6, 5-3), who they split with in the regular season.  “You have to say Pickett is the favorite going in, but Clay is as good as anybody, and they are the most athletic team in the district top to bottom.

“It’s one of the most fun times of the year, so it is going to be interesting to see how it plays out.”

Amonett and Smith both have challenges of their own to get past prior to any potential district title games.

The Bobcats will take on #4 seed Clarkrange (16-13, 3-5) in their semifinal, while the Lady Bobcats will face #4 seed Gordonsville (11-15, 3-5), after the Buffaloes and Tigerettes both knocked off Red Boiling Springs in the District 7-A Quarterfinals Tuesday night.

“We pretty much have four teams that on any given night somebody could lose,” Amonett said, including his Bobcats, the Bulldogs, the Buffaloes, and the Tigers—who handed his team their lone league setback.  “You’re looking at four teams with winning records, and I think that if you put any four of us in two-thirds of the conferences in Class A, our fourth-place team probably wins that conference.

“We play in a great conference and we have a great district tournament, and it is always a goal to try to win that.  Our goal is to win championships and to get to Murfreesboro, and that is what we are going to try do this year.”

Smith also spoke highly of the competition his Lady Bobcats face.

“Anytime you play in this league, as good as the coaches are and as tough as the teams always are, it’s just a blessing anytime you can go undefeated in this conference,” Smith said, before addressing the pressure behind playing as the favorite.  “That’s a good thing and a bad thing.

“The pressure is on us—our backs are against the wall a little bit.  We’ve had some bumps in the road other than wins and losses, but we’ve adapted to those really well and I think we will continue to get stronger, but you never know in tournament time, because everybody’s record is the same at 0-0.”

Semifinals now on Friday

All of the District 7-A Tournament Semifinals will now be played on Friday due to weather.

Walker’s Lady Bulldogs take the court first, as Clay County faces Clarkrange at 4 p.m., followed by Bibb’s Tigers versus the Bulldogs, when Gordonsville and Clay County clash at 5:30 p.m.

Smith’s Lady Bobcats’ initial action will then come Friday night at 7 p.m., when they will face Gordonsville in the other girls semifinal.

The nightcap at 8:30 p.m. will feature Amonett’s Bobcats against Clarkrange.

The losers of the two girls semifinals will then play Monday night, February 24 in the girls consolation game at 6:30 p.m., with the girls championship game to follow at 8 p.m. the same night.

The pair of boys semifinal losers will battle in the 6:30 p.m. consolation game on Tuesday, February 25, which will be followed by the boys championship game set for 8 p.m. the same evening.

The top four finishers in both the boys and girls district tournaments advance on to the Region 4-A Tournament, where opening rounds will be held at the higher seeds next Friday, February 28 (girls) and Saturday, March 1 (boys), with region semifinals and finals also being hosted here at Livingston Academy the following week.

Girls sectionals are set for Saturday, March 8 and the boys’ will come on Monday, March 10, followed by the girls State Tournament to be played March 11-15 and the boys’ March 18-22.