Tré Magnifique

Photo by Jenifer Clark

Alcoa High School coach Micah Marsh instructs the Tornadoes during a timeout at Fulton earlier this season.

Photo by Jenifer Clark

Alcoa junior Steven Isom does some serious ankle breaking in the game with Fulton earlier this season.

Photo by Brandon Shinn

Freshman Alischa Shiverdecker was one of two Lady Tornadoes to secure all-district honors this season.

Photo by Brandon Shinn

All-district guard Kylie Russell had one of the great shooting nights of all time when the Lady Tornado junior torched Kingston for seven 3-pointers earlier this season.

Tré Tate was doing it with feeling Tuesday night.

The Alcoa High School sophomore continued one of the great, late-season success stories in some time as the Tornadoes stunned host and No. 8-ranked Stone Memorial, 81-78 in overtime in the District 4AA tournament championship game.

The loss was the first for the Panthers at home this season.

Tate didn’t just have a good game; the Alcoa point guard went off, pacing all scorers on the night with 23 points, including a 3-pointer. Gabe Dando, 16 points, Steven Isom and Matt Shown, 11 each, joined Tate in double figures for the Tornadoes, who host Gatlinburg-Pittman in Region 2AA quarterfinal game Saturday at 7 p.m.

Tate was named tournament most valuable player for his efforts Tuesday, a remarkable achievement considering how far he’s come this season. It says much about a resilient group of Tornadoes as well.

Alcoa lost starting point guard Logan Sharp for the season with a knee injury in early January. Sophomore understudy Hunter Ramsey was fitting nicely into the void. Within a couple of games, Ramsey was lost for the rest of the year with a back injury.

It was left to Tate, who began the season as Alcoa’s third option at point guard, to take the controls.

“And he ends up being district MVP!” Alcoa coach Micah Marsh said.

Talk about seizing the day.

“Our guys have been ready for this for a week,” Marsh said. “We had a great week of practice. They (the Tornadoes) played great against Loudon. It’s tournament time, and they’ve just pushed another button. They gave me all they had.”

While surprising given the Panthers record at home this season, Alcoa claiming the district crown was well within the realm of possibility at tipoff.

Stone Memorial swept the regular-season series, but both games - 66-60 and 58-53 Panther victories - had been close. The Tornadoes had seen many similar contests slip from their fingers this season. This time when it got the lead, Alcoa held tight.

“You’ve got to give the guys credit,” Marsh said. “We’ve been around .500 all year. We lost some games we should have won. We’ve gotten better.”

Tate has gotten a lot better.

Girls championship

CAK 48, Alcoa 31

After knocking off the host Lady Panthers to reach the finals, the Lady Tornadoes proved no match for a Christian Academy of Knoxville team that put three players in double figures.

The combined scoring of Kelsey Brown (16 points), Alesa Hammaker (12) and Brittany Hoffman (12) was more than enough with no Lady Tornado reaching double figures on the night. Takayah Gilmore and Megan Hill finished with eight points each for Alcoa. The Lady Tornadoes host Fulton in a Region 2AA quarterfinal game on Friday at 7 p.m.

All-District 4AA

Boys

First team: Brandon Cole, Stone; Zack Sherrill, Stone; Jacob Sexton, Scott; Josh Berry, Loudon; David Lee Haskins, Loudon.

Second team: Josh Parker, CAK; Emery Nalor, CAK; Steven Isom, Alcoa; Mason Fox, Stone; Darrell Warren, Alcoa.

Third team: Matt Shown, Alcoa; Jordan Huddleston, Kingston; Dustin Melton, Stone; Tre Tate, Alcoa; Dalton Keck, CAK.

Honorable Mention: Alex Kieser, Stone; Robert Troino, Stone; Brock Rowan, Stone; Gabe Dando, Alcoa; Zack Strange, Loudon; Hayden Grimes, Loudon; Nathan Griffith, Scott Co.; Bradley Brooks, Scott Co.; Aaron Fieldon, Kingston.

Player Of The Year: Brandon Cole - Stone Memorial.

Newcomer Of The Year: Jordan Huddleston - Kingston

Coach of the Year: Mike Buck - Stone Memorial

Girls

First Team: Alesa Hammacker, CAK; Leslie Brown, Stone; Kelli Keck, Stone; Kelsey Brown, CAK; Alisha Shiverdecker, Alcoa.

Second Team: Shea Anderson, Scott; Brittany Hoffman, CAK; Jenna Ray, Kingston; Kylie Russell, Alcoa; Whitney Phillips, Scott.

Third Team: Haley Cornellison, Kingston; Katie Settlemyre, Loudon; Beckah Bennett, CAK; Kayla Daniel, Stone; Lexi Jeffers, Scott.

Honorable Mention: Jara Gesper, Loudon; Takayah Gilmore, Alcoa; Erin Keyes, Stone; Megan Hill, Alcoa; Brooke Thearp, Kingston.

Player Of The Year: Alesa Hammacker, CAK

Newcomer Of The Year: Hayley Cornellison, Kingston

Co-Coach Of The Year: Steve Denny and Bryant Collins