Unfinished story: Torisky’s 11th Red Bay team wanted more, but now it’ll soon be 12’s turn

BIRMINGHAM — Begrudgingly, they cleared their throats and spoke. The words came in barely above a whisper.

What was there to really say?

They knew what was going to be written on the painted cinderblock waiting for them at Red Bay. The one making up part of the wall listing the records and accomplishments of each of coach John Torisky’s teams right inside the locker room entrance.

This was Team XI, the 2025-26 group.

It will eventually have the Tigers’ final record: 25-6. It will list them as county and area champs. It will mark them as a Final Four team, just the second one in program history and two rows on the wall below the first. The block belonging to Team V.

At some point in the future, Red Bay will look upon it with a sense of gratitude. But in the moment and in the days or weeks to follow, it will have a feeling of incompleteness. There should have been more.

“I feel like we had a great season,” sophomore Kahlil Luster said after Monday’s 34-32 loss to LaFayette in the Class 2A state semifinals. “But things happen.”

Sometimes in your favor. Other times not.

This one fell into the latter category — Cameron Thomas the cause of the postgame silence and heartache. And really, how easy the Bulldogs senior made it look.

How Thomas came around the midcourt logo to take a short toss from Ty’Kaden Williams. How Thomas cut his way from the top of the 3-point arc and into the paint. How Thomas went up for a runner. How the ball dropped in off the top of the glass and Thomas was awarded an and-1.

You know how it went from there.

Thomas didn’t miss that free throw, either. It left 5.9 seconds on the clock. It was enough time for freshman Dalton Lowery to launch a last-ditch 3-point heave in between the midcourt line and the arc. It clanged off the backboard and onto the floor.

“It’s really hard to talk when you lose a game like that at the end,” Torisky said. “… (Thomas) just made a heck of a shot. We couldn’t foul him hard enough and knock him over and at least make him make some free throws.

“It’s just one of those things, if the ball goes two inches to the right or left, he misses it. But that’s basketball. We did everything right.”

Red Bay almost did. All the way up until the end.

The Tigers put themselves in position to win. Luster blocked a shot with 58 seconds remaining. It turned into a Bryant Harris go-ahead layup less than 40 seconds later.

Oh, those final 19 seconds.

Harris paced Red Bay with 10 points, while Luster chipped in nine points to go along with seven rebounds. Senior Jaxon Vinson had seven points and seven boards.

Harrington led LaFayette (27-7) with 10 points. Thomas ended with nine.

“It’s tough,” Vinson said. “It was a hard-fought game. It wasn’t the way we wanted to end our season.”

Watching someone else play in the season’s final game — for a state title — always is.

That cinderblock, the Tigers believed, should have ended up with different words on it.

“Hopefully these guys (this season) left a little bit for those younger guys,” Torisky said. “Maybe they’ll be hungry and we’ll see what happens next year.”

Then it will be Team XII’s turn.