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BLOUNTVILLE — There was a lot to celebrate on Saturday night for the Morristown West Trojans as the program won its first region tournament game in over 20 years.

It was also a big upset as the No. 1 team from District 1-4A, West Ridge, was eliminated. Fourth-seeded West used a collective effort to take down the West Ridge Wolves, 66-61, on the road in the quarterfinals of the Region 1-4A Tournament.

“I’m super happy for this team,” West coach Joe Dobyns said. “It’s been a long time coming for this program. It was huge for them to taste a little bit of success. This is big for our program, to get a region win. I’m so proud of this team.”

It was Dobyns’ best win of his young career as the head coach.

The spirits were high after the game but only for a short time as the Trojans (13-15) knew there was more work to do after defeating the Wolves (19-12).

“There’s still work to do,” Dobyns said.

West Ridge used the post and the corner 3-pointer most of the game to linger around, but the Trojans eventually got the stops they needed along with going 20-24 from the free-throw line to lock up the win.

“Anytime we can make free throws like that, it’s going to give us a good chance,” Dobyns said. “We know we have to rebound and make free throws to give us a chance to win.”

Bereket Evans led the way with a co-game-high of 14 points. Alban Oruglica knocked down three big-time triples and finished with 13 points, and Jalen McCullough netted 11.

West Ridge’s Avery Horne and Wade Whitaker each finished with 14 points, and Will Harris tallied 10.

After a slow start in the first quarter, West found a spark in the second quarter with four triples to take the lead into halftime at 30-26.

“I told them we had to fight for 32 minutes for each other,” Dobyns said. “That was big for us to get the lead at half to give us some confidence. We needed to make those shots. We made some big ones. A lot of guys played big minutes for us.”

Evans and Oruglica each knocked down a pair of triples in the period to provide the spark that was needed.

But it was not just about getting the shots to fall for the Trojans. It was the hustle each player showed that amplified the whole team. One play, in particular, that showed the attitude West was playing with was Rylin King’s deflection and dive for the 50-50 ball.

“I wanted to set an example,” King said. “After a disappointing ending to the district tournament, I didn’t want it to end the same way here. I wanted to keep it going as long as I could. Anyway I could energize the team, I was going to do. We played together and did it.”

There was no lack of effort the rest of the game after King’s display of leadership.

West opened up the second half with a 12-4 run as Ty Steisslinger contributed a couple of buckets and Tory House scored back-to-back baskets down low.

But the Wolves weren’t backing down.

West Ridge used a 12-3 run to close out the final two minutes of the third quarter and tied the game at 47-all.

“We had to settle down,” Dobyns said about West Ridge’s run. “We had to be patient, offensively. We got some good looks and that was really the difference for us.”

To begin the fourth quarter, the Wolves knocked down a couple of free throws to take their first lead since the second quarter, but it did not last long as the Trojans tied it right back up at 51-51.

It was the last time West Ridge would lead in the game.

West knocked down 9-of-10 shots from the stripe to secure their lead, as Steisslinger netted the final two free throws and Oruglica forced a turnover with 13 seconds left to ignite the West crowd into a celebration.

The Trojans have seen they can pull off the upset and enter Tuesday night at the Tribe’s athletic complex full of confidence.

“We are up against the defending state champions,” Dobyns said. “We are glad to be there, but whoever we play, we will give it all we got. We will do all we can and this win helps.”