MURFREESBORO -- Right now, the Grace Academy boys' basketball players aren't comforted by the knowledge that they competed in one of the most thrilling state championship games in TSSAA history.

All the Golden Eagles can think about is that they're coming home from Murfreesboro with a silver ball instead of a gold one.

For the third time in the past seven years, Grace Academy was one of the two Class A teams playing on the final day of the basketball season. And despite falling behind by 23 points in the first half against top-ranked Clarksville Academy on Saturday afternoon at MTSU, the Golden Eagles had a win within their grasp after rallying to force double overtime.

Only three other boys' finals in state history had reached a second extra period, but this one ended in heartbreak for the Golden Eagles, who lost a five-point lead in the second overtime and fell 82-77.

"That's about as intense a game as I've ever been a part of, just seeing the passion from both teams and the way they played," Grace coach Jon Mattheiss said. "I'm sure someday I'll look back on this game as a classic, but right now, it hurts.

'We're very disappointed. This is not what we came for. It's not that we're not appreciative of the opportunity, but we thought this game was ours to win."

Clarksville Academy took control early with a 16-0 first-quarter run and finished the opening period with an incredible 23-6 advantage. Grace shot just 21-percent in the quarter and made only one offensive rebound.

"That was a little bit of a shock," Mattheiss said. "Honestly, we thought we'd come out and do that to them. It would have been easy for us to just hang our heads because we were getting embarrassed, but we knew we still had a lot of basketball left to play, and that we'd have to do it a basket at a time."

The struggles continued in the second period, when the Cougars extended their lead to as much as 23 points, but Grace senior Brandon Herman said he and his teammates always believed they could come back.

"We weren't down on ourselves," Herman said. "We've played in games like this before, so we knew we weren't going to get it back in one possession, but we just kept dwindling away at their lead."

A 3-pointer from Herman cut Grace's deficit to 15 with 1:20 left in the first half, and the Cougars took a 38-23 advantage into the break. The Golden Eagles chipped away at their deficit in the third period, getting within 11 points on a Terrell Church 3-pointer with 2:13 to play.

Grace's 7-0 run over the final minute of the period included five straight points from Herman, who scored with 44.9 seconds remaining, was fouled, and then hit three free throws after a technical on Clarksville Academy. With the Grace Academy fans rising to their feet, Corey Nelson scored with 15.6 seconds on the clock to make it 47-41 heading into the final period.

A 3-pointer from Church helped stop the Cougars' fourth-quarter fun, and after a steal from Taylor Wilson, Herman connected from outside to get Grace within 57-55 with 2:49 left in regulation. The Golden Eagles played from behind the rest of the period, but with 9.6 seconds on the clock, sophomore Corey Nelson sank a 3-pointer to tie it at 63.

The teams traded baskets throughout the first overtime, but the Cougars once again put themselves in position to win when two free throws with 34 seconds left gave them a 69-66 lead.

But this time, it was Church's turn to come up big, and his 3-pointer with 10.8 seconds on the clock forced another period after Wilson came through with a steal as time ran out.

"Before I made the 3, we had called timeout, so I had some time to think about what was about to happen," Church said. "The play wasn't necessarily designed for me, but that's what happened. It was definitely a relief."

"That was huge," Mattheiss said of Church's basket. "He pulled the trigger. He's a senior and a good shooter, and he wasn't afraid to take it."

Grace took a 75-70 lead to open the second extra period, but managed just one basket the rest of the way. Just as they had been on Friday, when Clarksville Academy eliminated Arts & Sciences with a 59-50 semifinal win, the Cougars' 6-foot-5 junior forwards Martin and Malcom Smith were too much to handle inside.

The twin brothers combined to score 61 of Clarksville Academy's 77 points, and the Cougars (36-2) sealed the win with a 5-for-8 performance from the free-throw line in the final 1:28 after Martin Smith's 3-pointer got his team within 77-76. For the game, Clarksville Academy shot 34 free throws to the Golden Eagles' 15.

"There's not a lot to say after you lose a game like that," Mattheiss said, "but I told the guys I wanted to compliment them on their effort. They never quit."

Herman finished his stellar career with 33 points, and was one of three players named as a finalist for Class A Mr. Basketball honors. Clarksville Academy's Malcom Smith received the award after scoring 40 points on Saturday and being named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Wilson scored 17 points for Grace, while Church followed with 16, and Nelson finished with nine. The Golden Eagles ended the year at 24-7 after earning the third state runner-up finish in school history.

Wilson, Nelson, Church and Herman were named to the all-tournament team for Grace, along with Arts & Sciences' Alex Stallion.

"It was fun to play in double-overtime in the state championship game," Church said. "Obviously we wanted to win, but this is a game I'll always remember."

(E-mail Jaime Lackey at jaimenlackey@yahoo.com)