Brainerd's Marques Tipton (5) brings the ball up the floor against Sequoyah Saturday afternoon in the Panthers' High-Jackson Gymnasium. Tipton scored 14 points to help Brainerd overpower the Chiefs by an 83-63 final. Brainerd now moves on to face Hixson, the #4 seed out of District 6 who defeated McMinn Central 78-67 to reach the semis. That game will be played at 3 p.m. at the Loudon gymnasium.
photo by Dennis Norwood
It was a mismatch from the opening whistle.
Sequoyah coach Daniel Curtis knew it before his Chiefs entered Brainerd's High-Jackson Gymnasium Saturday afternoon, but he wasn't about to tell his players.
His worst scenario came to pass a little while later as Brainerd advanced with the 83-63 victory and improved to 21-6 overall while Sequoyah's season ends at 14-14.
"That was a totally different level of basketball than we're used to," Curtis said shortly after the game ended.
"Brainerd is so athletic all across the board. We played our tails off, but we're not at this level and this was a tough assignment for us. We did a good job in the first half as we kept attacking, but our first three shots were swatted away and that was kind of intimidating.
"I knew what we were getting into, but I just hate that our season has to end like this," Curtis concluded.
Brainerd looked really good in spots and somewhat ho-hum in others, but the Panthers were simply able to use their overall athletic ability to win for the 21st time in 27 games.
Brainerd coach Lavar Brown wasn't very impressed.
"We looked rusty as the time off hurt us, but I guess every other team is in the same situation as we are," he nodded afterward.
"We didn't start playing Brainerd basketball until the second half. I'm pleased that we won, but we'll have to play much better on Saturday. The first four minutes of the second half are always crucial and that's when we tried to turn up the pressure defensively. I'm pleased that we won, but it looked like a rec center game for a while," he added.
The Chiefs hung close for most of the first quarter as they rallied from a 6-0 start in the first 90 seconds to knot the score at 9-9 following a drive down the lane by Kody Hampton with 3:30 left in the opening stanza.
Braienerd's Da'V Moore scored five straight points and Jesse Walker added two free throws as the Panthers made it 16-9 just inside two minutes. The difference was 18-15 Brainerd when the first quarter ended.
Hampton scored on a short banker with 3:15 left in the half before Brainerd scored 10 of the last 14 points for a 38-25 lead at the half.
Like Brown had preached, the first few minutes of the third quarter were critical as the Panthers blew open the game with a 15-3 run in the first three minutes. The quarter ended on a 9-3 Brainerd run as the difference was 69-41 with one quarter remaining.
The Chiefs scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to get with 21, but only in the final minute when Shane Moore sank two free throws did the score get any closer and that was the final margin of 20 points.
Moore had 21 points to lead five Brainerd players in double figures.
Marques Tipton and Kentrell Evans both followed with 14 while Jesse Walker tossed in a dozen and Dajuonta Ross 11 for the Panthers.
Hampton was tops for Sequoyah with 15 points. Seth Schaffer was next with 13 while Will Phillips and Braden Strickland both finished with eight points.
Brainerd also won the battle of the boards by a resounding 41-19 margin. Moore had 10 rebounds while Tipton was next with nine. Miles Cothran and Walker both snared six.
Hampton was tops for the Chiefs with six rebounds.
Brainerd will play Hixson in Loudon on Saturday afternoon in the first boys semifinal at 3. The Wildcats upset District 5-AA champ McMinn Central by 12 points. Red Bank faces Central in the second one at 4:30 with the girls championship between Sequoyah and McMinn Central being decided at 6.
Central's Lady Pounders and Brainerd's Lady Panthers both lost lopsided semifinal games on Saturday to Sequoyah and McMinn Central, respectively.
SEQUOYAH 15 10 16 22 -- 63
BRAINERD 18 20 31 14 -- 83
SEQUOYAH (63) -- Harmon 4, Phillips 8, Strickland 8, Russell 1, Garrett, Johnson 6, Hampton 15, Brewster 2, Smith, Moses 2, Moore 2, Schaffer 13, Carlton 2, Kuberka, Hopper.
BRAINERD (83) -- Sow 2, Ross 11, Tipton 14, Evans 14, Melvin 3, Hampton, Cothron 2, Herman 4, Walker 12, Moore 21.
3-POINT GOALS: Sequoyah 8 (Strickland 2, Johnson 2, Hampton, Schaffer 3); Brainerd 5 (Tipton 2, Evans 2, Melvin),
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@Comcast.net)
Brainerd's Da'V Moore (40) looks to score two of his game high 21 points against Sequoyah.
photo by Dennis Norwood