Ensworth had endured back-to-back one-point losses in the past week. On Tuesday night, the Tigers broke through.
The Tigers (12-8, 4-3 DII-AA East/Middle) held off Father Ryan to preserve a 62-49 victory.
“It feels good to get the win,” Ensworth junior Jordan Bone said. “Especially because it’s a region win. We needed this to pick up our confidence.”
Bone, who finished with a team-high 23 points, knocked down three straight free throws to conclude the third quarter, spotting his team a 40-37 advantage. To begin the fourth, senior Will Bright buried a contested 3-pointer, stretching the lead to six.
The Tigers never looked back from there.
“Once we got the lead, we were able to extend it by making our free throws,” Ensworth coach Ricky Bowers said. “We didn’t really give them any easy shots.”
Ensworth knocked down 9 of 12 from the free throws in the fourth quarter.
Aside from junior Griffin Bumpus’ 3-pointer, the Father Ryan relied mainly on senior Luke Dixon for its fourth-quarter production. The Irish (7-13, 2-5) were outscored 22-12 in the final period, snapping the squad’s two-game win streak.
“We didn’t play as good of defense as we had in the last couple games,” Father Ryan senior Cameron Towns said. “We hit some shots, but mainly it was just our defense couldn’t get it together.”
Dixon finished with a team-high 17 for Father Ryan, which had knocked off previously unbeaten Brentwood Academy and Montgomery Bell Academy in its last two games, while Bumpus added 13.
“We know we can hang with people,” said Towns, who tallied five points in the loss. “We’ve beaten two top-tier teams. We just have to keep pushing and keep working hard in practice.”
Bright and senior Austin Rolfe each finished with nine points for Ensworth, Imani Starling contributed six while senior P.J. Settles and junior Desmond Cambridge each chipped in five.
“I’m excited,” added Bowers, whose team has won the last four state championships. “I really like this team. I feel like if we make the same amount of improvements in the next two weeks that we’ve made in the last two weeks, I think we’re going to be a good team.”
Reach Michael Murphy at 259-8018 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.
