Tyner Overcomes Central's Hot Start To Claim 47-42 Win

Central raced to a 12-0 lead, but decided to sit back and enjoy Senior Night.

Tyner went to work.

Tyner battled for 29-plus minutes before taking its first lead, fought off every challenge Central could muster down the stretch and knocked off the District 6-2A regular season champions, 47-42, Thursday night at Central High School.

“Central came out clicking on all cylinders,” Tyner coach Keitha Booker said, “but I told my guys the game wasn’t over. We just had to fight and fight and get back in the game. We kept chipping away.”

Kevin Cameron, who led all scorers with 24 points, made a layup with 4:42 remaining to give Tyner its first advantage of the game. Cameron then scored eight of the Rams’ final 15 points to provide the offensive punch needed to deal Central its only district loss after 11 straight wins.

“We never give up,” Cameron said. “If we keep playing defense we can get back into any game. In the fourth quarter we had to stay patient, take care of the ball and make some free throws.”

The Pounders (16-4, 11-1) went into the game playing for pride, having already locked up the No. 1 seed for next week’s tournament at Brainerd, and hoping to send seniors Ryan Montgomery, Rodney Benford, Emmanuel Lane, Jamichael Poole and Devin Swafford out on a high note.

That didn’t happen.

The Pounders simply didn’t play like a pre-tournament favorite against the Rams and in front of a full house in their own gym.

“My hats off to Tyner,” Central coach Rick Rogers said. “The out-scrapped us, out-hustled us, out-played us and looked like they wanted to win more than we did. It looked like we were afraid to lose. That’s what happens when you play not to lose. You lose. We don’t normally play that way and I don’t coach that way.”

The Purple Pounders, who lost in the opening round of the 2015 state tournament, shot miserably all night: they made only 4-of-19 on 3-point tries and were 6-of-17 from the free throw line.

Cameron drained 6-of-7 from the charity line in the fourth quarter. Ten of his 24 points came in the final eight minutes after having scored just two in the third. He went off for 12 points in the second period as the Rams tied the game 21-21 at halftime.

“Kevin’s mentality is that he’s the best player on the floor and he wants the ball when the bright lights come on,” Booker said. “We’ve been struggling with free throws all season, but we’ve worked hard on that, trying to have a lot more focus at the line. Kevin has confidence he can knock them down.”

Jerrion Christopher, who added 12 points for the Rams, hit 2-of-4 from the stripe in the last period.

For the game, Tyner was 11-of-17 at the line, including 8-of-11 in the final quarter.

Central’s quick start was the last highlight of their first league setback:

Terron Hayes drains a left-wing 3.

Poole makes a layup and misses the and-one.

Lane knocks down a 3 from the right wing.

Poole rams a dunk home.

Lane drops fade-away jumper on the baseline.

Central went up by a dozen points right out of the gate.

Then the scrap-iron Rams lit a comeback fuse.

Cameron made his only 3 of the game, later dumped in two free throws and Tyner was within 21-19. Shannon Sprawls’ bucket with 1:33 left in the first half tied the game at 21-all.

Neither team did much in the third quarter, combining for just 14 points.

Rogers knew part of his team’s problem that started and continued from the second quarter to the end.

“A lot of things went into this loss,” he said. “After the fast start we didn’t show a killer instinct. We stopped attacking the rim and started shooting 3-pointers. We got shot-happy and it cost us.”

In the fourth quarter, Montgomery, who scored only nine points, six in the second half, put in a left-handed scoop to give the Pounders a 30-28 lead at the 7:03 mark. Tyner’s Jaylan Bowens answered with a layup, his only points of the contest.

Cameron then dropped the go-ahead layup and added two free throws 50 seconds later.

Montgomery scored on a tip-in. Christopher drove the baseline and his layup gave the Rams a 36-32 advantage with 2:47 on the clock.

McClendon Curtis’ layup cut Tyner’s lead to two points. Curtis fouled out with 1:22 left, but strangely was sent back into the game less than a minute later with Cameron at the free-throw line. Officials sent Curtis back to the bench and John Boyd went in.

Christopher made a free throw, Cameron hit two more and his put-back with 53.2 seconds left gave Tyner its biggest lead of the game at 41-34.

“We really competed tonight,” Booker said.

Benford tossed in two free throws and Christopher answered with two for the Rams and Tyner’s lead was still seven points.

Hayes popped a 3 from the wing, narrowing the gap to 43-39 with 28.4 seconds left.

Cameron’s free throws padded the late lead, but Lane hit a clutch 3 to slice the Pounders’ deficit to 45-42. Central called a timeout.

The Rams lined up with four players in the backcourt. One player broke toward the inbounds passer and Jermy Elston darted toward the Tyner hoop, took a pass in stride and hit a layup to provide the final five-point margin of victory.

“We weren’t able to finish off the undefeated regular season tonight,” Rogers said, “and that’s really frustrating. We never got in a flow offensively. Tyner deserved to win and Keitha has really done a nice job with his team. He had big shoes to fill when Gerald Harris left.”

Tyner (15-6, 8-3) concludes its regular season Friday night against East Ridge and is fighting Brainerd for the No. 2 seeded position in the postseason tournament.

Tyner’s girls 37, Central 33: Brianna Denton scored nine of her team-high 11 points in the first two quarters and that helped the Lady Pounders to a 23-17 halftime lead.

Central managed just 10 second-half points and the Lady Rams (11-10, 9-1) pulled even at 25-all going into the fourth period.

Leading 32-30, Tyner’s Marquiesha Conyers hit two free throws and with just 13.4 seconds left Samatha Maffett added two more to push the lead to 36-30.

Central’s Alivia Smith ripped a 3 from about 21 feet and the Lady Pounders were within one possession of tying the game. Alise Bedford made one free throw, her only point, with 3.6 seconds showing to give Tyner a 37-33 spread.

Smith’s half-court desperation 3 hit the rim and bounced away.

Conyers led the Lady Rams with 12 points.

Tyner, the regular-season champion and tournament top-seed, hit 12-of-17 free throws, including 7-of-11 in the final quarter when Maffett went 4-for-5.

Brianna Denton paced Central (10-10, 8-4) with 11 points.

Boxscores

Boys

Tyner                                   5 16 7 19 – 47

Central                                 12 9 7 14 – 42

Tyner (47) – Kevin Cameron 24, Young, Boyd, Bulloch 4, Bowens 2, Je. Elston 2, Jerrion Christopher 12, Sprawls 2.  

Central (42) – Emmanuel Lane 12, Poole 4, Montgomery 9, Swafford, Hayes 6, Baxter, Abshire, Benford 7, Curtis 4.

3-Point Goals – Tyner 3 (Christopher 2, Cameron 1), Central 4 (Lane 2, Hayes 2).

Girls

Tyner                                   10 7 8 12 – 37

Central                                 13 10 2 8 – 33

Tyner (37) – Bedford 1, Parks, Marquiesha Conyers 12, Melton 3, Maffett 8, Watkins 5, Rodgers 8.

Central (33) – Hixson, Mathis, Miller 6, Smith 8, East 3, Brianna Denton 11, Feist, Hill 5.

3-Point Goals – Tyner 1 (Melton), Central 4 (Smith 2, Denton 1, Hill 1).

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)