Baylor bid to upset Brentwood Academy in state semifinals falls short [photos]

Baylor's Beyuan Hendricks reacts after failing to inbounds the ball in time against Brentwood Academy during a Division II-AA state semifinal Thursday at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena.
Baylor's Beyuan Hendricks reacts after failing to inbounds the ball in time against Brentwood Academy during a Division II-AA state semifinal Thursday at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena.

NASHVILLE - After leading for much of the game, Baylor's boys' basketball team had withstood a late scoring barrage by top-ranked Brentwood Academy and was still in position to tie or possibly take the lead in the final seconds of Thursday's Division II-AA state tournament semifinal.

With nine seconds remaining, Red Raiders senior Beyuan Hendricks drove into the lane and tossed up a shot that banked off the glass and rolled in for what would have been the tying points. A whistle was blown and the Baylor bench erupted, thinking the shot would count and Hendricks would have a chance to put his team ahead with a free throw.

Instead, the official's call was that Hendricks was fouled before the act of shooting, and on the ensuing inbounds play Brentwood Academy's defense forced a turnover on a five-second violation. From there the Eagles made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds and won 39-37 at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena.

When asked about the call that erased the basket by Hendricks, first-year Red Raiders coach Mark Price said simply, "I'm not going to comment on that call, but you know how I feel about it."

Brentwood Academy will face Briarcrest Christian in Saturday's state championship game. The Eagles (25-6) will be going for their fifth consecutive state title, a feat that never has been accomplished in any classification in TSSAA history.

Baylor, which had split the regular-season series and also narrowly lost to Brentwood Academy in last year's championship game, led for the first 12 minutes of the game, and by halftime the score was tied after a putback by Eagles junior Devyn Curtis.

Baylor (22-6) regained command to open the second half and pulled ahead by eight after back-to-back 3-pointers by Blake Pruitt. But with 37 seconds left in the period, Eagles senior guard B.J. Davis made a 3 that cut the deficit to four and swung momentum.

"I knew I had to knock it down to keep us in the game," Davis said. "I was definitely nervous before that shot went in."

Brentwood Academy began the fourth quarter with a 10-4 run to surge ahead, but never by more than two. Seven of those points came from sophomore wing Randy Brady, who transferred after playing at Baylor last season.

"It was a little weird but fun playing against them because I had a close relationship with those guys from playing with them last year," said Brady, who finished with 14 points after having been cleared to play Monday. He had missed two weeks with a broken bone in his left hand.

Still a bit stunned from having the potential game-tying basket waved off, and with no timeouts remaining, Hendricks faced a different defensive set-up - man-to-man instead of zone - than the Eagles had shown on previous inbounds plays.

The five-second violation meant Baylor had to foul Marcus Fitzgerald, who made both free throws for a four-point advantage with just eight seconds remaining. The Red Raiders managed a final basket just before the buzzer.

"I had faith in my teammates the whole time. Right up till the end," said Baylor senior guard Lorenzo White, whose seven points were second on the team to Hendricks' eight. "Sometimes life just doesn't go your way."

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.

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