Tyner holds off Bolivar, advances to state tournament semifinals

Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Bolivar Central High (4) Andtrayvin Stewart attempts a pass as Tyner Academy (1) Xavier Fisher defends on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 in Murfreesboro during the opening round of the class 2A boys state basketball tournament at Murphy Center on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.
Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Bolivar Central High (4) Andtrayvin Stewart attempts a pass as Tyner Academy (1) Xavier Fisher defends on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 in Murfreesboro during the opening round of the class 2A boys state basketball tournament at Murphy Center on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - For the first 31 minutes of Tuesday's TSSAA Class 2A boys' state tournament quarterfinal game, Tyner Academy calmly built a comfortable lead. The Rams spent the final minute frantically trying to prevent a complete collapse before finally escaping with a 66-59 win over stubborn Bolivar Central at MTSU's Murphy Center.

"That last minute was frustrating but at this point of the season a win is a win and we're moving on," said Tyner coach E'Jay Ward.

The Rams (24-10) advance to Thursday's semifinal round, where they will face Milan (24-7), which held off York Institute 62-55 in overtime Tuesday. Tyner's win marked the first time since 2019 that a Chattanooga-area team advanced past the first round of the state tournament.

It didn't, however, happen without some shaky moments down the stretch as the Rams saw their 11-point lead with just over two minutes remaining dwindle to four with 36 seconds left and Bolivar missed two shots that would have cut the deficit to two in the closing seconds.

Tyner was its own worst enemy in the final 45 seconds, committing four turnovers and making just one of 10 free throws during that time to allow the Tigers (21-10) to rally.

"We're suppose to make free throws down the stretch," Ward said. "Our mentality is to make those plays because our expectations are high. I know those guys played the whole game and they were tired, but once you get up here there's no more excuses. We have to do a better job of finishing games.

"Getting up the way we did early was a big factor down the stretch. We came here to win it all, so we will go back to work to get ready for the next game and I believe we will make those shots when we need them the next time out."

After a frenzied first half in which the teams combined to shoot better than 50% from the floor - Tyner made 5-of-6 3-pointers - the Rams used their considerable size advantage to build a comfortable double-digit lead.

The six Rams who saw the most second-half action are each taller than 6-foot, including four who are 6-3 or taller. None of Bolivar's players on the court for the second half were taller than 6-foot, including three who were 5-8 or shorter.

That size difference allowed Tyner to outrebound the Tigers 32-17 and double them in second-chance points.

"We came out for the second half with the mindset of just slowing things down, taking our time to find the open shot and then everybody crashing the boards," said Rams junior Nehemiah Bloodsaw, who finished with a team-high 18 points and 15 rebounds. "We knew we had a big size difference, so we had to take advantage of that by getting easy baskets and making it tough on them to score down low."

Rams 6-5 junior wing Keelan Jackson finished with 17 points - including 4-of-6 3-pointers, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots - while senior guard Xavier Fisher added 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

"I think we got the jitters out of the way today," Jackson said. "We've got a day off to work and learn from our mistakes and I believe we'll be a better team Thursday. We'll be ready."

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

Upcoming Events