How Cochran brothers keyed surprise Brentwood run ending in TSSAA basketball tournament quarterfinals

MURFREESBORO – Daniel Cochran was flanked to the right of Brentwood coach Troy Bond in the postgame press conference on Wednesday following the Bruins' 51-45 loss to Bartlett in the TSSAA boys basketball state tournament Class 4A quarterfinals at MTSU's Murphy Center.

To Bond's left was Davis Cochran, Daniel's younger brother. It was symbolic in Daniel, a senior, represented the Bruins present. His freshman brother is Brentwood's future.

Both played key roles in Brentwood's eye-opening TSSAA basketball playoff run. The Bruins entered District 10-4A as the sixth seed and proceed to finish district tournament runner-up, region runner-up and knocked off Hillsboro on the Burros' home court.

Bartlett (32-4), considered the Class 4A favorite, plays Cookeville (31-3) at 9:30 a.m. Friday in the TSSAA semifinals. Brentwood finished 20-13.

Christian Alston led Bartlett with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate R'Chaun King, an Arkansas State signee, tallied 10 points and was 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Bartlett outrebounded Brentwood 26-13 and had 14 offensive rebounds.

Despite that rebound difference, Brentwood led 35-33 entering the fourth quarter.

"We were giving up so much size except for Daniel, for the most part," Bond said. "We knew we had to really do a great job taking care of the basketball and do a great job being physical."

Daniel, a 6-foot-8 senior and University of Chicago commitment, led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-6 from the 3-point line. He wrapped up his career as the program's all-time leading scorer, overtaking current Belmont athletics director Scott Corley.

"It's super special, no doubt," said Daniel on playing with his younger brother. "It was special to play with him in general on varsity. We never expected him to be playing this much.

"We got to play all these extra games (in the playoffs). Regardless of how this game ended up, it's going to be something we talk about forever."

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Davis, a 6-foot-5 freshman, had his role expand over the course of the season. When a pair of Brentwood starters were ruled ineligible for breaking TSSAA rules for participating in a West Nashville recreational basketball league, Davis emerged his role and eventually became a starter.

"It's really fun to be able to come on the big stage and be able to play with them," Davis said.

Davis finished with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

"Since we added Davis into our rotation, he showed a presence of being able to handle the moment," Bond said. "When we added him in the starting lineup a couple weeks back, he stepped into it."

"I think he kind of answered the bell," Bond said. "He had some big shots for us."