Lions roar into AAA state

Slideshow: Sectional Basketball

The noise inside the recently dedicated Susan Thurman Gymnasium at Red Bank High School was likely at a decibel level like never before Monday night.

In front of a vociferous crowd hungry to host a Class AAA boys’ sectional, a Red Bank basketball team even hungrier for a state-tournament berth rolled past White County 94-64 and will be making the trip to Murfreesboro for the first time since 2001.

Red Bank coach John Cherne said the crowd, most of which was rooting for the Lions, was the largest he had seen in his four years on the bench. Also some band members were coerced into forming a pep band that added more energy inside the building. Mix in Red Bank’s hot shooting display in the first quarter, and the show was on early.

“Our student section has been decent all year, but tonight it was awesome,” Cherne said. “The band did an outstanding job during timeouts and stoppages in play. They kept things going and made it even louder. Home-court advantage really paid off.”

The Lions should know. They lost in sectionals on the road each of the last two seasons.

“Home court makes a big difference when it comes to going to state,” Red Bank’s Tim Benford said. “When the students start rocking, we start rocking.”

Benford and fellow senior leader Dominique McDuffie had to be the most appreciative of advancing to the round of eight. They made plenty of contributions, including teaming for 37 points. But freshman wing player Nick Ross came off the bench and led the scoring with 23.

At the beginning, Red Bank’s approach to attacking White County’s 1-3-1 zone defense looked equally as simple as what Ross had to say about his torrid start.

“I just had the hot hand,” Ross said.

Benford positioned himself at the top of the key and distributed the ball to the wings and corners, left and right. Bradley Britt and Kelvin Clay each made a 3-point shot before Ross made four of his five in a span of 2:33. The last put the Lions ahead 28-10.

White County (30-7) came in the team noted for its shooting prowess. Red Bank ended up with a 15-9 advantage in 3-point goals.

“Before the game, I never would’ve thought that we’d hit more 3s than them,” said Benford, one of four Lions to make two shots from behind the arc. “They’re a great team. They can shoot the lights out.”

Cherne said among the things he’d heard about the Warriors was they weren’t the type of team to fold easily. He saw that first hand when they rallied back within 35-30 midway of the second quarter. Ultimately their undoing began when Jared Mitchell’s basket underneath at 1:48 of the third quarter started the Lions on a 19-0 run that stretched the advantage to 84-52.

With some of the players coming from a football playoff run, and Cherne’s decision to go with freshman Clay in the starting lineup, meshing took time. Red Bank (25-7) scored a season-low 37 points while losing its second game of the season, and lost the next time out, too. Now the Lions are on an 11-game winning streak.

“We were coming off two years of having success,” Cherne said. “I felt at least we had enough talent coming back. Then there was the infusion of those freshmen. I thought they were going to add to it. I just didn’t know how much. Tonight they were phenomenal.”