Turnovers turned a rivalry into a runaway before halftime Tuesday night. Brainerd forced six turnovers in the first quarter and eight in the second quarter in building a 27-point halftime lead and cruising to a 73-37 District 6-AA basketball win over Howard.
"We have to cause turnovers and feed off that," Panthers coach Levar Brown said. "We don't want to play a half-court game, so we have to make it up-tempo.
"I told the guys that it would take playing hard for 32 minutes to come in here and win the game, and I like how we played in the second half."
The Hustlin' Tigers scored the game's first basket, but Brainerd answered with the next eight points, then opened the second quarter with a 16-0 run and continued to pull away.
"Turnovers have been a bugaboo all year for us," Howard coach Walter McGary said. "It's a lack of concentration on our kids' part, but we'll get it fixed.
"They were still pressing us into the fourth quarter. I will remember."
Marques Tipton led all scorers with 13 points, including a pair of 3-point baskets, for Brainerd. He was one of four double-digit scorers, with Vesta Melvin and Malik Beavers each adding 11 and Da'V Moore scoring 10. The Panthers made 17 of 23 free throws, and they played all 12 players.
The win completed the Panthers' season sweep of their longtime rivals, having claimed a 19-point win in December, and extended their district streak to 9-0 with three games remaining, all but securing the top seed for the 6-AA tournament.
"We're still a young team," said Brown, who has eight sophomores and two freshmen on the roster. "So being able to get everybody minutes was a big deal for us."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.