Notre Dame boys, Signal Mountain girls win 7-AA titles

Sequatchie County's Brittany Singleton, left, rebounds the ball ahead of Signal Mountain's Brooke Whitmire during their District 7-AA girls' championship basketball game at Notre Dame High School on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sequatchie County's Brittany Singleton, left, rebounds the ball ahead of Signal Mountain's Brooke Whitmire during their District 7-AA girls' championship basketball game at Notre Dame High School on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Tyler Byrd clapped his hands and grimaced. He had just missed catching and flushing an alley-oop during the third quarter of the District 7-AA championship game on his home court.

Almost everything else he and his Notre Dame teammates tried worked out well for the Irish, who defeated Chattanooga Christian 67-57 on Saturday night in Phifer Gymnasium.

Signal Mountain captured the District 7-AA girls' championship earlier in the evening, 70-69 over Sequatchie County in overtime.

Byrd, a senior who earned tournament MVP honors, led Notre Dame with 29 points on a variety of moves in the paint and on the perimeter.

Peter Berce contributed 12 points, including four 3-pointers, to help provide a balance to Byrd inside, and Davian Wheeler added 10 points.

The Chargers were led by 20 points from Ryan Rhodes and 12 from John Rhodes.

"We changed some things up defensively, and they worked," Notre Dame coach J. P. Nerbun said. "Tyler had a great game. He played within himself and he played within the offense."

The Irish (19-11) established the pace in the first quarter and played at their tempo throughout the game. Notre Dame led 15-14 after the first quarter, then sprinted out to a 30-20 lead at halftime by allowing just two points in the final four minutes of the half.

It increased its lead during a frenzied third quarter - including Byrd's missed dunk - and led 52-33 heading into the final stanza.

Berce boosted Notre Dame's lead to a whopping 60-36 after sinking back-to-back 3-pointers. The Irish started feeling frisky and tried to dazzle the home crowd with behind-the-back passes and another alley-oop attempt in the fourth quarter.

"They have better players, and they're very well coached," CCS coach David Conrady said. "This game was going to have to go a certain way for us to win."

The Chargers (20-8) crept to within seven points during the final minute, but they couldn't threaten the lead in the end.

"We could have bagged it and taken it to the house," Conrady said. "We showed great commitment and laid it all on the line."

The Lady Eagles came from behind to topple Sequatchie County. Lydia Bledsoe led Signal Mountain with 20 points and tournament MVP Aryn Sanders scored 16 points. Jordan Smith led the Lady Warriors with 23 points while Brittany Singleton added 18 points. Both teams will host a region tournament game next week.

Bledsoe County beat Notre Dame 31-29 in the girls' consolation game.

Sequatchie County won the boys' consolation game, 48-46 over Signal Mountain. Noah Bartley led Sequatchie County with 11 points, while Kevin McCaffrey and Jarren Radden each scored 11 points for the Eagles.

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP

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