MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - In a game with a high-octane pace, Central simply ran out of gas at the end.
Trailing Fulton by 12 in the third quarter of a Class AA boys' basketball state tournament quarterfinal Thursday at Middle Tennessee State University, the Purple Pounders expended a lot of energy rallying to take a short-lived two-point lead with less than two minutes remaining.
But the Pounders failed to score a basket in the final 1:52, missing their final two shots from the floor, turning it over with a chance to tie and making just one of two free throws with a chance to tie the game with 23 seconds remaining.
Meanwhile, Fulton's Ron Davis connected on a short jumper and added a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to lead his team to a 52-49 win that sent the Knoxville program into today's semifinals at MTSU.
"It did take a lot out of us, but we've had bigger comebacks, so I don't want to make excuses," said Central senior Ryan Montgomery, who led his team with 19 points and nine rebounds. "I missed a free throw, had a turnover late and we missed a couple of our last shots, and that was it."
Central (20-7), making its second straight trip to state, was looking for its first tournament win in 56 years.
The Pounders jumped out to a 10-0 lead, holding the Falcons (30-2) scoreless for the first four minutes of the game. But in a sign of things to come, Davis connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer at the end of the first quarter to trim his team's deficit to a manageable eight points.
In fact, Davis - who led all scorers with 23 points and made five of seven 3-pointers - nailed a buzzer-beating trey to end each of the first three quarters, including a half-court heave to close the third.
"It was a horrendous start, not at all what we wanted," Fulton coach Jody Wright said. "But we've been in those type situations before. I told the guys there would come a point in the fourth quarter where it would get hairy and we'd need a stop and to make some big shots. We showed a toughness I didn't know we had a few weeks ago."
With the game tied to begin the second half, Fulton - feeding off a press that had given Central fits in the second quarter and created 15 first-half turnovers - opened with a 10-0 run and eventually built a 12-point advantage midway through the third quarter.
"It doesn't matter where we go, when we get outside of Chattanooga, teams are quicker than us," Central coach Rick Rogers said. "Brainerd is the quickest team we play all year, and Fulton applies more pressure than Brainerd. Everybody here is a champion, so it's really tough to win one here."
Central began to rally late in the third, and the momentum carried over into the fourth, when a 14-2 run was capped by Jamichael Poole's layup that gave the Pounders a 48-46 lead with 1:52 to go. But Fulton handled the pressure of the closing minutes better and advanced to a 5:30 p.m. EDT semifinal today against Fayette Ware (24-8), which won 78-72 against Marshall County (17-14) on Thursday.
Central failed to make a 3-pointer in seven attempts for the game and was just 11-of-24 on free throws, including 3-of-9 in the second half.
Pounders junior McClendon Curtis a 6-foot-7, 295-pound post, finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Poole also had 12 rebounds to go with nine points.
"We had a size advantage, but their quickness and just how scrappy they are negated that," Rogers said. "You also can't miss layups and free throws, especially late, at this level and move on."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.