Brainerd's boys won two championships in their home gymnasium Friday night. One was real. One was concocted.
The latter was the motivating factor the Panthers used to get themselves pumped for their District 6-AA high school basketball game against neighboring rival Tyner, which put up a fierce effort before falling 54-51 in the last regular-season game for the Rams and the last game of the 2017-18 season for Brainerd.
The Panthers were handed down a postseason ban for this season and next by the TSSAA because of their involvement in a benches-clearing fight with Austin-East on Jan. 27 at Brainerd in which people came down out of the stands and got involved. It is possible for both schools to get reinstated for next postseason, provided they follow guidelines laid out by the state organization.
By winning Friday, Brainerd (20-4, 13-1) ends up the district regular-season champion, despite a forfeit loss to Central during the time their season was suspended while the TSSAA gathered evidence regarding the fight. Coach Levar Brown said because there is no postseason for his team this year, that title is unfulfilling.
However, Mr. Basketball finalist Jessie Walker and the other six Panthers seniors who were celebrated on senior night had a message for the rest of the team.
"They said this was our state-championship game before we went out," Brown said. "Jessie led us out and said 'We need to play like it's our state-championship game.'"
Anything less might not have been enough for the Panthers, who found themselves in a back-and-forth battle all night. Tyner (16-8, 12-2) scored the game's first five points, which proved to be its largest lead. But Brainerd never led by more than four until Walker scored the last two of his eight consecutive points for his team starting the second half to make the score 39-33.
The Rams finished the third quarter on a 7-0 run to take a one-point lead, then Brainerd's 8-2 start to the fourth quarter made it 47-42. The Rams were able to get back within one when Jeremy Elston made a runner in the lane for two of his 20 points with 1:43 to play. But the Panthers were able to build the lead back to six before a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer by Michael Little to cap his 18-point performance provided the final score.
Walker led Brainerd with 15 points.
"I love all my kids," Brown said. "But this personally makes me hurt for Jessie and all he's gone through. He ends up 32 points away from breaking Harris Walker's record at the school for points. Not having those three games in the district tournament hurt. He would've had that. He could care less. But I care."
Joseph Norwood, who recently signed football scholarship papers with Tennessee, added 13.
"We've been putting an emphasis on rebounding," Tyner coach E'Jay Ward said. "The last time we played them we got outrebounded a lot by Jessie and Norwood. They kind of ate up the glass. We've worked on that ever since then, and getting in the proper defensive stance. Unfortunately we came up short."
Although Tyner lost, it will be the No. 1-seeded team in next week's district tournament.
"I'd have much rather won it," Ward said. "But it is what it is. We'll try to represent our district well."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.