By his own admission, Beyuan Hendricks had been struggling with his shot. But in the back-and-forth flow of the fourth quarter, the Baylor junior guard set aside thoughts of previous misses and launched a high-arching 3-point shot that connected with 2:32 remaining, giving the Red Raiders a lead they did not relinquish.
Those were the only points of the second half for Hendricks, but he was a big part of a 7-0 run late in the game that led Baylor to its 54-48 home win against Ensworth in Saturday night's Division II-AA quarterfinal.
"Coach (Austin) Clark has been telling me to keep shooting with confidence and eventually they'll start going in," Hendricks said. "I could hear his voice in my head coming down the court before that shot. It was a huge relief when it went in. It really gave us some energy, and from there we just had to play defense the way we're taught and hang on."
Saturday's win, combined with the Baylor girls' win a day earlier, means for the first time in school history both teams advance to the state tournament's final four in the same season. It's also the first trip back in six seasons for Baylor's boys, who next face Briarcrest on Friday at Lipscomb University in Nashville.
"I think that's pretty special, to have both programs going," Clark said. "The girls have had a standing reservation there every year because (coach) John (Gibson) does a great job, but it feels really good to know that we'll be joining them this week."
Baylor (18-16) trailed by six early but got points from six players to rally in the second quarter and take a three-point halftime lead. Junior Lorenzo White scored nine of his game-high 14 in the third quarter as the Raiders pulled ahead by as many as seven before Ensworth ended the period on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 36 going into the fourth.
The fourth quarter had four ties and three lead changes, with the Tigers (16-14) taking their short-lived final lead with just more than three minutes remaining. But that's when Baylor answered with seven unanswered points and maintained a two-possession advantage the rest of the way.
"I kept telling Beyuan that he had to just forget his last shot, that he'd make his next one. That's how you have to approach it," Clark said. "That was a big shot for us, but every kid who stepped on the court contributed and the ones on the bench helped us all week to get ready for this game.
"I know it might sound corny, but it's true, this was very much a team win."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.