NASHVILLE - Midway through the fourth quarter Saturday night, Darius Garland looked up at the scoreboard and knew it was time to prove once again what a special talent he is.
Baylor had battled back to tie the game with just less than four minutes remaining, but Garland answered by scoring seven straight points in just more than a minute. Brentwood Academy rode the emotional wave of that run to its fourth consecutive Division II-AA boys' basketball state championship, holding off the Red Raiders 50-44 at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena.
"They had the momentum, and I knew we had to do something to get going our way again," said Garland, a Vanderbilt signee who was named state tournament MVP for a second straight year. "That was the time I knew it was on me to get us going. After that first shot went in, I was just looking to be aggressive and keep making plays for my team."
The 6-foot-2 Garland scored 20 of his game-high 35 points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
As he made his way off the court after the game, longtime Baylor coach Austin Clark had one final bit of business to attend to before speaking with the media - stopping to console senior guard Tre Jackson just outside the locker room.
"Our seniors have done everything to represent Baylor the right way, and that's what we're in the business of coaching these kids for," said Clark, who had to settle for a runner-up finish for the second time in his 36-year Baylor career. "The courage our kids showed, to keep fighting against the state's number-one ranked team, I'm just so proud.
"Our plan was to defend Garland as best we could, but not let anyone else beat us. He's going to get his points because he's a great player. I think we did a pretty good job of following that plan because the rest of their team only scored 15. But he made some plays down the stretch."
After a back-and-forth first half in which neither team led by more than five points, Garland began the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Eagles (25-5) a seven-point lead. But Baylor (19-7) answered with a 10-2 run, taking a short-lived one-point lead on Jackson's two free throws before Garland countered by getting fouled just before the end of the quarter and sank three free throws.
Garland, who was named last season's Mr. Basketball and is the favorite to win that award again, accounted for 16 of the Eagles' 20 combined points in the second and third quarters.
The teams had split their regular-season meetings, with each earning a two-point road win.
"We had respect for them, but we knew from experience that we could play with them," said Baylor senior Niko Simpkins, who finished with eight points and nine rebounds. "We wanted to get back to the state tournament and we did that, but unfortunately it just didn't go our way late."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.