There’s still plenty of magic within the four walls Brainerd High School’s old gym. With the District 6-AA basketball lead on the line and a packed house, including several former Brainerd legends watching, the Panthers grabbed an early lead and were relentless in pulling away from Central, claiming a 78-47 win.
The win was Brainerd’s second over Central and avenged a 16-point nondistrict loss to the Purple Pounders over the Christmas break in the Best of Preps tournament. The Panthers are undefeated in 6-AA.
“That’s the first time we played like we do in practice,” Brainerd coach LeVar Brown said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how the kids played.
“The Best of Preps was a wake-up call for us. We needed that slap in the face to get our attention, and it did.”
Central took a short-lived three-point lead in the opening minutes, but a 10-0 run by the Panthers, sparked by junior Malik Beavers’ three 3-pointers, gave the hosts the lead for good.
Beavers, a lanky junior, was making his first start of the season after finally meeting Coach Brown’s academic requirements. He answered by finishing with 19 points, including four treys, to lead four double-figure scorers.
“Coach wouldn’t let me play because I had been struggling in one of my classes, but I finally got that taken care of,” Beavers said. “I’ve been working hard on that, so it felt good to be out there to start.
“We’re the type team that needs that boost we get from the crowd, and I think the 3s I made got everybody going.”
Brainerd didn’t lose focus after building a big first-half lead — never letting its advantage dip below 17 in the second half — and punctuated the win with a pair of late-game dunks. Central didn’t help itself with several early turnovers that led to easy baskets and made just 8 of 21 free throws.
“Malik was major for us tonight,” Brown said. “Those were some big shots that got the crowd going and gave us some energy. All of our other players made honor roll, so he knows what I expect. He’s just that one who likes to test me sometimes.
“All of our guys were really ready to play in this one, and that win is huge for us. We’re really starting to come around and play like we can heading down the stretch.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.