Marquis Tipton and his Brainerd Panthers teammates gained an appreciation Friday for the power that harsh winter weather can have on basketball chemistry.
Facing an upset-minded Sequoyah team in the Region 3-AA quarterfinals, the Panthers stepped into High-Jackson Gymnasium and discovered they had to overcome two opponents — the visiting Chiefs and the unforgiving rust that came from not playing a game for a week due to weather-related school closings.
Despite Brainerd’s 83-63 victory and a berth in today’s semifinals in Loudon, Tipton knew the Panthers must be more polished as they face another elimination round today against the winner between McMinn Central and Hixson.
“It felt good to get back on the court, but we hadn’t played in a week and we came out rusty,” said Tipton, one of three seniors on the team. “If we play this way tomorrow, it’s not going to happen. We’ve got to play better defense, have good energy and we can’t be rusty. We have to play every game like it’s our last game.”
Tipton dominated on the inside and outside in the early stages, scoring seven of Brainerd’s first nine points and blocking three of the Chiefs’ first four shot attempts. However, Sequoyah quickly climbed back into the contest by breaking Brainerd’s full-court press and hitting some timely outside shots.