With very little drama, the higher-seeded teams held serve throughout Saturday’s District 6-AA basketball tournament semifinals at Signal Mountain.
The Tyner and Howard boys advanced easily, and the Red Bank and Signal Mountain girls each earned double-digit wins, setting up what should be more anxiety-filled championship games.
Tyner beat Howard twice during the regular season by a total of just seven points, and Signal’s Lady Eagles have won two of the three previous meetings with Red Bank – all decided by eight or fewer points.
Signal Mountain dominated the second half while beating Tyner 62-38, and the Lady Lions raced out to a commanding lead and never looked back in a 59-24 win over Hixson.
Howard advanced to the district tournament championship game for the first time in five years, rallying for a 62-52 win over rival Brainerd, and in the final game of the night Tyner’s boys beat Red Bank 62-54.
The girls’ consolation and championship games will be played Monday at 6 and 7:30, and the boys’ consolation and championship will be settled Tuesday at the same times.
After a frustrating second quarter, when they managed just two points, Signal Mountain’s girls used a 25-4 third quarter to pull away. Lamiah Walker led all scorers with 23 for the Lady Eagles (24-4), while Jaylah Hardy added 17 and Olivia Koontz 12.
Red Bank (24-5) cruised to its 11th straight win on the strength of a 25-2 start. The Lady Lions, who beat Signal Mountain by eight in their last meeting, were led by Raijeria Bell’s 23 points, with Savannah Washington adding 14 and Bailey Lee 10.
Although Red Bank’s boys also had a strong start, jumping out to a 7-0 lead, Tyner countered with 10 consecutive points and led the rest of the way. The Lions cut the lead to three to begin the fourth, but the Rams (21-3) eventually held on, led by Kobe Smith’s game-high 28 points. Lucas Brown led Red Bank (19-11) with 21.
Brainerd, which had lost its regular-season meetings to Howard by 19 and 13 points, led for the better part of two quarters but never by more than six. But after a Xavier Fisher layup cut the lead to four, Howard began turning up the defensive pressure. Its 1-3-1 trap created turnovers on four straight Brainerd possessions and ignited a 13-0 run that staked the Hustlin’ Tigers to a seven-point lead midway through the fourth.
“They threw everything at us in the first half, but I knew they would because that Brainerd team has a lot of fight,” said Howard coach James Talley. “Once I saw that they were fatigued, we decided it was time to pressure them more. We’re at our best when we’re running, and that little stretch was the difference in the game.”
Brainerd, which had won seven of its previous eight games coming in, rallied to cut the deficit to one, but Howard answered back with a 5-0 run and never led by fewer than five the rest of the way, despite making just four of its last 10 free throws. Fisher led the Hustlin’ Tigers with 17 points, and Thorne added 13.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.