It took 40 tension-filled minutes to decide the outcome in Friday’s District 6-AA boys’ high school basketball game at Tyner. And although the host Rams lost on the scoreboard, they were winners in another way.
Eighth-ranked Brainerd came up big in the second overtime, holding sixth-ranked Tyner without a field goal and the Panthers defeated the Rams 59-54.
However, with both teams finishing with 11-1 league records and losing to each other, the district’s first tiebreaking criteria is head-to-head point differential. Tyner (21-3) won 49-37 at Brainerd (20-4) on Jan. 17.
Tyner coach Keitha Booker did not tell his players the situation before the game, but he gathered them together afterward and let them know. But not even that good news could immediately cheer them up.
“They’re kind of disappointed right now,” Booker said. “They really wanted to win tonight on senior night and send those guys out with a blast. Unfortunately, Brainerd came in tonight and wanted it more than we did.”