MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Brainerd boys’ basketball team led at the end of every quarter, except the only one that really matters. Haywood rallied to outscore the Panthers 30-16 in the fourth quarter and claim an 82-72 victory in the Class AA state tournament quarterfinals Thursday at Middle Tennessee State University.
Tomcats senior Dedric Boyd, an Eastern Kentucky signee, scored 15 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth to pace scoring runs of 9-0 and 7-0.
“We tried three different guys guarding him and he still knocked down shots,” said Brainerd coach Levar Brown, whose team led by as much as eight in the second and third quarters. “He’s tough. The difference was that fourth quarter. They made shots and got a run and we couldn’t get stops when we needed them.”
Brainerd (29-7) was making its third straight trip to the state tournament and had finished runner-up last year. The Panthers were led by senior point guard Kentrell Evans with 21 points, 7 assists and junior post Jesse Walker, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds.