The homemade sign – large, blue letters reading “First stop Brainerd, next stop state!” – had hung near the Livingston Academy student section since before the game tipped off. By game’s end the paper banner, along with the Wildcats season, was crumpled in a heap on the floor of Brainerd’s High/Jackson gym, where the Panthers had rolled to a 74-55 win in a Class AA sectional.
As the crowd emptied the stands, a Panthers assistant coach swept the wadded-up sign from the floor and said in the general direction of Livingston fans, “Y’all can take that sign back home with you.”
The impressive win advances Brainerd (29-5) to the boys’ state tournament at Middle Tennessee State University for a third consecutive season. It will be next week.
“We couldn’t seem to get in a groove early,” said Panthers senior post Jessie Walker, who scored 16 first-half points and finished with a game-high 28. “We’re at the point now where every game is win or go home, so that second half we played like it was our last game. We played with a lot of heart, and we knew if we just kept playing hard good things would happen.”
Brainerd pulled away late without the help of the pressing defensive style the program is noted for. It relied instead on a half-court defense that forced the Wildcats (19-15) into eight straight possessions with either a missed shot or a turnover. Brainerd did not allow Livingston Academy an offensive rebound during that stretch.