Staff Photo by Laura-Chase McGehee/Chattanooga Times Free Press/ Dec 17, 2010 – Tyner player Emon Jones (3) and Brainerd player Darrius Higgins (30) both go for the rebound off of a missed Brainerd shot in the first quarter of the Friday night game held at Brainerd.Late in Brainerd’s District 6-AA basketball game Friday night against rival Tyner, Jalen Stallion looked at a teammate and mouthed for him to pass him the ball. It was almost his way of saying, “Ride me to victory.”
The 5-foot-8 senior scored 26 points in leading the Panthers to a 65-55 victory in Brainerd’s High-Jackson Gymnasium.
Stallion repeatedly slashed to the hoop for layups and tough finishes over taller defenders.
“I really try not to have any fear when I get into the paint,” Stallion said. “When you get scared, you start to make mistakes.”
Brainerd got the win despite making only 11 of 24 free throws. Tyner was worse, though, connecting on 5 of 16.
“We’ve been shooting them well,” Panthers coach Robert High said. “If we make them, that game is out of reach. It’s amazing that these kids can’t hit a free throw but can shoot from the [3-point] arc.”
The game was tied at the end of the first and second quarters, as Stallion and Tyner’s Travis Jones took turns carving up each other’s defenses from the point guard position. The Panthers started to pull away in the third quarter, using a run of eight consecutive points to take a 43-34 lead.
Tyner remained within striking distance largely through the efforts of junior post Trey Suttles, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. He scored on a move inside, then had an offensive rebound that led to a layup by Travis Murphy two possessions later, but the Panthers still took a seven-point edge into the final period.
Layups by Suttles and Emon Jones closed the Rams to within 47-44, but the Panthers responded with a flurry of layups after Tyner switched to a full-court press, pulling away and effectively ending the game.
Warren had 22 points for the Panthers (8-4, 3-2). Emon Jones and Dee Suttles finished with 10 apiece for Tyner.
“We played well these past four games,” High said, “but we have to stop being a second-half team.”
Said Tyner coach Gerald Harris: “Right now, we’re not playing very well. We’re known for playing hard-nosed defense, and we haven’t been doing that.
“We just have to find a way.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6311. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/gh3sports.