The zone defense Brainerd opened in Friday in its District 6-AA high school basketball tournament opener was nothing more than a test, which Central passed. Once the Panthers went man-to-man, the Purple Pounders failed to do much of anything.
Host Brainerd outscored Central by 26 points over the middle quarters and cruised to a 47-30 victory.
The tournament now moves to East Ridge, where Brainerd (19-9) will play Tyner (18-6) at 5 p.m. in one of today’s semifinals. Coach Robert High now has had all 35 of his teams qualify for region tournaments.
Brainerd’s girls (17-3) hosted and defeated East Ridge 59-10 on Friday in their opener. The Lady Panthers will play today at 6:30 against No. 6-seeded Central, which upset third-seeded East Hamilton 42-38 on Thursday.
The defensive switch came after the first quarter, which ended with the Panthers owning a one-point lead. Moreover, the pace of the game was slow and to Central’s liking.