ENGLEWOOD, Tenn. — Free throws were only in a literal sense for Brainerd in its Region 3-AA basketball quarterfinal Saturday at McMinn Central, but when they needed to knock them down, the Panthers succeeded.
The visitors finished only 18-for-34 at the foul line yet hit 9-for-12 in the fourth quarter after the Chargers had tied the game. Brainerd went on to win 55-48 to advance to the Region 3-AA semifinals at East Hamilton.
The Panthers (20-11) will face Howard on Tuesday at 6 p.m, and Tyner and Red Bank will battle in an all-District 6 semifinal.
Brainerd led 12-3 after a quarter and 19-14 at halftime, but the lead could have been more had it not been for the Panthers’ 6-for-16 first-half effort at the charity stripe.
“We came in at the half up five points, but it could have been 15 or 20 points,” Brainerd coach Robert High said. “These are free throws; it can’t be but one thing — we aren’t concentrating. We have to be able to concentrate and have the attitude that we can make them.”
The Chargers had their own offensive problems and stayed in the game primarily due to the efforts of Dillon Williams, who finished with 22 points — 18 in the second half.
“I told him in the locker room that it’s a good thing he came ready to play,” McMinn Central coach Doug Armstrong said. “He got us fired us and gave us a chance to win.”
In the third quarter, Brainerd worked the ball inside to D.J. Porter, who scored three baskets before picking up his fourth foul with 2:23 to go in the period. The Panthers led 25-21 when he went out and maintained that four-point margin (30-26) going into the final period.
A coast-to-coast layup by Anthony Broome gave the Panthers a 38-30 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Chargers had a pair of 3s by Williams sandwiched around two Zach Rayl free throws to tie the game at 38 with 3:40 to go.
The game would be tied twice more, but Brainerd took the lead for good after Joe Derrick put back a Broome missed free throw with two minutes remaining.
“It just came down to making shots,” Armstrong said. The Chargers missed the front end of two one-and-one chances in the final quarter. “Free throws were critical. We missed them and they hit them when it mattered.”
Derrick and Dammius Bennett finished with 11 points apiece to lead the Panthers.
“We’re just at a point in the season where we have to play,” High said. “We can’t be happy or excited with the way we play, but I’m happy we won the ballgame.”