Robert High put the pressure on his players, letting them know it was his 34th season as head coach of the Brainerd High School boys’ varsity basketball team and each of his previous teams managed to advance to a region tournament.
With the acquisition of a region berth in the balance Friday at Brainerd, his players then went out and put the pressure on East Hamilton.
High’s Panthers ended up breaking away in the second half and defeated the Hurricanes 62-45, keeping High’s streak intact.
Semifinals are today at East Hamilton starting at 3:30 p.m. Fourth-seeded Brainerd (15-13) will play at 8 in the last game against top-seeded Howard, which beat Central 66-48 on Friday.
Before the boys’ game at Brainerd, the third-seeded Lady Panthers (19-9) cruised past Hixson 57-21. They will take on second-seeded Tyner in a girls’ semifinal at 6:30.