Sometime in the basketball postseason, Central boys' coach Rick Rogers will use Monday night's 55-46 win over Baylor as a reminder of how his team can adapt when it needs to.
The Purple Pounders, known for their high-flying, up-and-down-the-court pace, had to work for their baskets against the disciplined Red Raiders in the semifinal round of the Best of Preps tournament at Chattanooga State.
Most of that work came on the defensive end, an area Rogers stressed before the game.
"In practice today defense was all we focused on, trying to get buckets off our defense," he said. "We hadn't been playing really enthused defense lately, so we wanted to come out and make a statement on that end."
Spurred by an aggressive half-court trap that seemed to throw off the Raiders' attack, Central turned a 13-10 lead after one period into a 37-15 advantage going into halftime. Terron Hayes and Rodney Benford combined for five 3-pointers in the second quarter, most set up by defensive stops and quick outlet passes.
Benford hit back-to-back 3s to start the period and Hayes hit all three of his bombs around a three-point play from 6-foot-8 newcomer McClendon Curtis to build the 22-point cushion.
While Rogers was pleased with his team's defense, his star player also was happy with the offense's ball movement against an Austin Clark-coached defense that rarely allows easy baskets.
"We were just trying to dissect their defense," said senior Ryan Montgomery, who tied Hayes for scoring honors with 15. "Baylor is a good fundamental team and we're used to being able to just run up and down the court. But they slowed us down and we actually had to move the ball. They keep teams under 40 points all the time, and we had to play more at their level tonight."
Baylor (3-7) used a strong fourth period to make the score respectable, the Raiders' hard work not lost on winning coach Rogers.
"We knew they wouldn't quit," he said. "Austin has always been an idol of mine. I've watched him at Baylor for 35 years and the level of character he has at that school and what he's done in Chattanooga in general, so it's an honor to be able to play and coach against him."
Benford added 11 points and four of Central's 11 steals. Reserve Jaylon Baker led Baylor with 10 points, seven rebounds and five steals.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.