Rick Rogers tossed his clipboard so high in the air it almost hit the rafters in the Chattanooga State gymnasium.
He didn’t wait for it to land before rushing to midcourt — his purple shirt coming untucked and his tie flopping around in the process — to hug three of his players at the same time before finding others to squeeze and lift off the court.
They jumped and danced together.
Somehow, after four games in five days, they all jumped for joy and history.
An exhausted Purple Pounders squad outlasted fresher Livingston Academy 75-72 in double overtime of a Class AA basketball state sectional.
“I can’t do the backflip like Tre (Tiller) did last night, so I thought it would be safer to throw the clipboard and just rejoice,” Rogers said. “It was a moment of rejoicing for our school, our community and guys who played here in the (19)50s.”
Central is heading to the state tournament next week in Murfreesboro. It is the school’s first trip to state since 1997 and the second since 1960.
The ride has been fast and furious. Due to weather delays, the Pounders were forced to play on Friday, Saturday, Monday and again on Tuesday.
Rogers saw the exhaustion from the outset. In the middle of the second quarter he turned around and said: “We are gassed. Look at their faces.”
The seven-man rotation filled its tank with camaraderie and operated on determination.
“I’m more than exhausted,” junior Emmanuel Lane said. “My mind is blown, and going into double overtime made it even harder. I really needed a break, but my teammates picked me up.
“The way we won is that we wanted it.”
Ryan Montgomery showed his weary legs were strong in the first quarter when he scored eight of his team-high 25 points. Rodney Benford rebounded from a six-point game Monday to score 21 points.
“Coach said before the game that he knew I was going to be a big factor because they didn’t know anything about me,” Benford said. “He said he knew I was going to have a big game tonight.”
Point guard Terron Hayes scored 13 points, Tiller scored 11 and Lane added five points.
“I’ve never been this exhausted,” Hayes said. “I want to sleep in. Maybe teachers will let me have an excuse if I accidentally sleep too long tomorrow.”
The Wildcats were led by forward Wade Eldridge — who has signed to play football at Tennessee Tech — with 26 points. Zac Craig scored 16 and Jacob Craig added 10.
“We talked about their fundamentalism against our athleticism,” Rogers said. “We had to match them by being smart, too.”
Central played like the fresher team during a 16-2 run in the middle of the second quarter, which gave the Pounders a 32-18 lead. They led 34-22 at halftime and 47-42 heading to the fourth quarter.
Nobody knew they’d need an extra full quarter before a winner would emerge.
The Wildcats (26-8) took their first lead of the game with 1:16 to go in regulation. A bucket by Tiller tied the game at 60 with 8.8 seconds left. Eldridge missed a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer, extending the game by four minutes.
Central missed an opportunity to win at the buzzer in the first overtime.
“I felt that when we got to the second overtime we had a better chance to win than the first,” Rogers said. “It was destiny to do it because of the effort and tough times this team has had this year.”
Benford — with his awkward shooting stroke — stepped to the line with Central up by one and 15 seconds left. He made one free throw.
Livingston Academy gave the ball back to Central on a long crosscourt pass. Benford stepped to the line again. He made one of two for a three-point lead.
The Wildcats missed a heave at the horn, which sent Rogers’ white clipboard flying high.
“It’s a good moment,” Montgomery said. “We’re going to state.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.