Tyner’s Kobe Smith (24) has the ball knocked away during the Rams’ District 6-AA semifinal against Howard on Saturday night at Red Bank.Tyner’s boys’ basketball team followed a familiar storyline Saturday in reaching the District 6-AA tournament championship game. Much as they have in several key games lately, the Rams trailed for most of the first three quarters before rallying with a strong fourth to defeat Howard 54-41 in the semifinals at Red Bank.
After trailing by as many as eight points, the Rams outscored Howard 21-7 in the final quarter, ending the game on an 11-0 run.
“For some reason, it seems like this whole season we’ve had to play from behind,” Rams coach E’Jay Ward said. “But because our guys have been in that situation so much, they don’t panic. They’ve learned how to come back late.”
The Rams (19-5) will face rival Brainerd (16-9) in Tuesday night’s championship game at Red Bank. The Panthers beat East Ridge 61-50 in Saturday’s other semifinal and won two of the three regular-season meetings with the Rams, both by five points or less. Tyner’s lone win was by five.
In the girls’ semifinals, Signal Mountain beat Tyner 41-23 and Red Bank beat Brainerd 64-55. Both consolation games will be played on Monday, while the girls’ championship contest is set for Tuesday at 6, followed by the boys’ title game.