Staff photo by Robin Rudd / Boyd-Buchanan’s Ryan Lopez brings the basketball downcourt as a Christ Presbyterian Academy player defends during a TSSAA Division II-A state quarterfinal on Saturday night at Boyd-Buchanan. The host Buccaneers lost 72-52.With Christ Presbyterian Academy and host Boyd Buchanan tied at 35 with a little less than six minutes left in the third quarter Saturday night, senior guard Braden Zapp took command of the game for the visitors.
The Trevecca Nazarene basketball signee buried a 3-pointer from the right corner, the first of his 13 points in the quarter, and he impressed with quickness and jump steps to get to the hoop as he led the Lions to a pullaway 72-52 win in the TSSAA Division II-A state quarterfinals.
Zapp finished with a game-high 24 points and was one of four players in double figures for CPA, which leads the state in scoring at 82 points per game.
Boyd Buchanan’s Ace Bailey, a 6-foot-6 freshman standout, made several big shots in the season-ending loss for the Buccaneers (18-9) who won both a district title and a region championship for the first time since 2014. Bailey showed off a solid mid-range and outside jump shot on his way to 20 points despite playing with a chipped foot bone.
Sophomore Caden Johnson finished with 10 points and four assists for the Bucs, and Ryan Lopez was sharp in the first half as he scored seven points. Boyd Buchanan trailed 32-31 at the break as Karson Gay grabbed one of his four offensive rebounds for a putback basket late in the second quarter to get his team close.