Tyner boys' basketball coach E'jay Ward shouts instructions to his players during their game against Notre Dame in the first round of the Best of Preps basketball tournament Thursday at Chattanooga State.One week after learning his team is capable of playing from behind - way behind - Tyner boys' basketball coach E'Jay Ward found out Thursday night that his young team can also take control early and put opponents away.
The Rams used a 17-0 second-quarter run to pull away from Notre Dame, then continued to drop the hammer in the second half on the way to an impressive 62-34 win in the opening round of the Best of Preps Tournament at Chattanooga State.
"Our depth wore them down," Ward said. "That's what we wanted to see about this week, was how ready our bench is to contribute, because we're going to need those guys to step up if we're going to be as good as we can be.
"I really liked the intensity everybody who stepped on the court brought. We're starting to learn what we've got."
Tyner will face East Hamilton - which beat McCallie in double overtime in Thursday's final game, ending the Blue Tornado's run of Best of Preps titles after three years - in a semifinal tonight, with tipoff set for 8:30. Baylor and Brainerd will meet in the other boys' semifinal, with that game slated for 5:30 p.m.
After having to rally from deficits of more than 20 points in a pair of wins at last week's Henry Bowles Classic at Howard, Tyner (10-2) never trailed against the Fighting Irish.
An 8-0 run to close out the first quarter put Tyner ahead 13-5, then the dominant second quarter put the game away.
"We put more pressure on in the second quarter, and that run was what we really needed to get us going," said Tyner junior Kobe Smith, who finished with a team-high 15 points. "This tournament means a lot to us because we get to see where we stand against the best teams in the city. We've really come together over the holiday break and gotten a lot better."
The Rams, who start two sophomores, two juniors and have eight other underclassmen who played Thursday, got points from 11 of the 15 Tyner players who stepped on the court against Notre Dame.
"When you can go deep in your bench and still have guys making contributions, that can make us a special team," Ward said. "We've got guys who know their roles and are doing their jobs right now, and the best part is we're so young and still learning and willing to get better."
Derwin Lewis scored 16 points to lead the Fighting Irish (2-8), who will face McCallie in a consolation game today at 2:30 p.m.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.
