Baylor's Beyuan Hendricks dribbles around East Hamilton's Darwin Randolph during the Times Free Press Best of Preps tournament title game Dec. 29 at Chattanooga State. Hendricks and the Red Raiders next face Brentwood Academy in the Division II-AA state semifinals.There's an all-too-familiar roadblock standing between the Baylor boys' basketball program and a shot at playing for the Division II-AA state championship.
For the Red Raiders (22-5) to earn a spot in Saturday's title game, they will first have to get past top-ranked Brentwood Academy (24-6) on Thursday in a 2:30 p.m. EST semifinal at Lipscomb University. Briarcrest (27-2) and Ensworth (20-10) meet in the second semifinal.
Brentwood Academy held off Baylor in last year's championship, 50-44, for its fourth straight title. The Eagles and the Red Raiders split regular-season meetings this year.
"It is good to know that we've gone on the road and beaten them already this year," first-year Baylor coach Mark Price said of his team's 54-51 win on Jan. 11. "There's a balance between confidence and humility. Psychologically, the kids know what it takes, so that should give them confidence. At the same time, we didn't play very well at home when Brentwood Academy came in and beat us, and I believe our guys remember that as well."
The Eagles won 75-50 in Chattanooga on Feb. 5.
Brentwood Academy, which has won eight titles in the program's 11 appearances in state championship games and knocked off either Baylor or McCallie in each of the past three state tournaments, enters the semifinals on a 13-game winning streak. The Eagles are led by Mr. Basketball finalist Randy Brady, a 6-foot-4 sophomore wing who transferred to the Nashville-area school after playing for Baylor last season.
Brady, who has scholarship offers from LSU, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt among others, averages 19.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and backcourt mate Marcus Fitzgerald, a 6-1 junior, averages 18 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals.
"The pace of the game will be key," Price said. "They can play fast and look for transition baskets, so we have to curtail their ability to score on their primary break. For us, we just need to take care of the ball and get the kind of shots that have gotten us 22 wins."
Baylor has made just more than 60 percent of its field goals from inside the 3-point line this season. Senior Beyuan Hendricks, a two-time all-state player and a Mr. Basketball finalist this year, has hit 65 percent of his 2-point shots and averages 18 points, 4.5 assists and 3.4 rebounds.
Baylor began this season by winning its first 16 games but had lost three of four, including this month's loss to the Eagles, before the state tournament began. The Red Raiders have been impressive in each of their two state tournament wins, including last Saturday's 14-point victory at Christian Brothers in Memphis.
"We had hit a rut, starting with a bad loss to Brentwood Academy, where we hadn't been playing the way we had earlier in the year," Price said. "But it's a long year, and that's why you don't see a lot of undefeated seasons. There are many more opportunities for trends within a basketball season, and fortunately we corrected some things.
"The silver lining in falling to a lower seed was that we got to play twice, and that was probably good for us because we've played our way back into the way we had been to start the season. These last two games we've re-established who we are, and that's what we'll need to continue doing."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.