A message from Tyner basketball coach E'Jay Ward stuck with senior post player Latavious Conyers.
Conyers' physicality could not be stopped on the court Tuesday night as he helped key a 50-45 home District 4-AA victory over previously unbeaten Polk County.
"I came in and did what coach said, 'Be strong and go up strong'. I played all-out and delivered," Conyers said. "I don't mind coming off the bench. I am here to do whatever my team needs me to do."
Trailing 35-31 early in the fourth quarter, Conyers flew down the right side of the paint and made a tough basket while being knocked into a crowd of Rams' cheerleaders on the baseline. The 6-foot-3 forward finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, with his intensity in the second half alone leading to all but one of his points scored and 11 of his rebounds.
He scored 15 of the last 19 points for Tyner, which improved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the district. Senior point guard Xavier Fisher helped close the win with a nice pass to Conyers for a key bucket, and also displayed lock down defense for a steal and score to Rodney Henderson with just 11 seconds left.
"Latavious came out there with serious fight," Ward said. "We leaned on him in the second half and he delivered. He has played tough his whole career. Today we really needed him and I know I can depend on him. His effort and will to win were great tonight."
Keelan Jackson also had a steal and layup with 2:34 left to give the Rams a 46-45 lead. Jackson finished with 10.
Polk County was led by Alex Armstrong who had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Tucker Patterson added 10 while Caleb Milen had seven points and six assists as the Wildcats fell to 5-1.
Red Bank 68, Signal Mountain 24: Nick Smith had seven assists while Jaylen Bates and Kalen Sewell had 14 and 13 points to lead the Lions (4-1, 2-0) to the District 6-AAA victory.
Brainerd 49, Arts & Sciences 48: The Panthers came back from a 37-30 deficit at the end of three quarters as Dennis Lewis Jr. and Joshua Hood each had six points in the fourth quarter. Lewis Jr. finished with 15 points while Keon Wheeler and Hood each had 10 in the victory. Jarius Cameron led CSAS with 13 points.
Plainview (Ala.) 58, Baylor 53: Cole Millican made five 3-pointers and 10 from the free-throw line to lead Plainview to victory with 31 points. Baylor could not hold on to a 21-10 lead after the first quarter at home. Nyziah Whaley led the Red Raiders with 13 points while Eli Sparkman and Al Peciulis had 11.
Van Buren 53, Sequatchie County 30: Van Buren hit nine 3-pointers to top Sequatchie, whose Baron Cribbs finished with nine points.
Howard 58, Bradley Central 52: Mark Greer scored 21 points to go with six steals and five 3-pointers to lead the Hustlin' Tigers. Jaden Jenkins also supplied 16 points as Howard improved to 5-0 and 2-0 in District 5-AAAA. Karter Howard led the Bears with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Boyd Buchanan 77, Collegedale 48: Ryan Lopez scored 20 points and highlighted the attack for the Bucs, who made 11 3-pointers. Cody Johnston added 14 in the victory while Jonah Madrigal had 13 for Collegedale.
McCallie 73, Cumberland County 60: Five Blue Tornado players finished in double figures with Wilson Rankin and Kollin Claridy leading the way with 19 and 18. Rankin made four 3-pointers.
Grundy County 62, Marion County 61: Brendan Marsh and Gavin Hobbs each scored 18 points to lead the Yellowjackets to victory. Marion's Nathan Hoback led all with 25 points and made five 3-pointers.
Calhoun 66, Chattooga 63: Dylan Faulkner poured in a game-high 32 points, 10 coming in a fourth quarter that saw the Yellow Jackets (2-1) rally from a 53-46 deficit. Daniel Streete added 12 points for Calhoun, with Damien Smith and Trey Smith led Chattooga with 12 points each.
Heritage 56, Ridgeland 47: The Generals (2-3) won their Region 7-AAAA opener as Kaleb Gallman scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the second quarter (22-10 Heritage edge). Ty Loveless added 10 points for the winners, with Judd Anderson leading Ridgeland with 15 points, followed by Kyan Clark with 12 and Matthew Ramsey with 11.
Drew Charter 92, Trion 32: Conley Harris had eight points in a losing effort for Trion (1-2, 0-1 in Region 6-A Public). Jaquez Thornton topped Drew Charter with 20.
GIRLS
Silverdale Baptist 53, Chattanooga Christian 42: Taylor Bledsoe sparked a late rally scoring all 11 of her points in a 21-point fourth quarter for the Lady Seahawks (6-3). Silverdale's Bentlee Stiner finished with a game-high 18 points, while CCS' Lily Brady finished with 14 points.
Van Buren 53, Sequatchie County 50: Sophomore guard Layla Bouldin scored 29 points to lead Van Buren past a tough Sequatchie County team. The Lady Indians had four players finish in double figures in the loss: Addy Edgmon (12), Dylan Belk (11), Hallie Barger (11) and Jillyen Givens (10).
Bradley Central 89, Howard 8: Freshman Harmonie Ware scored 18 points, had six steals and was 7-of-7 on field goal attempts to lead the Bearettes to 7-0.
Boyd Buchanan 54, Collegedale 29: Dani Reeves scored 23 points and added nine rebounds and four assists for the Lady Buccaneers.
Ringgold 40, Adairsville 39: The Lady Tigers improved to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in Region 6-AAA as point guard Rachel Lopez had 15 points, four assists and two steals, with Baileigh Pitts adding nine points and three steals and Addi Broome eight points and six rebounds.
Trion 48, Drew Charter 37: Kinzleigh Turner had 10 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0) to the Region 6-A Public win. Jenna Mosley and Ransley Lawrence added eight points each for Trion.
Monday game
BOYS
Notre Dame 86, Collegedale 56: Sophomore guard Cole McCormick drained six first-quarter 3-pointers on his way to finishing with 31 points and nine treys. Senior forward Tim Vaughn also supplied 20 points as the Fighting Irish improved to 6-2 overall on the season.
Compiled by Patrick MacCoon and Lindsey Young. Contact MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon. Contact Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.