It all came down to the final 30 seconds at Central on Tuesday night.
The visiting Brainerd Panthers scored the final eight points of the game to hand the Purple Pounders their first loss of the season in front of a standing-room only crowd as two of the best public-school teams in Chattanooga battled for all they were worth for the top spot in District 6-AA.
But for today and at least until Thursday, Brainerd sits in first place at 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the district. Central is now 5-1 overall and 3-1 in 6-AA.
Brainerd will host always-tough Tyner on Thursday night while Central will be at home on Friday to host Howard in its final game before Christmas.
There was a lot of pre-game hype between these two teams and they didn't disappoint as several hundred fans were turned away at the door when the maximum number had been reached.
Kentrell Evans sank the first of two free throws with 30.6 seconds remaining to knot the score at 68-all.
Central had a chance to break the tie six seconds later, but Rodney Benford missed the front end of a one-and-one.
The Panthers had the ball in the final stretch before calling timeout with eignt seconds to play. Coach Lavar Brown knew the play he wanted to call and it worked to perfection as Evans knocked the bottom out on a 3 from the wing with 1.7 seconds to give Brainerd a 71-68 lead.
Central then threw a full-court inbounds pass that was intercepted. A foul was called on the play and things got tense for a minute, but by the time order had been restored, a double technical foul had been called on Central.
Terron Hayes missed the first free throw on the first foul against Brainerd, but the Panthers Marques Tipton then stepped to the line and sank all four charity tosses for the final seven-point margin.
Both teams were short-handed due to injuries and dismissals, but neither coach wanted to make that an issue.
"We came into a hostile environment tonight after two emotional days where we dismissed two seniors, but we fought and fought and were able to pull it out," said Brainerd coach Lavar Brown.
"Central is everything people had said they were as they're a tough team that is well-coached, but we've been looking forward to this game.
"Kentrell is just a sophomore, but he's a talented player. We drew that play up just for him at the end. He had a couple of options, but we always tell our guys to shoot it if they're open. Marques Tipton didn't score a whole lot of points, but he did all the little things we had to have to win.
"We have to be better on the boards, but we all know that basketball is a game of runs. It was just a matter of who was the toughest at the end and I think we won that battle tonight. But I'm sure that we'll probably see Central at least three, maybe four more times before the season ends," Brown concluded.
Central coach Rick Rogers loved the atmosphere, but he wasn't real crazy about the result.
"If you're going to lose, I'd rather lose in mid-December than in the finals of the district tournament. Those last 30 seconds is what killed us as we missed the front end of two one-and-ones and at least two point-blank layups," he suggested.
"Number 10 (Evans) killed us all night as he played a great game and was the key to their win. We were both short-handed, but we did all we could do. I'm just proud that we competed against a great team. There were a lot of tears as a result of that loss, but my hat's off to Brainerd for pulling it out.
"They knew they were in a dog fight, but a loss like that should motivate us. You only get a limited number of opportunities to put a team like that away, but if you're going to lose, it might as well be to the best in town," Rogers concluded.
Jesse Walker was the workhorse for Brainerd as he finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds as the Panthers won the battle of the boards, 29-22. Evans followed with 20 while Tipton was also in double figures with 11.
Ryan Montgomery was the main man for Central as he scored 26 points and grabbed a dozen rebounds in a losing effort.
Emmanuel Lanes and Jamichael Poole were also in double figures for the Purple Pounders with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
CENTRAL GIRLS 57, BRAINERD 50: The Lady Pounders won for the fifth time in seven games and stayed in first place in the district at 4-0, but things got interesting toward the end.
Central had led from the start and had a seemingly-comfortable 10-point lead going to the fourth quarter before the Lady Panthers rallied.
Sandrea Sylman, Central's best player and leading scorer, fouled out at the 6:15 mark of the fourth quarter, but her team didn't wilt at the end.
The Lady Pounders could have made life a little more simple if they could have hit their free throws, but they missed a ton, including 11 of 16 in the final 90 seconds.
Rebekah Hill did sink three of four in the final 19 seconds to preserve the victory.
Sylman had 28 points to lead Central, which included 12 of 14 from the charity stripe. She also grabbed eight rebounds to go along with three steals and three assists.
Miracle Miller followed with 10 points and six rebounds while Hill had eight points and eight rebounds.
Jamee Ward was tops for Brainerd with 23 points. Keniah Watkins was next with 11.
Central improves to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in 6-AA while Brainerd is now 3-5 overall and 2-1 in district play.
GIRLS SUMMARY
BRAINERD 9 7 18 16 -- 50
CENTRAL 17 8 19 13 -- 57
BRAINERD (50) -- Ward 23, Brown 6, Walker, Ashley 7, Price, Watkins 11, McClendon 2, Robinson 1.
CENTRAL (57) -- Ransom, Davis 4, Miller 10, Sylman 28, Denton 5, Kelly, Hill 8.
3-POINT GOALS: Brainerd 7 (Ward 4, Brown 2, Watkins); Central none.
BOYS SUMMARY
BRAINERD 21 9 21 24 -- 75
CENTRAL 19 17 14 18 -- 68
BRAINERD (75) -- Sow, Ross 9, Tipton 11, Evans 20, Beavers 9, Cothran, Walker 26.
CENTRAL (68) -- McKenzie 7, Hayes 4, Montgomery 26, Benford 6, Poole 10, Lane 13, Hudgins 2.
3-POINT GOALS: Brainerd 1 (Evans); Central 5 (McKenzie, Benford 2, Poole, Lane).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@Comcast.net)