Central, Brainerd Carry 6-AA Torch Into State Tourney

Perhaps the grandest moment in Chattanooga prep basketball history occurred at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium in 1972 when two Scenic City powerhouses – Riverside and Howard – clashed in a matchup of hardwood titans for a state championship.

In a classic showdown between the hoop rivals and when each game captivated the local sports scene, Riverside pulled out a 60-53 win over the Hustlin’ Tigers and finished its remarkable season with a 33-1 record.

Riverside also captured back-to-back state titles in 1968-69.

Brainerd has three state championship trophies, as does the now defunct Tennessee Temple program. Chattanooga Christian won it all in 2011, Boyd-Buchanan in 1996, Soddy-Daisy in 1947 and Central in 1943.

Seven schools account for Chattanooga’s 13 boys’ state championships.

On Thursday, Brainerd and Central, both of which compete in highly regarded District 6-AA, are back in the Class AA state tournament at Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.

The Panthers (22-7) have a terribly difficult quarterfinal date with top-ranked Christ Presbyterian Academy (31-4) at 1:15 p.m. CDT and the Purple Pounders (22-4) clash with Ripley (29-11) at 4:30 p.m.

“This isn’t just about Brainerd and Central,” Panthers coach Levar Brown said earlier in the week. “This is about Chattanooga basketball. We’re representing our schools, but we’re also representing the Chattanooga basketball community.”

Central and Brainerd met five times this season, with the Pounders winning three times, including victories that cinched district and region tournament titles.

Brainerd defeated Cannon County and Central dumped Livingston Academy in sectional games to earn trips to Murfreesboro.

“We’ve had a great season,” Pounders coach Rick Rogers said. “The other night after we beat Livingston, everybody in the gym was crying except me, and I’m the most emotional guy around. I was in such an emotional state because I wanted this so badly for the kids and our school.”

This marks the fifth time since 2004 that Chattanooga has sent two teams from the same district to the state tournament.

In 2010, it was a daily double: Grace Baptist and Arts and Sciences went from District 5-A and Tyner and Howard made it from District 6-AA.

The year before, Grace and Tennessee Temple represented District 5-A.

In 2007, it was Arts and Sciences and Tennessee Temple from 5-A.

And in 2004, Rhea County and Bradley Central made it from District 5-AAA.

Now, it’s District 6-AA time to shine again.

“This district has always been one of the state’s toughest outside Memphis,” Brown said. “In my two years as Brainerd’s head coach, it is absolutely 100 percent true.”

Here are Thursday’s matchups:

Central vs. Ripley

While Central has one state title to its credit, albeit seven decades ago, Ripley is trying to win its first in only its second tournament appearance – the first was in 1982.

The Pounders have won 12 straight games, including their last four in a five-day span. The Tigers (29-11), won five of their last eight with all three losses to rival Haywood, which actually beat Ripley four times and also is in this year’s state tourney.

In fact, the Class AA bracket is loaded and seven of the eight teams are ranked in the top 10 in the state. According to the latest coachT.com rankings, CPA is No. 1, Creek Wood No. 2, Haywood No. 3, Fulton No. 4, Central No. 6 and Carter No. 8.

The only ranked teams that didn’t reach state were East Nashville, Westview and Cannon County, which lost to Brainerd in the sectionals.

“There’s always been one thing about this team,” said Rogers, in his 10^th season as Central’s coach. “We don’t have a superstar, but these kids love each other and enjoy playing basketball. We haven’t treated this year any different than in the past.

“In huddles during the game, we don’t break by saying offense or defense. We say family every time. I think that’s worth five points on the scoreboard every time.”

Rogers relies heavily on juniors Ryan Montgomery and Terron Hayes and senior Tre Tiller for offensive firepower. Montgomery averages 18.5 points and 12.4 rebounds per game, adding almost two assists and steals each outing.

Tiller pumps in 17 points and 8.9 rebounds while Hayes accounts for 10.5 points, 6.5 assists and 3.2 steals.

“Getting to state is kind of surreal,” Tiller said. “When we were freshmen we thought that could get to the state tournament somehow, someway.”

Getting there is just half the battle.

Winning can be difficult, and Ripley is no pushover.

“Well, we don’t know a whole lot about Ripley, but we didn’t know a lot about Livingston either,” junior Rodney Benford said. “We’re going over there and play our game.”

Ripley coach Lonnie Starks made his 2014-15 schedule as tough as possible in order for his players to compete for a berth in the state tournament. In November and December, the Tigers lot to Memphis Southwind, Marion, Ark., Calloway County, Ky., and Mountain Home, Ark.

Since losing to Covington, 88-85, on Jan. 13, Ripley’s only losses were to Haywood, its bitter District 15-AA rival “Fifteen miles down the road,” said Starks, who coached at Dyer County – he took that team to back-to-back state tournaments in 2000-01 – and Jackson Central-Merry before landing in Ripley.

Haywood beat the Tigers by scores of 72-61, 64-62 during the season, but thrashed them 66-37 in the district title game and 80-63 for the Region 8-AA championship.

“Most of the guys on that 1982 team were at our sub-state game against Lexington,” Starks said. “They’ve been very supportive and other people have organized a community pep rally.”

The Tigers start four seniors – 5-foot-7-inch Chad Culbreath, 5-10 Jonquil Atkins, 6-2 Shaquille Holloway and 6-1 Sportez Currie – and 6-6 junior post Isaiah Crawley rounds out the lineup.

Culbreath has scored more than 1,000 points this season, Starks said, who added that his scoring star believes every shot is going in.

“Those seniors and the leadership they provide are the strength of our team,” the 60-year-old Starks said. “The only teams to beat Haywood (32-2) were Velma Jackson (Miss.) and Chicago Simeon (in the ARS.com Classic in Brownsville).

“Other than those two games and the close one against us, they had no scares. They’ve had a great season. We had a good season, but they had a great one.”

Should Haywood get past Carter, it would meet the CPA-Brainerd winner in the semifinals on Friday. The Central-Ripley winner would catch the Creek Wood-Fulton winner, also on Friday.

Rogers vowed that the Pounders will be loose and ready for the Tigers on Thursday afternoon. Central will travel to Murfreesboro on Wednesday and acclimate themselves as best they can for what’s ahead.

“My guys weren’t afraid of Hamilton Heights and they won’t be afraid of Ripley,” he said. “We just have to go over there and play basketball. This is a huge reward for what they’ve done, including fighting through the rough times early on.

“One thing about going is that I want some of the kids, especially Tiller, a senior, to get some exposure (for potential college opportunities) because he’s one of the best players in the Chattanooga area.”

For Montgomery, the Pounders’ junior class is fulfilling a dream they’ve had since their middle school days.

“This was all part of our plan when we got to Central,” he said. “We’ve been together since middle school and went to the championship game as eighth-graders. We were undefeated as freshmen. As sophomores we all played varsity ball and thought then we could do something good our junior year.”

Now, as Saturday Night Live’s “Church Lady,” might say, “Now, isn’t that special.”

Brainerd vs. Christ Presbyterian Academy

Here’s a little nugget of information the Panthers probably already know, but it’s worth repeating.

The CPA Lions (31-4) have not lost to a Tennessee team this season. Of the four losses, Hopkinsville and Doss were from Kentucky, La Lumiere hailed from Indiana and Mountain Brooks beat the Lions in the Next Level Hoopfest semifinals hosted by CPA in December.

Of three losses in 2013-14, just one came at the hands of a Volunteer state team, Jackson South Side (59-57), in last year’s state tournament semifinals. That stopped a run of back-to-back state championships for the Lions of coach Drew Maddux, a former Vanderbilt star who thought he’d never become a coach.

The year before CPA lost twice, once to Orem (Utah) and another to St. Rita (Ill.).

So, welcome to CPA’s world.

“In terms of our basketball vision for the season, our expectations never change,” Maddux said. “Regardless of the players in those uniforms, we want to be competing on the final day of the season for a state championship, although we rarely talk about championships. We talk about being the best version of ourselves we can be.”

The Lions, in their fourth consecutive state tournament, present Brainerd with a huge obstacle  in its bid for a fourth title, something no Chattanooga Division I school has ever accomplished – Riverside, Brainerd and Tennessee Temple all have won three times.

“I keep telling our kids that CPA was in the state tournament last year and the team that beat them (Jackson South Side) won the championship,” Brown said. “If we prepare the right way, play the right way, it’s possible to reach our goal.

“Our goal wasn’t to get to state, it’s to win state.”

There is no escaping how impressive CPA has been over the past four years. Seniors Micah Davis, Sam Johnson, Parker Howell and Rylan Harris have helped the Lions to a 140-11 record and they’ve lost exactly two of 121 games against in-state opponents in their careers.

They’ve also claimed four consecutive district, region and sectional titles to go along with their two state championships.

Howell was a key figure in CPA’s drive to a state football championship in December and was named TSSAA Mr. Football before joining the basketball squad. He missed the two previous hoops seasons with a torn labrum. He is a Western Kentucky signee, who as a freshman scored 26 points in a game against Maplewood for the Lions’ first state title team.

Johnson also played with the Lions’ football team.

“He’s been an incredibly impactful player for us,” said Maddux, who worked in the healthcare field for years before taking the CPA coaching  job nine years ago. “If he’s healthy, he’s a key contributor to our team.

But the seniors aren’t the “big guns” for CPA.

That shared honor belongs to junior Braxton Blackwell, the state’s No. 1 2016 prospect, and eighth-grader Tyger Campbell. They are the Lions’ top two scorers, averaging 20.5 and 14.5 points per game. Blackwell, a 6-8 small forward, also gets 10.3 rebounds per game and Campbell, the nation’s top-rated eighth-grader,

Davis has an 11.5 scoring average and has made 113-of-256 3-pointers this season and has signed with the NAIA’s Indian Wesleyan while junior Evan Ragsdale scores 10 points per game. Howell is next at 9.3.

“Basketball fans will love watching Tyger play,” Maddux said. “He plays the right way and is selfless as it gets, always putting others before himself. He’s had an incredible year and made the all-district and all-region teams.”

Maddux pointed out that former Lion Jalen Lindsey, now at Providence, and Blackwell also played as eighth-graders. Blackwell was last year’s Mr. Basketball.

There’s plenty for the Panthers’ defense to worry about.

“We go hard with defense,” Brainerd’s Da’V Moore said. “For me, it’s not about scoring. I’m about defense first. I feel like we can stick with CPA.”

Added, junior Dajuonta Ross, “Defense can win you games and that’s why I love playing defense the most. Coach Brown loves defense, too. We’ve got the talent to play defense inside or outside and we just have to stop those guys.”

Maddux watched several tapes of Brainerd over the weekend and said he was impressed with what Brown has done with the Panthers. He added that Brainerd reminds him of Maplewood, Marshall County and Waverly his Lions have played.

CPA beat Marshall County for the District 12 championship and knocked off Maplewood in the sectional. The Lions defeated Creek Wood, 81-62, for the Region 6-AA title.

“Brainerd has a long lineage of success,” Maddux said. “Obviously, Moore, Marques Tipton and Jesse Walker, a great freshman, are outstanding players and all their players can influence a game with the length, athleticism and ability to change defenses

“It’s going to be a great game.”

State Tournament Schedule

Class AAA

WEDNESDAY

10 a.m. — White County (30-3) vs. Brentwood (28-6)

11:30 a.m. — Oak Ridge (29-3) vs. Memphis East (19-9)

1:15 p.m. — Blackman (24-6) vs. Maryville (26-6)

2:45 p.m. — Hillsboro (24-8) vs. Hamilton (13-15)

FRIDAY

10 a.m. — White County/Brentwood vs. Oak Ridge/Memphis East

11:30 a.m. –Blackman/Maryville vs. Hillsboro/Hamilton

SATURDAY

2 p.m. — Class AAA final

Class A

WEDNESDAY

4:30 p.m. — Knoxville Grace (23-8) vs. Clay County (27-4)

6 p.m. — Mitchell (29-6) vs. Columbia Academy (25-8)

THURSDAY

10 a.m. — Van Buren County (19-15) vs. Loretto (23-6)

11:30 a.m. — Union City (31-3) vs. Hampton (28-7)

FRIDAY

1:15 p.m. — Knoxville Grace/Clay County vs. Mitchell/Columbia Academy

2:45 p.m. — Van Buren County/Loretto vs. Union City/Hampton

SATURDAY

4:30 p.m. — Class A final

Class AA

THURSDAY

1:15 p.m. — Christ Presbyterian Academy (31-4) vs. Brainerd (22-7)

2:45 p.m. – Haywood (32-2) vs. Carter (27-7)

4:30 p.m. – Chattanooga Central (22-4) vs. Ripley (29-11)

6 p.m. – Creek Wood (33-1) vs. Fulton (26-4)

FRIDAY

4:30 p.m. – CPA/Brainerd vs. Haywood/Carter

6 p.m. – Chattanooga Central/Ripley vs. Creek Wood/Fulton

SATURDAY

7 p.m. – Class AA final

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)