There are certain axioms in life everyone knows and expects. You can expect to get yelled at by your boss at some point. You can expect to arrive at your destination without the one important items you need. You can expect that as soon as you purchase the latest greatness piece of technology, a better one will flood the market within a month. And you can expect the weather to change.
Oh, and you can expect the Brainerd Panther basketball team to round into shape as the calendar readies to flip into February.
After opening the season with eight losses in their first 12 games, the Panthers met those expectations Friday night in a key District 4-2A outing at Chattanooga Arts & Sciences, turning in perhaps their best effort of the season with a 70-62 win in a near must-win situation in order to remain in the thick of a district title run.
"We want that No. 1 seed and the title that goes with it. We prepared all week for this game and getting the win tonight keeps that in sight," said Brainerd guard Boo Carter, who was one of five key Panthers who had a hand in seeing it to fruition.
With three weeks of the regular season left, stealing the win on a court which rarely gives away wins pulls Brainerd within a game of the top seed. Tyner (4-1) sits atop the standings with Brainerd, CSAS and Polk County all at 3-2 all but promising an exciting stretch run.
It would be hard to be more exciting than last night, though, as the Patriots and Panthers battled through three quarters with 24 lead changes and five ties before Brainerd opened up the fourth period with a 10-1 run that proved too much to overcome.
"They got 30 of their 70 points off turnovers and offensive boards, and those were the two things we talked about most before the game. Losing isn't disappointing, but we didn't play well, and that's disappointing. We didn't have the same look in our eyes as we had two weeks. We hoped to win tonight instead of expecting to win,": said CSAS coach Zach Dragoo.
Brainerd coach Levar Brown, on the other hand, was ecstatic with the way his Panthers reacted to an early punch by the Patriots and the way they played together as a team.
"We have a lot of guys who would be stars on other teams, but they have bought in to the team thing. We over me. I used to laugh at the whole 'Fear the East 3rd Street' thing, but it's real," Brown said of the CSAS gym. "It's extremely hard to win games on this court. Our district is sorta the Bermuda Triangle, and you have to show up every night. I thought we did tonight. We weren't prepared for that first quarter, but we withstood it, we took the punch, and that's why we were able to do what we did in the final period."
The Patriots came out clicking, knocking down six 3-pointers in the opening period to the delight of a raucous home crowd, but they quickly found that getting the shots was harder than making them. Brainerd forced eight turnovers in the period to stymie the hot start and allowed the Panthers to get their feet under them, trailing just 19-18 after the first.
Carter had six of his nine steals for the game in the period and teamed with his guard mate Darren Lewis, Jr. to help force 25 turnovers for the game. But literally every Panther starter made a key play at some point. Lewis, Jr. was his steady self, knocking down a trio of 3s to finish with 19 points. Quintas Broadnax added 15 as he continues to round into form after a July ACL tear. Carter chipped in 15 and fed Broadnax on three of his big buckets. Donovon Thomas was active on the boards and defense, holding CSAS big man Louis Bell to two points until foul problems in the fourth hampered his effort. And Kendrick Jones hit two key 3s and finished with eight points to round out the onslaught.
"It's always good to start clicking at the right time. We've done the last few years. We start the year slow, but by the time we get to this stretch they are ready to play. Arts and Sciences is tough and I expect to see them again, and maybe a couple more times," said Brown.
The two squads slugged it out bucket for bucket, with Bell getting his only basket in the first half for CSAS on a tip at the halftime buzzer to send them in tied at 32-all. Jarius Cameron's drive just minutes after hitting a 3, gave CSAS its last lead of the game at 45-44 before Brainerd ended the third period with momentum and a 51-47 lead heading into the fourth.
Lewis, Jr. got a steal and a layup on an inbounds pass, Carter followed with a steal and layup before Jones and Lewis, Jr. both lit up the nets with 3s in the quarter's first 1:33 to make it 61-48.
"We had a set play on the inbounds that we didn't execute, and next thing you know they've ran off seven points 25 seconds. We're capable of that ourselves, but we just weren't very aggressive tonight. We shot two free throws all night, and that pretty much sums up how aggressive we were," added Dragoo.
The Patriots didn't give in, and Bell scored six straight points, including a crowd pleasing follow-up dunk on a miss, and Chase Pride hit two of his five treys to get CSAS within 65-60 with 1:42 left, but Brainerd closed it out by hitting five of six free throws down the stretch.
The win was Brainerd's ninth straight over CSAS as the Panthers have been the lone team Dragoo's squad has yet to beat in the league since moving up from Class A. The Patriots were 26 of 49 from the floor (9-of-16 from behind the arc) but the 25 turnovers killed them. Brainerd hit on 27 of 59 shots (6-of-19 treys) and made 10 free throws to the Patriots' one make.
Pride led CSAS with 21 and Ture Gaines was good for 16.
Brainerd girls 53, CSAS 20: The Lady Patriots hang tough through halftime, trailing the Lady Panthers 20-19 at the break, but Brainerd held them without a field goal over the final two quarters to win it going away. Shakyla Belcher topped CSAS on her own with a sterling 24 points, including nine in the third period when the Lady Panthers pulled away with 16-1 run.
Leniya Mason added 11 for the winners, who outscored CSAS 33-1 in the final half despite missing 19 free throws in the game. Kindall Grudzinski led CSAS with her 13 points.
GIRLS SUMMARY
BRAINERD 12 8 16 17 -- 53
CSAS 8 11 1 0 -- 20
BRAINERD (53) -- Bullard 4, Shackelford, Keith, Walker 3, Leniya Mason 11, Foster 2, Watkins 2, Shakyla Belcher 24, A.Jones 6, DeLaCruz, C.Jones.
CSAS (20) -- Whiteside, Minton, Stinson, Jones, Mitchell, Kindall Grudzinski 13, Jordan, Moore.
3-point goals: Brainerd 4 (Belcher 2, A.Jones, Walker); CSAS 2 (Grudzinski 2).
BOYS SUMMARY
BRAINERD 17 15 19 19 -- 70
CSAS 18 14 15 15 -- 60
BRAINERD (70) -- Thomas 9, Dennis Lewis, Jr. 19, Hood 2, Quintus Broadnax 12, Boo Carter 15, Shaw 5, Jones 8.
CSAS (53) -- Ture Gaines 16, Chase Pride 21, Cameron 5, Brown 4, Smith, McDonald 4, Moss, Lowry 3, Bell 9.
3-point goals: Brainerd 6 (Lewis, Jr. 3, Jones 2, Shaw); CSAS 2 (Pride 5, Gaines 2, Cameron, Lowry).
(Contact James Beach at 1134james@gmail.com)