The number-one seed in the District 4-AA tournament was up for grabs at Tyner Academy on Friday night, and the gym held a decidedly electric as fans of CSAS and Tyner alike stuffed themselves inside, eager to watch the drama unfold.
As if there wasn’t already enough pressure, the magnitude of this matchup grew even greater as Tyner’s seniors took the floor with their families before tipoff to be acknowledged and awarded their framed jerseys in one of high school sports’ greatest traditions: Senior Night.
The burden of playing the final regular season game of their high school careers seemed to stifle Tyner early on, but after settling in, the Rams put together a dynamic, team-oriented attack, and outlasted CSAS 51-44 to earn the regular season district crown.
“Senior Night played a role in it,” said Tyner head coach E’Jay Ward. “They jumped out on us but it wasn’t anything that we couldn’t handle,” said Ward.
Down 8-0 in a flash, Tyner was rejuvenated by the circumstance of their first bucket of the game. After decorated senior Nehemiah Bloodsaw finished through contact for an and-one, play was stopped for a trophy to be delivered to him at mid-court to congratulate him on scoring his 1,000th career point for the Rams. The bucket not only fizzled out the CSAS momentum, but it also began a 13-4 run for Tyner that earned them their first lead of the night in the opening moments of the second quarter.
Bloodsaw was steady and efficient for Tyner all night, seeming unencumbered by gravity on several drives to the rim where he soared for big buckets. He finished with a game-high 16 points and helped clean up the glass for the Rams as well.
While Tyner never surrendered the lead Bloodsaw gave them, The Patriots were always close in their rearview mirror, keeping their deficit around five points all night and never once falling behind by double-digits.
Justin Brown was the key scorer for CSAS tonight and was the only Patriot to score in double figures. He and Jarius Cameron stayed on the attack from the very start and refused to let their team fall out of striking range.
After trading buckets all third quarter, Tyner held a four-point lead heading into the fourth and tensions hit their precipice as the final eight minutes began, CSAS desperate to find a way to reclaim a lead that they hadn’t seen in over 14 minutes.
The answer came from an unlikely source. Not one of the guys who had been solid scorers all night and might seem likely to be leaned on in the most clutch moments of their entire season, but instead, the tallest player on the court who despite his stature, had seemed invisible through the game’s first three quarters.
Towering but wiry, unorthodox but crafty, Alex Lowry came off the Patriot bench and went right to work as the fourth quarter began. He started with a three from the corner, then a jumper from the mid-range, then a hook shot in the post. Anywhere he was on the court, he gazed over the heads of defenders and found ways to put the ball in the basket on his way to seven points in the span of two minutes.
His efforts might have paid off in snatching control of the game but, accepting the challenge and responding to each Lowry bucket, was Nehemiah Bloodsaw who one-upped Lowry’s crunch time performance with eight fourth-quarter points of his own.
Down the stretch, still in a tight game, Tyner relied on free throw shooting to close it out as the Patriots were forced to intentionally foul. Going six-for-six from the line during this span was Rodney Henderson, who was steady all night long.
“Rodney Henderson has been money at the line for us this year,” said Ward. “Late in games, we definitely want the ball in Rodney’s hands… I have ultimate confidence in him,” said Ward.
Henderson and the rest of the Tyner Rams ultimately did just enough to hold on and earn a huge district victory, helped along by Keelan and Joshua Jackson who combined for 15 points on their Senior night.
“We have seven seniors, some of whom have been playing together since they were five years old,” said Ward of his veteran group. “This was big for them and this is a pretty special group. We knew they were special when they were in the eighth grade so this was special for them,” said Ward.
Ward and the Rams will look forward to moving into district tournament play as the number one seed.
Tyner girls 48, CSAS 13: Even after talented Lady Rams guard Leya Mitchell went down early with an injury, Tyner had a clear advantage over their opponent from the tip. Buoyed by 19 from Shy Harrison, who was anything but bashful about scoring the basketball, the Lady Rams scored the first 14 points of the game and never gave the Lady Patriots an opening to make things close again.
GIRLS SUMMARY
CSAS 3 2 6 2 - 13
TYNER 14 16 11 7 - 48
TYNER (48) - Shy Harrison 19, Taylor 9, McCullough 8, Manghane 5, Mitchell 2, Brookins 2 Williams, Hays, Eady.
CSAS (13) - Kindall Grudzinski 10, Jones 3, Frye, Stinson, Whiteside, Moore, Jordan, Mitchell.
3-point goals: CSAS 2 (Grudzinski 2); Tyner 4 (Taylor 3, Harrison).
Records: CSAS (6-17, 1-7); Tyner (9-9, 5-3).
BOYS SUMMARY
CSAS 12 7 8 17 - 44
TYNER 8 13 10 20 - 51
CSAS (44) - Justin Brown 10, Lowry 9, Cameron 8, McDonald 7, Gaines 3, Pride 5, Bell 2, Moss.
TYNER ( 51) - Nehemiah Bloodsaw 16, Rodney Henderson 14, Keelan Jackson 10, Smith 6, J. Jackson 5, Dixson.
3-point goals: CSAS 4 (Gaines, Pride, McDonald, Lowry); Tyner 4 (Henderson, Jackson 3).
Records: CSAS (18-9, 5-3); Tyner (15-6, 7-1).