Tyner Advances At State In Overtime, 56-49

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Wednesday was a near-perfect day as both Chattanooga teams playing in the Division I state basketball tournament won.

Defending class A champ Chattanooga Prep had no problem as they totally manhandled Santa Fe before winning, 84-44.

It was a horse of another color for the Tyner Rams as they had to play an overtime period before beating Memphis Business Academy by a 56-49 final.

As the old saying goes, the mark of a good team is one that wins, even on days when they don’t play their best game. That was it exactly for the Rams as they struggled from the field for the first four quarters as they shot poorly before rallying in the four-minute extra period.

Tyner coach E’Jay Ward didn’t know quite what to say as his Rams won for the 18^th straight game and improved to 30-6 with the win.

“We hit some big shots down the stretch, but I’m totally out of words,” he began in the post-game interview room.

“I’m proud of the way we battled back, but we aren’t done yet. We certainly didn’t play our best, but we really stepped it up in the fourth quarter and overtime. Nobody except Rodney Henderson had ever played in this tournament before, but stuff happens and you just have to keep moving forward.

“Zion (Pinkerton) came up with some big rebounds late, but we’re here to make a statement. It really hurt when we lost to Alcoa last year in the sectional, but this is what it’s all about. We’ll rest tomorrow and be ready to rock and roll on Friday,” Ward added.

This was the first trip ever to the Bluecross championships for the Execs. It didn’t turn out like they had wanted, but they will learn from the experience and come back stronger next time.

“I feel like we sort of let this one slip away,” said MBA coach Tavaris Boga after his team’s season ended at 23-7.

“I probably should have called a timeout at the end of regulation, so I’ll take credit for that. Basketball is a game of runs and I told my guys that Tyner would make a run when we were up by six. But I’m proud of these guys as they never backed down. We made history with this being our first trip here, but it just makes me hungry for more.

“We played some really good teams to get ready for this, so just getting here isn’t enough. We’re totally battle-tested and not the same team we were back in November. But this was a special season and definitely the best team I’ve ever had,” he added.

Tyner jumped out to a 7-0 lead early before the Execs responded with a 7-0 run of their own. Senior Rodney Henderson, who led the Rams with 28 points, scored the last four points as Tyner had an 11-7 lead at the first break.

Adarius Brewster swished a 3 with 4:56 left in the half to put the Rams up 16-11, but MBA rallied to score 10 of the next 13 for a 21-19 lead at intermission.

The third quarter was close, but Tyner never regained the lead and were still behind 38-35 when the fourth stanza began.

A layup by Jay’lon Hopson with five minutes to play put MBA up 44-38 before Tyner made its comeback. A 3 from Henderson put the Rams up 47-45 with 2:49 to play before two free throws from Hopson knotted the score with 153 showing.

Jordan Felder missed shot from the corner with just over a minute left and the Execs were content to let time run off the clock, but the game went into overtime when Teryck White missed a jumper from the wing at the buzzer.

Pinkerton scored on a layup to start the overtime period and Tyner never looked back as Henderson followed with two free throws. Another key rebound from Pinkerton and a fast-break slam from Kohl Ward in the waning seconds just put icing on the cake as Tyner fans stood and started to celebrate.

Henderson finished with 28 points after scoring just six in the first half. Brewster added 10 before fouling out late. White was tops for MBA with 16 points while Larry Benson III was next with 13. Hopson finished with nine.

The Execs had a 38-30 rebound advantage as Benson snagged 15 and White eight. Pinkerton was tops for Tyner with 11.

The Rams now face unbeaten Loretto after the Mustangs beat Liberty Creek by a 49-34 final to win for the 33rd straight time. That game is set for 12:45 local time on Friday.

MEMPHIS BUSINESS	7	14	17	9	2	-- 49
TYNER ACADEMY	11	8	16	12	9	--56

MEMHIS BUSINESS (49) – Teryck White 16, Cashwell 6, Carpenter 5, Larry Benson 13, Hopson 9, Hill, McCrary.

TYNER ACADEMY (56) – Rodney Henderson 28, Pinkerton 7, Adarius Brewster 10, Beeson 2, Ward 7, Thompson, Felder 2, Moore, Harper.

3-point goals: Memphis Business 6 (White, Carpenter, Benson 4); Tyner Academy 5 (Henderson 2, Pinkerton, Brewster, Ward).

FREE THROWS: Memphis Business 15 of 20; Tyner Academy 18 of 31.

RECORDS: Memphis Business 23-8; Tyner Academy 31-6.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)