Lions have recipe for 68-58 district win over Panthers [photos]

Red Bank's Michael Watkins (3) finds his balance while dribbling against Brainerd at Susan Ingram Thurman Gymnasium on the campus of Red Bank High School on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Red Bank's Michael Watkins (3) finds his balance while dribbling against Brainerd at Susan Ingram Thurman Gymnasium on the campus of Red Bank High School on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The main ingredient in Red Bank coach Nick Fike's "recipe" for winning basketball: withstand runs.

That's what was written on the board in the Lions' locker room Tuesday night before they hosted dangerous District 6-AA foe Brainerd. Fike knew exactly what to cook up, as Red Bank held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Panthers for an emotional 68-58 victory.

"Things are going to go wrong," Fike said. "Good teams go on runs. They're going to go on one, and we have to remain poised and counter."

That advice was tested in the final quarter by a suffocating full-court press by Brainerd that resulted in 11 Red Bank turnovers.

After taking an 11-point lead early in the quarter, the Lions had that margin trimmed to one after a flurry of fast-break baskets for the Panthers that was punctuated by a thunderous dunk by Trey Owten.

Through all of the chaos, the Lions never appeared flustered. Led by Tory Sewell - who had a team-high 26 points - Red Bank righted the ship and pulled away for a victory in the final minute that led to emphatic high-fives from the coaching staff as the starters came off the floor with seconds left.

"I think it's their togetherness," Fike said when asked what made the difference in the game. "We've got the athleticism, we've got the depth, and we've got the talent. It's now coaching cohesiveness, getting people to pick each other up when times go wrong. I think you could see that down the stretch."

Sewell went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line and was a consistent presence on offense throughout the game, scoring six points or more in each quarter. Brandon Jones and LeKerrick Ellison were dominant in the paint, with Jones scoring 16 points and Ellison pulling down 12 rebounds and taking three big charge calls on defense.

The fourth-quarter rally wasn't Brainerd's only big surge of the night. The Panthers opened the game with a 17-7 run and led 29-27 at halftime.

"I'm always proud of my team," Panthers coach Levar Brown said. "We didn't match their intensity throughout the game. Red Bank always plays extremely hard; Coach Fike does a great job with that. We got away from what we wanted to do in the third quarter. I'll let this one burn a little bit in the locker room, and we'll get ready for our game on Thursday."

Laderron Freeman led the Panthers with 20 points, while Owten chipped in 11.

Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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