Red Bank's buzzer-beating layup attempt hopped around the rim before falling harmlessly to the hardwood, leaving Tyner with a 57-55 road win in District 6-AA boys' basketball Tuesday night.
The Rams led by as many as 10 points in the second half but had to fend off a pesky Lions bunch until the very end to keep a tidy 16-4 record overall and a 9-1 record in a tough district. Red Bank dropped to 14-7 and 7-5.
A back-and-forth first quarter ended in a 16-16 tie, but Tyner grabbed a 34-30 halftime lead behind an impressive 18-point second quarter. The visitors followed that up with a 9-3 run out of the locker room to take the only double-digit lead of the night.
"Energy, especially on the defensive side, and effort," Rams coach E'Jay Ward said of his team's successful run. "We also got some great energy from guys off the bench, which gave us a spark."
One of them was Nieagell Sturkey, a reserve who provided 12 points with starter Kobe Smith's game-high 20.
Tyner also used a significant rebounding advantage to create plenty of second chances and hold on down the stretch.
"We've got to do a better job on the boards," Lions coach Nick Fike said. "It's about making body contact and wanting it more. In those situations, you have to be making body contact and you definitely should be wanting it more."
Despite losing the battle on the glass, Red Bank fought back to cut the deficit back to five by the end of the third quarter. Brandon Jones and Lucas Brown swung the momentum in the Lions' favor and pumped up the home crowd with big plays to start the final period.
Jones drew a foul on a posterizing dunk, and Brown also got a chance for a three-point play. Neither connected on the free throws, but Red Bank had life.
"This is a resilient bunch of competitors," Fike said. "They're never going to give up. Give Tyner credit. They were resilient, too."
Tyner stayed up by three through the 3:00 mark before Red Bank's Torey Sewell eventually made it 52-51. Smith pushed the margin back to three for the Rams, and a split pair of free throws then made it a four-point game with just over 15 seconds to play.
Brown again made a big play, rushing down the court and pulling up to hit from way beyond the 3-point line and make it 55-54. He finished with 15 points.
Tyner got a basket from Melique Hambrick to again lead by three. Red Bank then got a chance to tie it from the free-throw stripe but converted only one. Both teams could have used help on free throws to turn the tide, combining to go 13-of-31 from the line.
The Lions ultimately missed a final chance to send it to overtime.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.