Brentwood Academy is returning to the Division II State Championship tournament after they tattooed Briarcrest Christian on Saturday night. The Eagles used red hot shooting and a smothering defense to top the Saints 84-44.
The Eagles started the game on a 10-0 run before much of the crowd could sit down. The Eagles used their full court press defense to force the Saints into numerous turnovers and bad shots. Brentwood Academy missed their first two shots of the game, before hitting their next 8 straight en route to a 24-11 lead after the first quarter. BA would expand their lead with continued hot shooting and go into the locker rooms at halftime with a 57-24 lead.
The halftime break would do little to cool off the Eagles, who would run out to a 74-38 lead after a hot start to the third quarter. With a running clock for the entirety of the fourth quarter and much of their bench emptied, Brentwood Academy would ice a return to the state tournament with an 84-44 final score.
Sophomore Darius Garland and junior Jeremiah Oatsvall led all scorers with 19 points each. Senior Parker Suedekum added 10 points as well. The Eagles combined to go 11 of 19 from three, and shot 57% from the field. The Eagles defense allowed only one double digit scorer for the Saints. Briarcrest was held to less than 40% from the floor.
“We played really well and shot it great,” said BA coach Hubie Smith. “We were very energetic. Defense was really good. [We] forced a lot of transition baskets.”
The win clinched BA’s spot in the semifinals. Friday at Allen Arena, the Eagles will face McCallie. BA beat McCallie in their two previous meetings this season. The winner of the contest will face the winner of Ensworth and Christian Brothers for the Division II-AA State Championship.
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