Ensworth’s boys basketball team turned the tables on Christian Brothers in the DII-AA state semifinals Friday.
After being ousted in last year’s semis by CBHS, the Tigers won 60-46 Friday to earn a trip to Saturday’s title game and a third matchup with rival Brentwood Academy (7:30 p.m.) at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena.
“That pushed us,” Ensworth senior Desmond Cambridge said of the revenge factor. “We had a chip on our shoulders. We knew we had to come out and play, and we did.”
Ensworth (23-5) and Brentwood Academy split the regular-season series. BA won 55-53 on Jan. 12 and Ensworth won 63-55 on Feb. 2.
Brentwood Academy is the defending state champion. Ensworth has won five state titles in the last seven years (2009, 2011-14).
The Tigers (23-5) got out to an early lead Friday on a pair of 3-pointers from Cambridge and Keyonte Calloway, and used stifling defense to take a 14-7 lead after one quarter.
“I think they had won 56 out of their last 58 games,” Ensworth coach Ricky Bowers said. “They clearly were not accustomed to being behind and I thought we did a nice job of getting them behind.”
The Tigers pushed their lead to 10 on a second quarter-opening 3-point shot from Tennessee signee Jordan Bone, but a 7-3 Christian Brothers’ run narrowed the deficit to six.
Bone used a dunk and a pair of free throws to increase the lead and send Ensworth to the locker room with a 28-20 halftime advantage.
Christian Brothers (28-2) outscored the Tigers 11-9 in the third quarter to trim the lead to 37-31 heading into the final quarter, but Ensworth kicked off the fourth with a 13-6 run to put the game out of reach.
Saturday’s title game will feature a pair of Mr. Basketball finalists in Bone and Brentwood Academy’s Darius Garland.
It will be nothing new for Bone, who posted a game-high 24 points against fellow Mr. Basketball finalist and Christian Brothers guard William Douglas in Friday’s win.
“We talked about it all week, but we didn’t really have an answer for him,” Douglas said of Bone. “I don’t know what to say; he’s an awesome player.”
For the Tigers to take home bragging rights and a state championship win over their rival, Bowers knows they will need to contain Garland and keep up their strong defense.
“I don’t think it’ll be any different than it was tonight,” Bowers said. “I think it’ll be about us playing solid defensively, being aware of who the scorers are and making them score difficult, not uncontested baskets.”
Reach Sam Brown at 615-259-8232 and on Twitter @SamBrownTN.
Ensworth senior Jordan Bone dribbles up the floor during Friday’s Division II-AA semifinal win over Christian Brothers.