Tyler Tanner put Brentwood Academy on the next train to Cookeville.
The Mr. Basketball finalist scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds, made six steals and dished out five assists in a 61-37 win over visiting Memphis University School in a Division II-AA quarterfinal Saturday night.
The Eagles (28-3) will face Knoxville Webb (24-7) in a semifinal at Tennessee Tech on Friday.
“Well, Tyler brings it every night,” BA coach Andy Blackston said. “He’s one of those players that the bigger the moment, the bigger his game is. He might have an extra gear that a normal person doesn’t have.”
The 6-foot junior point guard quickly showcased his versatility in front of a capacity crowd by scoring the game’s first three baskets on a putback, a layup and a jumper.
He added a dunk just before halftime and hit seven of eight free throws.
“We were locked in from start to finish,” Tanner said.
BA never trailed and held a double-digit lead the entire second half en route to its 17th consecutive win.
“They have an elite guard and shooters around him and good size through their forward positions,” Owls coach David Willson said. “(Tanner) is probably the best scoring point guard that I’ve seen in the state. Athletically, he can get to the spots that he wants to get to.”
MUS point guard Jackson Ransom guarded Tanner for much of the night.
“Tyler, he’s one of the quickest guards in Tennessee,” Ransom said. “Great off the bounce, catch and shoot, really well-rounded player. Really tough to guard, really tough to stay in front of.”
Unfinished Business is the Eagles’ slogan this season after winning their first 29 games last year before suffering a 63-55 loss to Knoxville Catholic in the state semifinals.
“The main reason we’re wanting to win so bad is that redemption because a lot of people return,” Tanner said. “We only lost three seniors, so everybody knows what that feeling was at the end of the season last year and nobody wants to feel that again.”
Tanner said it was a terrible feeling to work so hard the whole season, only to come up slightly short.
He has offers from Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Tennessee Tech and Hampton.
“I really like Vanderbilt right now,” Tanner said. “They’ve been really hands-on with recruitment. I love their coaching staff. I want to play in the SEC so I’m not sure if I’m gonna wait, when I’m gonna commit, but Vandy is definitely No. 1 right now.”
BA’s best point guard ever, Darius Garland, talked to the Eagles after last Saturday’s win over Montgomery Bell Academy in the Middle Region final.
Garland is averaging 22 points and 7.8 assists per game playing alongside fellow All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell for the Cleveland Cavaliers (38-25).
“He really just told me to be confident in myself because if you’re confident in yourself there’s really nobody who can stop you,” Tanner said. “If we’re all confident together, I think we can pull this off.”
BA’s defense shut down MUS (19-10), which shot only 24% from the floor, including 4-24 from 3-point range.
MUS was held to three points in the second quarter and no Owls broke into double figures.
“Their motion is five guys moving all the time and we did a really good job of communicating the switches that we needed to make to frustrate their motion a little bit,” Blackston said. “And the athleticism and pressure on the ball really made a difference, especially defensively.”
BA outrebounded MUS 39-25, including a game-high 10 boards from versatile Dre Moss, a 6-2 senior forward who plays every position.
“Dre does so many things, and he’s so valuable to our team,” Blackston said. “He just knows how to get in there and get a rebound. Dre has a big basketball brain that works, so he knows what to do in all those spots. He’s a glue guy who’s really hard to take off the floor.”
BA is two wins from its first state championship since Garland’s senior year in 2018.
“I feel like we have unfinished business from last year to get back on,” said BA’s George MacIntyre, a 6-5 forward.
MacIntyre is the nation’s second-ranked quarterback in the sophomore class by 247Sports.
He has “26 or 27” offers, including eight SEC teams.
His grandfather, George, coached Vanderbilt football from 1979-85 and his uncle, Mike, coaches Florida International.
MUS’ season ended in the state quarterfinals for the fifth straight year.
“We lost our top four scorers from last year, one of whom was injured this year and that created a lot of adversity for this group, but how they handled it was absolutely remarkable,” Willson said. “It was a really fun group to coach.”
Local Division II-A Scores:
Notre Dame 59 Davidson Academy 51
Goodpasture 51 King's Academy 36
Local Division II-AA Scores:
Briarcrest 91 CPA 61
MBA 54 Baylor 48
Knoxville Webb 65 Lipscomb Academy 51