Updated 9:30 a.m. Wednesday

BHS girls stay atop district with 65-29 win
By CARSON FANT
For Brentwood Home Page
The Brentwood Lady Bruins used their size and speed to smother the Centennial Lady Cougars defensively en route to a 65-29 District 11-AAA victory Tuesday night. In boys action, Brentwood’s Cody Shelton hit five 3-pointers and Jack Montague scored 17 second-half points in leading the Bruins (16-8, 3-1) to a 59-41 win over the Cougars.

The Lady Bruins (16-2, 4-0) forced nine turnovers in the first quarter, converting them into 13 points. The Lady Bruins ran off 17 straight points in the first quarter and commanded the game early on, leading 21-5 going into the second quarter.

While the Lady Cougars were able to put together more offense in the second quarter, Brentwood continued to dominate the pace of the game as well as the boards.

“We’re pretty long,” Brentwood head coach Ronnie Seigenthaler said. “We’ve got some experience on the floor.”

Seigenthaler added that his defense was able to anticipate well in forcing turnovers and getting loose balls.

The Lady Bruins extended their lead to 37-15 at halftime. Paige Parker scored 16 points in the first half for Brentwood, while Kyla Kerstetter added 10.

The Lady Bruins opened the second half with a 12-0 run to eliminate any chance Centennial had for a comeback. Four different players scored for the Lady Bruins during the run.

Brentwood’s win kept them in first place in the District 11-AAA standings.

In boys action, Shelton and Montague led the Bruins to their victory over the Cougars, with Shelton’s treys coming at pivotal points in the game. His shooting helped keep distance between the Bruins and the surging Cougars.

Brentwood head coach Dennis King said Shelton stepped up when the Bruins’ first two offensive options, Montague and James Cox, struggled offensively in the first half.

“You have to have a third guy that can torch [the other team],” King added.

The Bruins led 15-7 after one quarter and quickly extended that lead to 18-7 after Shelton’s 3-pointer less than 30 seconds into the quarter.

The Cougars answered back with a two-point basket, but Shelton drained another 3-pointer moments later off an assist from Cox. The two teams went back and forth for the rest of the first half, with Brentwood leading 25-15 at halftime.

Centennial cut Brentwood’s lead to 30-24 with 5:41 left in the third quarter, but that’s as close as they would get. Baskets by Will Jones, Montague and Shelton pushed the Bruins’ lead back to double digits. Brentwood led 39-29 going into the fourth quarter.

The Cougars cut the lead to eight points twice in the fourth quarter, but Cox Montague answered with baskets of their own to maintain the lead.

Brentwood’s defense played strongly throughout the entire game, particularly in defending shots. The Bruins blocked seven shots, led by Jones’ four blocks, and altered several more.

 “We have some length to us,” King said. Shelton led the Bruins with 21 points. Montague added 19.

The Bruins host cross-town rival Ravenwood Friday night. Going into Tuesday’s game, the Bruins trailed the first-place Raptors by a half game.

Rebels stop ranked Raptors
In Franklin, the Rebels (8-10, 4-1 11-AAA) had home court advantage over the Ravenwood Raptors Tuesday night, as Franklin won 70-63. The Raptors (15-6, 3-1) were ranked 9th in The Tennessean's Boys Midstate Top 10 earlier on Tuesday.

Raptor Robert Veal led the night's scoring, with 30 points. Evan Forhetz had 16 points for Ravenwood. Franklin's Debrell McLemore scored 20 points, while Cameron Tackett added 18 to the winning effort.

In girls action, the Lady Raptors and the Lady Rebels kept it close all four quarters, with Ravenwood winning by two, 42-40.

Brentwood and Ravenwood will face off in the first of two winter Battle of the Woods on Friday. The girls game begins at 6 p.m. with the varsity boys following at 7:30 p.m. Friday’s games will be played at Brentwood, with the Raptors hosting the final game of the regular season and second “Battle” on Feb. 11.