Donelson Christian Academy held strong against visiting University School of Nashville, clinching its spot in the region tournament with a 47-35 win last Wednesday night.
University School of Nashville split with Donelson Christian in the two matchups prior to the postseason, so the Wildcats had to play well to advance.
Donelson Christian got off to a fast start and held a 10-3 lead after the first period. The Wildcats were in control for most of the game, but there were moments when the script looked like it could flip.
The Tigers came out of halftime clicking on all cylinders, opening the third on an 8-2 run to take a one-point lead. From then on, it was all Wildcats.
Donelson Christian closed on a 24-11 run to seal the victory. Head coach Nate Johnson was thrilled with his team’s effort.
“I am so proud of our guys, the way we battled,” Johnson said. “We got out early, and then we let them back into it.”
Junior guard Ben Singer led the team with 28 points, and that was both needed and expected, according to Johnson.
“That’s what we got to have from him,” Johnson said. “He’s an all-district player. We got to have that for us to win. We knew going in he had to have between 25 and 30.”
University School of Nashville does not have a ton of size. Its defense lends itself to opponents driving to the basket, and Singer took advantage.
“They play a tight man,” Singer said. “We were really able to get past them and try to attack the basket as much as possible. You’re going to miss a lot of shots, but I just kept shooting, and some were falling.”
Now the Wildcats move on to the region tournament, which they missed out on last year. Both players and coaches are ecstatic to be going back.
“It’s huge to get back there,” Singer said. “It was disappointing last year to fall short and not quite make the tournament, especially since it’s home this year, we really wanted to get back to that tournament and keep moving forward.”
Johnson said, “I want every team to do it, but I feel like this team has really gelled together. They’ve played hard. They’ve done a lot of good things. And I just wanted them to experience a region tournament.”
BOX SCORE
University School of Nashville (35): Josh Scretcher 16, Graham Elliot 10, Jack Kleiner 4, Greydon Franck 3 and Russ Petty 2.
Donelson Christian (47): Ben Singer 28, Parker Howell 7, Jude Charlton 6, Riley Stanton 4 and Jaden Carman 2.
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