Ensworth In Come From Behind Win Over Baylor, 61-58

Playing just a  few hours from their Nashville home, the Ensworth Tigers outscored Baylor 37-18 in the second half to earn a come-from-behind  61-58 victory. Nic Hyche and Devaki Garr combined for 29 of those 37 second-half points hitting big shots late to finish off the exhilarating comeback in a game that they didn't even lead for one full minute.

Baylor's Zane Restelli and Ensworth's Nic Hyche went at each other all night, scoring 26 and 25 respectively, and carrying their respective teams offensively.

While early offense from junior guard Nyziah Whaley pushed Baylor to a six-point lead in the first quarter, Ensworth knocked down a pair of threes as the period drew towards its close, and heading into the second quarter, Ensworth had battled to keep themselves in a one-possession game.

That didn't last long.

Baylor started the second quarter with a 14-0 run, the first nine of which came by way of a trio of three-point plays from Restelli, two jumpers from beyond the arc, and one the old-fashioned way on a bucket plus the foul. Restelli kept his foot on the gas for the remainder of the half and led his Red Raiders to a 15-point advantage at the break.

Ensworth came out of the half reinvigorated and in need of some quick offense if they wanted to avoid finding themselves in a hole too deep to dig out of, and quick offense is just what they got. After drawing a foul on a crafty bucket and hitting the free throw, Ensworth's shooters went to work. Devaki Garr and Nic Hyche rattled off three straight made three-point baskets, and in abrupt fashion, Ensworth had responded to the 14-0 Baylor run that started the second quarter with a 12-0 run of their own to start the second half.

The newfound intensity and fire continued to drive Ensworth, boiling over at one point when Ethan Utley was T'd up following some pushing and shoving on a held ball that ended with Baylor's Restelli flat on his backside.

The rest of a half took place with heightened competitive ferocity following the skirmish, and though Baylor later led by 10 points, neither team played like a group willing to give an inch. Baylor took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter, and though they had battled back from 15 once before, Ensworth was down to their final eight minutes to mount another run.

Once again, that's just what the Tigers did.

Starting the quarter with a 7-2 run, Ensworth outscored Baylor 18-8 through the first seven minutes of the final quarter thanks in no small part to more good three-point shooting from Garr and Hyche. Just like that, the game had ticked down to its final minute with Baylor trailing 58-59, with their first deficit of the contest.

"We talked at halftime about doing the simple things better," said Ensworth head coach Bradley Pierson. "Devaki Garr and Nic Hyche made some big shots for us down the stretch," said Pierson.

The final 60 seconds of the game were fervent and tense, with the teams racing back and forth searching for good looks, hindered by the most fierce defense they had seen all game. After neither team was able to find a bucket for the first 55 seconds of the game's deciding minute, Baylor called a timeout to draw up an inbound play with just under five seconds on the clock.

Executing a well-designed inbound play, sophomore Brock Barton delivered a long bounce pass under the basket to Nyziah Whaley who had found himself streaking wide open right under the basket. The hands of the Baylor fans met the tops of their heads in despair and Red Raiders on the bench bent at the waist in despondency as they saw the pass deflect off of Whaley's fingertips and out of bounds for the game-sealing turnover.

"We did a better job on number four for them (Zane Restelli) after he had a really great first half.  We made enough plays down the stretch to win the game. Very proud of a team effort and a collective effort," said Pierson.

Ensworth improves to 4-2 on the year while Baylor drops to 1-3 after the gut-wrenching loss.

Baylor's leading scorers were Zane Restelli with 26 and Nyziah Whaley with 11.

Baylor will next play at Lipscomb Academy on Friday.

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