A strong finish prevailed over a strong start.
Trinity Christian outscored Murfreesboro 22-11 in the fourth quarter to propel itself to a 54-41 victory on Friday at Wallace Edgar Arena.
"I was pleased with our defense, overall," Warriors head coach Jonnie Smith said. "I was proud of the way we battled. We worked hard on winning individual battles, and we won the collective battles too. We were two starters down, and I was really proud the way some guys stepped up and defended."
Reid Fellers, who finished with a team-high 14 points for the Warriors, scored eight in the fourth quarter.
Shawn Brown had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards for Trinity Christian, and teammate Grant Nolan also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Jamonte Green led all scorers with 15 points for the Rattlers, while teammate Ethan Pickett pulled down 10 rebounds. JC Motley helped out with 10 points.
Murfreesboro jumped out on a 10-0 run to start the first quarter. Green scored all 10 of those points, including a pair of shots from downtown.
The Warriors bounced back with a 7-0 run that began with a JR Kemp layup. Kemp finished with eight points for the Warriors. Moments later, Brown drove into the lane, hit a chip shot, and drew a foul. Brown completed the traditional 3-point play to make it 10-5.
Trinity Christian inched closer with a 6-foot floater from George Leopard to make it 10-7. The quarter ended with the Rattlers clinching a 5-point lead.
After the Rattlers' Caleb Spencer hit a layup to start off the second quarter, the Warriors went on a 6-0 spurt to inch to within a point, 16-15. Nolan swished in a chip shot, Nolan hit a putback, and Brown drove in for a layup during the run.
Fellers drove in for a layup later in the second, Kemp drove to his right and hit a layup, and Brown nailed a 6-foot jumper to make it 21-20 in favor of Trinity Christian.
Ketrick Dennis hit a jump shot to put Murfreesboro up, 22-21, at the half.
Fellers and Brown each scored four points in the third as the Warriors grabbed the lead after outscoring the Rattlers in the quarter, 11-8.
Trinity Christian came out in the fourth with a 32-30 lead; that is when the Warriors came alive.
TC's tight defense smothered Murfreesboro and forced the Rattlers to attempt shots out on the perimeter. The Warriors built a 53-39 lead, and Murfreesboro would not recover.
The Warriors shot 47 percent from the field on 21 of 45 shooting, while the Rattlers sunk 15 of 45 baskets for 33 percent.
Trinity Christian outrebounded Murfreesboro, 35-26, but had more turnovers, 13-9.
Alex Cobb lit up the nets for 17 points to lift the Warriors' junior boys to a 36-28 victory.
Landi Williamson scored seven points, but Trinity Christian's junior girls fell to Murfreesboro, 42-10.
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Murfreesboro 14 8 8 11 - 41
Trinity Christian 9 12 11 22 - 54
MB (41): Motley 2 6-8 10, Green 6 0-0 15, Allman 3 2-7 8, Spencer 2 0-1 4, Dennis 1 0-0 2, Pickett 1 0-1 2, TOTALS 15 8-17 41.
TC (54): Leopard 1 0-0 2, Fellers 6 2-2 14, Brown 4 5-5 13, Kemp 3 2-6 8, Nolan 6 1-1 13, Jones 1 2-4 4, TOTALS 21 12-18 54.
3-point goals: Murfreesboro-Green 3. Trinity Christian-none. Team fouls: Murfreesboro 17, Trinity Christian 17.