Boys basketball | Tre Clark, Kenny Brown carry Palmetto past Braden River in district semifinal

PALMETTO -- Kenny Brown sat tied to the Palmetto bench for most of the first half of the Class 7A-District 11 boys basketball semifinals Wednesday at William "Butch" Hughes Gymnasium.

For three quarters, the guard didn't score a point as the Tigers built a lead as large as 13 points.

PHS can be prone to scoring droughts, though, and by the final three minutes Braden River led for the first time since the opening four minutes. As the Tigers' lead evaporated, Brown moved from the bench to the corner. With 2:29 remaining, a scramble left him open, and Jason Spicer Jr. found him on the left side of the court.

Brown rose and dropped in his third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter. Seconds later, Tre Clark intercepted a pass at midcourt and slashed for a dunk. A deficit became a

four-point lead for PHS and a 55-49 win.

"Because we've been playing together for a while, we know who to get the ball to and Kenny came through for us," Clark said. "Everybody kind of looked for him."

Brown finished with 11 points, all in the fourth quarter, and bailed the Tigers (13-12) out during their fourth-quarter offensive doldrums. Junior wing Deoni Cason led the Pirates (10-10) with 18 points.

Clark, however, was the catalyst. The guard finished with a game-high 19 points and his 10-point outburst during the third quarter let second-seeded PHS enter the fourth quarter with a 37-28 lead. On defense, Clark swatted away three shots early and grabbed a team-leading 15 rebounds. He produced three assists, but two set up Brown's first two 3s in the fourth quarter.

Palmetto scored 15 points against the No. 3 BRHS during the final frame. Clark scored or assisted on 11 of them despite missing five free throws.

"He can easily be the difference and he was," head coach Reggie Bellamy said. "Reading those screens, he was passing well. We're in a situation where there's a lot of different ways you can contribute to success and he showed that he can diversify his game."

The Tigers advance to Friday's district final, where they will play top-seed Lakewood Ranch on the road.

Braden River opened the fourth quarter with a 4-0 spurt in the opening minute before PHS set up a pick-and-roll. Clark barreled down the right side of the lane and the defense collapsed against the guard who drew coaches from Bowling Green and Louisville on Wednesday. He whipped a pass to Brown in the right corner who sunk his first 3 to stretch the Tigers' lead back to eight.

Two possessions later, when PHS' lead was back down to six, Clark set up an identical play. He shot around the screen and found Brown in the right corner again. Another one.

Palmetto's first three field goals during the fourth quarter were 3s by Brown. He and Clark combined for the Tigers' six field goals during the final frame and as the buzzer sounded, after a desperation 3 by Cason fell short, Brown dropped in a layup to punctuate his explosive fourth quarter.

"Unfortunately, we've been in these dry spots," Bellamy said, "but we were able to get it when we needed it with a couple of shots by Kenny."

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Boys basketball | Tre Clark, Kenny Brown carry Palmetto past Braden River in district semifinal ."