To the casual fan, Tuesday night's basketball game between Brighton and Collierville probably seemed fairly inconsequential.

There were no postseason ramifications on the line. It was a non-district game and Brighton and Collierville are not rivals.

But to the Brighton players and head coach, it was literally life and death.

Last week, the mother of sophomore forward Zach Lewis died unexpectedly.

So as Brighton held off a couple of Collierville rallies and went on to a 70-61 home win, Lewis was on the minds of the players and coaches.

"I'm especially proud of Zach," said Brighton head coach Stan Gatlin. "I told him, 'Play this for your mother and we're going to rally around you. Be confident. We're family. We're going to take care of you.'"

"We just have to be here for him," said sophomore Taelyr Gatlin. "We're all brothers around here."

Lewis played a big role in the Cardinal win. He scored eight points in the fourth quarter, hit a 3-pointer in the third period and finished with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and six rebounds.

Brighton went on an 11-2 run that spanned the second and third quarters and produced a 34-22 lead with 5:24 left in the third.

But Ray Morris hit a 3-pointer later in the period to draw the Dragons withing two points.

Lewis hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to push the lead back to six points. The lead eventually went to eight points, but Collierville rallied again to cut it two with 3:15 left.

Senior Tramaine Cooper, who finished with 15 points, answered with two straight buckets and Brighton pulled away down the stretch.

Taelyr Gatlin led Brighton with 25 points, including an impressive 16-for-19 effort from the free throw line.

The Cardinals moved to 14-7 overall and, with wins over Munford and Covington, further made their case as the top boys team in Tipton County.

"We understand where we are and we're committed to reaching the goals that we set at the beginning of the season: winning 20-plus games and making a strong playoff push," Stan Gatlin said. "And right now, it seems to be coming to fruition."

Two seasons ago Brighton was struggling.

"We were the worst team (in the county)," Cooper said. "It feels really great now and I'm happy I've got my younger guys to help me out."

Brighton, which is 2-0 in district play, has two big district games coming up at Dyer County on Friday and at Hardin County on Monday.

The outcome of the games will be crucial, but the Cardinals are now playing for more than just victories.

Cooper said there wasn't a lot of talk between the players about Lewis' loss, but everybody was thinking about him.

"It's just understood," he said.