In what will go down as one of the most thrilling finishes in the history of the 15th Region tournament, Johnson Central’s Isaiah May hit a three-point basket with 2.7 seconds remaining in triple overtime to help the Golden Eagles escape East Ridge, 71-68, at the Appalachian Wireless arena on Monday night.
The game was tied nine times and there were 10 lead changes. Johnson Central improved to a region best 20-3 while the Warriors season ends at 15-9.
Cory VanHoose fired in 29 and May added 24.
Isaac Woods led the Warriors with 17. Jon Mills and Eli Sykes followed with 16 each and Braxton Stanley tossed in 11.
At Pikeville
(15th Region tournament)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
JC (20-3)….15 12 16 12 (4) (9) (3) – 71
ER (15-9)…..9 16 20 19 (4) (9) (0) – 68
Scoring:
Johnson Central (71) – Ryleh McKenzie 1 2-2 4; Isaiah May 3(5) 3-4 24; Grant Rice 2 2-2 6; Cory VanHoose 8(1) 10-10 29; John King 3 0-0 6; and Connor Lemaster 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18(6) 17-18 71.
East Ridge (68) – Jon Mills 4(2) 2-2 16; Isaac Woods 3(2) 5-6 17; Eli Sykes 5(1) 3-4 16; Braxton Stanley 2(2) 1-1 11; Hunter Damron 0(1) 0-0 3; and Eli Rose 2 1-2 5. Totals: 16(8) 12-15 68.
Next up: Johnson Central (20-3) vs. Betsy Layne (13-8), 15th Region semifinals, 6:30 pm, Mar. 26; East Ridge’s season ends.
Betsy Layne……74
Pike Central…….62
Betsy Layne punched their ticket to the 15th Region tournament semifinals with a come-from-behind 74-62 win over Pike Central in a game played at the Appalachian Wireless arena on Monday night.
Chase Mims finished with a double-double for the Bobcats with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Brady Robinson added 22 points as Betsy Layne moved to 13-8. Andrew Kidd tossed in 11.
Bryce Adkins paced the Hawks (16-11) with 16 points while Josh Du Toit and Latee Childress tossed in 15 each. Kasope Lawrence added nine.
At Pikeville
(15th Region tournament)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
PC (16-11)…..20 6 17 19 – 62
BL (13-8)…….17 11 20 26 – 74
Scoring:
Pike Central (62) – Jaylan Rigdon 1 1-2 3; Josh Du Toit 4(2) 1-1 15; Bryce Adkins 2(4) 0-0 16; Latee Childress 1(3) 4-4 15; Kasope Lawrence 4 1-1 9; and Jaden Stewart 1 2-3 4. Totals: 13(9) 9-12 62.
Betsy Layne (74) – Shawn Howell 0(3) 0-0 9; Andrew Kidd 4 3-6 11; Brady Robinson 6(2) 4-6 22; Jacob Rainey 1 2-2 4; Chase Mims 11 2-4 24; and Byron Tackett 1 2-3 4. Totals: 23(5) 13-21 74.
Next up: Betsy Layne (13-8) vs. Johnson Central (20-3), 15th Region semifinals, 6:30 pm, Mar. 26; Pike Central’s season ends.