Martin County rallied in the final eight minutes to reach the 57th District tournament championship with a thrilling 62-59 win over Johnson Central on Wednesday.
The Cardinals, now 20-10, will play host Paintsville on Friday night. The Golden Eagles season ends at 14-16.
Luke Hale poured in a game-high 24 points and Brayden McKenzie added 17. Peyton Davis chipped in eight.
Austin Slone shared game-high honors with Hale, scoring 24 in the loss. David Fink finished with 14 and Ryan Rose added 11.
The Cardinals and Tigers will both move on to the 15th Region tournament next week in Pikeville.
At Paintsville
(57th District tournament)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
MC (20-10)…..15 8 18 21 – 61
JC (14-16)……10 18 18 13 – 59
Scoring:
Martin County (62) – Dray Duff 1(1) 0-1 5; Luke Hale 4(3( 7-10 24; Brayden McKenzie 6(1) 2-2 17; Peyton Davis 0(2) 2-2 8; Jacob Strugell 1 1-2 3; and Devan Maynard 2 1-2 5. Totals: 14(7) 13-19 62.
Johnson Central (59) – Mason Lawson 2(1) 0-0 7; Austin Slone 8(1) 5-6 24; David Fink 5 4-7 14; Ryan Rose 4 3-5 11; and Brayden Shepherd 0(1) 0-1 3. Totals: 19(3) 12-18 59.