Johnson Central built on its lead in the third quarter and went on to beat defending 15th Region champion Martin County, 78-69, in the opening round of the 57th District tournament played at Magoffin County on Tuesday night.
The Golden Eagles, now 19-2, will face either Paintsville or Magoffin County in the title game on Friday. Martin County’s season ends at 8-13.
Cory VanHoose led five Golden Eagle players in double figures with 21 points. Isaiah May followed with 14 and Ryleh McKenzie tossed in 12. John King added 11, Grant Rice net 10 and Kamen Slone scored eight.
Brady Dingess paced the Cardinals with a game-high 27 points and Parker Davis tallied 25.
At Salyersville
(57th District tournament)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
MC (8-13)……18 14 17 20 – 69
JC (19-2)….….24 12 23 19 – 78
Scoring:
Martin County (69) – Brady Dingess 8(2) 5-7 27; Luke Hale 1 0-0 2; Jacob Butcher 3(1) 1-2 10; Jordan Dalton 2 1-2 5; and Parker Davis 4(5) 2-2 25. Totals: 18(8) 9-13 69.
Johnson Central (78) – Cory VanHoose 7(1) 4-5 21; Isaiah May 5 4-4 14; Ryleh McKenzie 2(1) 5-6 12; John King 5 1-1 11; Grant Rice 2(1) 3-4 10; Kamen Slone 1(2) 0-0 8; and Connor Lemaster 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23(5) 17-20 78.
Next up: Johnson Central (19-2) vs. Paintsville (10-8)/Magoffin County (12-11), championship, 7 pm, Mar. 19.