Photo credits: Dusty Layne/Ray Justice
Pikeville and Pike County Central advanced to the 15th Region boys’ tournament championship game with semifinal-round wins before over 5,500 fans at the Appalachian Wireless Arena on Saturday night.
It sets up an all-Pike County matchup in the title game for the first time since 2011 and lands the Hawks in it for the first time since 2004.
Here is a recap:
Pikeville………..71
Martin County…46
Pikeville used a big second-half performance to pull away and beat Martin County, 71-46, in a game marred by 38 personal foul calls.
Laithan Hall led four Panthers, now 30-2, in double figures with 16 points. Keian Worrix finished with 15 while Rylee Samons scored 14 and Nick Robinson added 10.
Brady Dingess paced the Cardinals, whose season ended at 24-8, with 13 points. Jacob Sturgill tallied 11 and Jordan Dalton net 10.
At Pikeville
(15th Region semifinals)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
PK (30-2)….20 13 18 20 – 71
MC (24-8)….9 19 9 9 – 46
Scoring:
Pikeville (71) – Tate Walters 4 0-0 8; Laithan Hall 2(4) 0-1 16; Keian Worrix 4(2) 1-2 15 Rylee Samons 6 2-3 14; Nick Robinson 6 0-0 12; and Alex Rogers 0 6-6 6. Totals: 22(6) 9-12 71.
Martin County (46) – Brady Dingess 3 7-9 13; Luke Hale 3 2-3 8; Jordan Dalton 4 2-3 10; Matt Linville 1 0-0 2; Peyton Davis 0 2-2 2; and Jacob Sturgill 5 1-2 11. Totals: 16 14-19 46.
Pike Central…….87
Betsy Layne……74
Pike Central pulled away from Betsy Layne in the game’s final four minutes to advance with an 87-74 win in the nightcap.
Jaden Stewart finished with a game-high 33 points, including seven, three-point baskets. Josh Du Tit followed with 24 while Jaylan Rigdon tallied 15 and Peyton Compton tossed in 11.
Brady Robinson finished with 21 points to lead the Bobcats (23-8) and Chase Mims net 20. Jordan Frazier tallied 18 and Andrew Kidd added 10.
At Pikeville
(15th Region semifinals)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
BL (23-8)……16 8 25 25 – 74
PC (15-12)….16 19 17 35 – 87
Scoring:
Betsy Layne (74) – Jordan Frazier 7 4-4 18; Shawn Howell 1(1) 0-0 5; Andrew Kidd 4 2-2 10; Brady Robinson 6(3) 0-0 21; and Chase Mims 9 2-6 20. Totals: 27(4) 8-12 74.
Pike Central (87) – Jaylan Rigdon 6 3-6 15; Josh Du Toit 3(2) 12-16 24; Peyton Compton 1(3) 1-4 12; and Jaden Stewart 6(7) 0-0 33. Totals: 16(12) 19-28 87.