ATHENS, Tenn. — Thirty-two minutes was not enough to decide which team would move to the Region 3-4A final and which team would turn in their uniforms for the season.
It took a miracle 3-pointer with time running out in regulation and solid free throw shooting in overtime to send Cleveland into a Thursday matchup against McMinn County in the region championship after a 49-46 win against Walker Valley.
The Cherokee defeated Franklin County 72-61 in the first semifinal game.
“I'm proud of our guys,” said Blue Raiders head coach Reggie Tucker. “We have to get off to a better start, though. These starts are killing me. We were down 17-5 (in the first quarter), but at the same time we were still in it. We've got some guys who can score in bunches. I'm proud of our guys the way they competed and stayed with it.”
But for a missed free throw with less than 30 seconds in regulation, the Mustangs had a chance to be the team going against the Cherokees in the championship.
“We had our chances and then they just made some plays down the stretch and we didn't. That's the name of the game,” said Walker Valley head coach Will Campbell who's Mustangs led 17-5 early in the second quarter. “That was a big three they hit to tie it up. Our guys played really ahed and did a good job. I thought we competed for 36 minutes and that's what you want this time of year. We just came up a little short.”
The first half ended in a 20-20 tie.
“We don't worry about first quarter scores. First quarter scores don't mean anything,” said Tucker. “We battled the whole way and they did, too.”
Jasen Brooks led the Blue Raiders (23-8) with 18 points while Judah Sault also had a big inside game with 13.
Hobert Brabson was also big inside the paint with 18 points for the Mustangs who finished the season with a 20-12 mark. Cash Coates was again solid with 15.
The Raiders took a 26-22 lead early in the third quarter. The Mustangs closed it to 28-27 late before an 8-5 run sent Cleveland to the fourth with a 36-32 advantage.
The Mustangs battled back in the fourth quarter to take the lead, 42-39, 10-3 run of their own. Cleveland cut it to 42-41 with a Sault 2-pointer. With 1:20 on the clock Brooks picked up his fifth foul and the Mustangs' Tayvon Barber gave Walker Valley a 44-41 lead from the free-throw line.
The Mustangs missed the front end of a 1 and 1 with 17 seconds left that may have given the win to Walker Valley. Instead, Cleveland's Camden Gober, who a pair of 3s in the third quarter hit possibly the biggest trey of his career from the deep right wing to send the game into overtime tied at 44-44.
The Mustangs and Raiders traded free throw to open OT scoring. A Walker Valley turnover with 45 seconds left led to a missed shot by the Raiders. But a jump ball call went to possession Cleveland with 19 seconds on the clock. With time running down, the Mustangs were forced to send the Raiders to the free-throw line where Alex Hyder dropped in 2 of 4 shots, the last with just over a second left to lock up the win for Cleveland.
“Shout out to Will. Those guys competed for him. They didn't want to lose, you could tell. That's a sign of a great coach that's running a great program. Shout out to Walker Valley. They gave us everything and more tonight,” Praised Tucker.
The Raiders will return to Athens Thursday to battle for the region title. The winner earns the right to stay home for next weeks substate while the loser will be on the road.
“We're back on their (McMinn's) home court which is fine. I'll play them anywhere. We'll play them in Benny Monroe Stadium. I don't care as long as we're playing,” said Tucker.
Cherokee 72, Rebels 61: Reese Frazier led McMinn County with 17 points while Tucker Monroe added 16, Hayden Smith booked 14 and Caden Hester tossed in 12 for the Cherokees in the semifinal win.
Kai Baker led all scoring with 22 points while teammate Sam Vincent scored 16 for the Rebels.
The Tribe had to play a bit of comeback basketball after trailing 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. McMinn (24-7) bounced back with 17 second quarter point to take a 35-30 lead into halftime.
The Rebels (14-16) outscored McMinn in the third quarter 19-16, but still trailed 51-49 to begin the final eight minutes. The Cherokees stepped on the gas offensively in the fourth piling in 21 points and shut down Franklin County defensively holding the Rebels to just 12 to seal the win.
Summaries
WALKE VALLEY 13 7 12 12 2 — 46
CLEVELAND 5 15 16 8 5 — 49
WALKER VALLEY (46) — Hobert Brabson 18, Cash Coates 15, Barber 7, Sausville 5, Campbell 1.
CLEVELAND (49) — Jasen Brooks 18, Judah Sault 13, Gober 9, Thomas 2, Adams, Hyder 5, Leeper 2.
3-point goals: Walker Valley 3 (Brabson, Sausville, Coates); Cleveland 5 (Gober 3, Sault, Brooks).
Records: Walker Valley
FRANKLIN CO. 20 10 19 12 — 61
MCMINN CO. 18 17 16 21 — 72
FRANKLIN CO. (61) — Kai Baker 22, Sam Vincent 16, Johnson 9, Fuqua 6, Rigsby 8, Sanchez, Stephens.
MCMINN CO. (72) — Reese Frazier 17, Tucker Monrow 16, Hayden Smith 14, Caden Hester 12, Evans 6, Peak 4, Mullins 3.
3-point goals: Franklin County 4 (Baker 3, Vincent); McMinn County 5 (Hester 2, Monroe 2, Mullins).
Records: Franklin County 14-16; McMinn County 24-8.
(Email Richard Roberts at richardvol55@yahoo.com)