DUNLAP, Tenn. — The Lions roared last.
Cannon County rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Notre Dame 77-65 in the Region 4-AA tournament semifinals Friday at Sequatchie County High School.
Cannon’s Lions advanced to the championship game slated for tonight at 7 CST. The Irish ended their season with a 15-16 record.
Cannon’s Lions will face Livingston Academy, which ended Bledsoe County’s season with a 60-48 win.
“We’re small across the board so we have to start with high energy,” Livingston coach Jimmy Miller said. “When you’re 5-8 across the board, you have to learn how to move without the ball really well.”
The Wildcats blitzed Bledsoe in the first quarter and had a 22-4 lead after eight minutes. They led 31-13 after a first half full of turnovers. The lead stood at 44-27 heading to the fourth quarter, when the Pikeville team attempted its comeback. The Warriors pulled within eight on two occasions but couldn’t get any closer.
“They’re a good team so I knew they’d make a run,” Miller said. “I was waiting for that run in the first half.”
Taylor Warden led the Warriors with 27 points and Nathanial Collins added 11. Wade Eldridge led the Wildcats with 18 points. Xander Miller added 13 points and Drew Gore had 10.
“I knew they were going to come out strong and they did, and we had some early turnovers that hurt,” Bledsoe County coach Mark Cagle said. “I told the guys that we had a good season.”
The Wildcats’ season will continue against the Cannon County team that won both matchups earlier this season.
On Friday, Josh Ruchlen led Cannon County with 32 points against the Irish. Tyler Byrd and Kealey Green paced the Irish by combining for 55 points with Byrd scoring 30.
“We got out of control on offense and we gave up second-chance points in the second half,” Notre Dame coach J.P. Nerbun said. “We looked tired tonight. I’m not sure why. It’s been a long season.”
Cannon County led 22-18 after the first quarter, but Notre Dame found its flow and pulled ahead 28-18 by holding the Lions scoreless for the first three minutes of the second quarter.
The Lions climbed back to within 31-30 at halftime by dominating on the boards, which resulted in eight second-chance points in that quarter alone. Byrd and Green combined for 26 of Notre Dame’s points in the first half, while Ruchlen had 19 for the Lions before the break.
The Lions roared loudest in the fourth quarter. They scored on every possession in the final period to tally 28 points on all 14 of those trips.
“It was ugly early, but we finally wore them down,” Lions coach Matt Rigsby said. “They were getting out of their comfort zone.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.