Happy Valley looked to hold the upper hand late on Tuesday night. Elizabethton, however, made sure it didn’t stay that way.
The Cyclones rallied back to take a 52-47 victory over the Warriors in the District 1-AA consolation game inside Treadway Gymnasium.
Elizabethton will open the Region 1-AA tournament on Saturday at South Greene, while Happy Valley will travel to Grainger.
The Warriors set the tone early as Bryce Carter and Kevin Whitaker made shots to give HV an early 5-0 lead. Elizabethton, however countered with buckets from Eric Wilson and Evan Perkins. The Warriors pushed the lead back to five points with a 3-pointer from Jake Surcey to take a 14-9 lead into the second quarter.
Adam Cornett kicked off a 9-0 Elizabethton run to start the second as the Cyclones pulled back into the lead. After Brayden Sams snapped the EHS run, the teams traded points as Elizabethton held a 22-20 advantage at the break.
In the third quarter, Bryce Carter came out firing as he reeled off six straight points. That gave HV the momentum as they pushed the lead to six points by the end of the quarter and they led by 12 early in the fourth.
Elizabethton, however, rallied in a big way.
Cornett hit three 3-pointers and Nico Ashley added a bucket to pull EHS back within one point. After the teams swapped the lead, Wilson put the Cyclones up for good.
Cornett had 17 points, while Perkins and Ashley had nine points apiece. Wilson finished with seven points.
Carter finished with 20 points, while Sams had 11 points.
