The Elizabethton boys’ basketball team picked up a crucial win on Friday night.
The Cyclones claimed the No. 2 seed in the Three Rivers Conference along with a berth in the Region 1-AA tournament with a 58-46 win at Sullivan East. In the girls’ game, the Lady Cyclones were unable to secure the No. 2 seed after dropping a tough 54-43 decision to the Lady Patriots.
In the boys’ game, it was a tight battle from the opening tip.
The game featured a number of lead changes in the first quarter as the teams played to a 13-13 stalemate in the first quarter.
Elizabethton edged ahead in the second quarter to a slim 29-28 lead after Brayden Phillips hit some key shots in the second quarter for EHS.
The second half was much the same.
Neither team was able to get much breathing room as the game played out like a heavyweight battle. EHS pushed the lead to four points at the end of the third quarter.
Elizabethton, however, took full control in the final two minutes of the game with an 8-0 run to secure the crucial road win.
Nico Ashley had 17 points to pace Elizabethton, while Phillips finished with 14 points. Parker Hughes, who came up big in the second half, had 10 points.
Donte Earnest and William Willocks had eight and six points, respectively.
In the girls’ game, it was a hard-fought battle.
After East jumped out to a 5-0 lead, the Lady Cyclones answered the bell by reeling off the next 14 points – including four points from Kaitlin Bailey and key 3-pointers from Lina Lyon and Kaylen Shell.
The Lady Patriots got things settled down as the teams swapped the lead in the second quarter before EHS took a narrow 21-20 advantage into the half.
Morgan Headrick took over for the Lady Cyclones in the third quarter as she scored 10 points in the frame.
However, Sullivan East was able to keep pace as Elizabethton maintained a one-point lead going to the fourth.
In the final eight minutes, points were hard to come by for the Lady Cyclones. East held EHS to just five points in the quarter and secured the win by limiting Elizabethton.
Headrick had 14 points. Bailey and Lyon had seven points apiece, while Torrie Roberts scored six points.
