Third time was the charm for the Cyclones.
Elizabethton was led by 20 points and nine rebounds by Conley Bowers in their 66-62 District 1-AA championship victory over Sullivan South Friday inside the Dyer Dome in Bluff City.
Bowers received the tournament MVP during the awards ceremony at the end of the contest.
After getting swept by the Rebels in the regular season, the Cyclones (20-10) left no doubt against the Three Rivers Conference champions — taking the 32-21 lead at halftime.
The Rebels would make their noise in the third quarter, outscoring Elizabethton 10-7 by senior Cyclone Tyler Nichols erupted in the fourth quarter, drilling 11 of his final 18 points in the final frame.
In the past two contests in the regular season, the Rebels would by a combined margin of three points, and looked to continue the trend being led by 13 points from Will Blair and a pair of 11-point performance from Garrett Bowery and Josh Booker.
The Cyclones had their own backup with Austin Cornett hitting double figures with 15 points — 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final frame.
Bo Pless added seven points, Michael Robinson aided with three and Teve Mushyamunda hit a bucket for the Cyclones.
Sullivan South fell to 17-10 with the loss.
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Tyler Nichols, Bo Pless and Austin Cornett were named to the District 1-AA all-tournament team for Elizabethton.
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In the consolation contest, Sullivan East’s Garrett Johnson knocked in a game-winning three-pointer with time expiring to give the Patriots a 60-59 win over Unicoi County.
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Elizabethton and Sullivan South await the decisions of the District 2-AA tournament Saturday to determine their Region 1-AA opponents.
The Cyclones will face the loser of Chuckey-Doak/Cumberland Gap and the Rebels take on the winner of that contest. With both teams finishing in the top two of District 1-AA, both teams will host their games. Region 1-AA tournament opening round games, for boys, are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Feb 24.
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