Elizabethton wasn’t going to be deterred on Saturday night.
The Cyclones rallied and held on for a 64-58 victory over Greeneville in the Region 1-AA quarterfinals – upsetting the District 2-AA No. 2 seed.
With the win, Elizabethton moves into the semifinals to take on Sullivan East on Tuesday at 6 p.m., in a win-or-go home game. The semifinals and finals of the Region 1-AA tournament is set for Unicoi County.
Elizabethton took an early lead as Hayden Townsend and Alex Norwood scored early buckets, but a 10-0 Green Devil run pushed Greeneville into the lead. The Cyclones got a trey from Corey Russell but trailed 17-9 after a quarter of play.
Michael Robinson came alive in the second to help close the gap. After Greeneville pushed the lead back out, Russell scored five straight points and a Norwood basket pulled Elizabethton within 33-26 at the half.
The Cyclones methodically closed in the third quarter as back-to-back buckets from Norwood pulled EHS within one point. After GHS took a 41-38 lead, Adam Cornett knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 41-41 after three quarters of play.
In the fourth quarter, the teams swapped points as neither team was able to take a substantial lead. A Cyclone shot at the buzzer was off the mark and the teams went into overtime.
Townsend and Norwood helped EHS take a lead and Robinson drained a 3-pointer to give the Cyclones a five-point lead. From there, it was all Elizabethton as EHS secured the win at the free throw line.
Robinson led the way with 17 points, while Norwood added 14 points. Russell tallied 12 points. Townsend finished with 11 points.
