Unaka saw the season come to a close in a heartbreaking fashion.
The Rangers were unable to force overtime in a 60-57 decision to Cosby in the Region 1-A semifinals at West Ridge on Tuesday night. The loss brings Unaka’s season to a close, while Cosby advanced to Thursday’s Region 1-A Championship.
Unaka opened the game quickly.
John Hardin opened the scoring with a bucket, and Rylan Crabtree, Aiden Walsh, and Hardin answered a Cosby bucket to give Unaka an 8-3 lead midway through the first. The Eagles, however, bounced back by going on a 13-2 run before Mason Wilson hit a trey to cut the Unaka deficit to 16-13 after a quarter of play.
Cosby pushed the lead to nine points to open the second quarter before the teams traded buckets. Unaka was able to rim the Cosby lead with free throws in the closing seconds to pull with 33-26 at the half.
The second half was a battle.
Hardin opened the third-quarter scoring with an old-fashioned 3-point play before the Eagles pushed the lead back out. Unaka, however, kept answering with timely shots to stay in striking distance as Cosby led 51-43 at the end of the third.
The Rangers opened the fourth as Austin Lambert, Walsh, and Hardin combined for a 6-0 run to open the quarter to close UHS within two points.
After Cooper Davis scored the next three points for the Eagles, Crabtree answered with a big 3-pointer with 3:24 to play.
Crabtree and Hardin hit shots to get Unaka within one, but Cruz Coggins answered each bucket with a pair of free throws. Unaka was unable to connect with a pair of shots in the closing seconds to force overtime.
Hardin finished with 25 points to lead Unaka, while Crabtree had 14 points. Walsh scored eight points.
Davis led Cosby with 16 points. Coggins finished with 15 points, and Devonte Wigfall had 10 points.
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