The Rangers had nothing to lose on Friday night, and took advantage of it.
The sixth-seeded Rangers picked up a 67-56 upset over No. 3 South Greene in the District 1-A Tournament at Daniel Boone High School. The win advances Unaka to Saturday’s semifinals against No. 2 Cloudland and also secured a Region 1-A tournament berth.
In the early going, the Rangers found themselves in an early hole. The Rebels jumped out to a 14-2 lead six minutes into the game. Kyler Lewis broke the SG run with a jumper, and Joe Searfoss drained a 3-pointer to pull Unaka within 16-7 at the end of the first quarter.
After SG extended the lead to 14 pints in the opening minutes of the second, a quick 6-0 run sparked by a Chambers bucket tried the gap to seven points. Searfoss knocked down a pair of 3-pointers that helped cut the SG lead to 29-23 at the half.
The Rebels extended the lead back to 10 points to start the second half, but Unaka responded quickly. Lewis and Chambers hit shots to spark a run that saw Unaka pull within one on a Lewis runner. South Greene extended the lead to six points heading to the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was all Unaka.
Gary Wright opened the scoring and a 9-2 run gave UHS a 46-45 lead with 5:08 to play. That was the turning point as the Rangers pushed the lead to seven points quickly, and never looked back as Unaka iced the win from the free throw line.
Postgame Audio
Unaka Head Coach Aaron Dugger
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