Unaka was unable to keep pace late for an upset.
The Rangers came up short in a 71-50 decision to top-seed North Greene on Saturday night in the District 1-A Boys Semifinals at Happy Valley.
With the loss, Unaka moves into Tuesday night’s consolation game against University High – who fell 82-70 to Hampton in the other semifinal.
Joseph Slagle got things started with a 3-pointer, but North Greene scored 16 of the next 18 points with Joe-Z Blamo scoring the lone Unaka bucket in the stretch.
Landon Ramsey hit a free throw to snap the run and Brayden Powell knocked down a jumper to trim the Ranger deficit to 16-8 after a quarter of play.
After the Huskies hit a jumper to kick off the second quarter, Powell scored four straight as the Rangers cut the gap to six points early in the quarter.
The teams traded runs with Slagle hitting back-to-back 3-pointers as Unaka cut the gap to 23-18 midway through the quarter.
North Greene, however, went on a 10-3 run to stretch the lead back out.
Ramsey provided a spark for the Rangers to pull back within nine at the half.
Unaka pulled within eight points during the third quarter as Ramsey scored five early points. The Huskies, however, pulled back out with a quick 8-0 run to take a 48-34 advantage into the final quarter.
North Greene opened the fourth quarter quickly with a quick 8-0 run to open the stanza. Unaka battled back with a Slagle 3-pointer but were unable to answer with a run of their own as the teams traded shots the rest of the way.
L. Ramsey had 16 points to lead Unaka, while Slagle added 12 points. Blamo and Powell had seven and six points, respectively.
Jasper Brand led North Greene with 21 points.
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