BORDEN — Borden coach Doc Nash slumped in his chair, resembling a man just finishing a marathon Friday night.

In a way he had, but he knows the finish line is still one game away.

The Braves finished perhaps the most grueling leg of their sectional triathlon on Friday, unseating two-time defending Class A champion Lanesville, 60-54.

Borden must now finish its journey tonight when it faces South Central, which defeated Rock Creek Christian 45-39 in the first semifinal. The championship game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

Borden, in the school’s long history, has never claimed a boys’ basketball sectional title in either the multiple or single-class versions.

“We know 2-0 isn’t good enough, not if we want to finish what we set out to start,” Nash said. “It’s going to take one more to get where we want to go.”



Borden-Lanesville

Almost like the villain in a horror movie, the Eagles came back relentlessly every time it appeared Borden had the victory finished.

The Braves led by eight in the first quarter, only to see Lanesville rally to pull ahead 24-23 in the second.

After leading 29-24 at the half, Borden grabbed an eight-point cushion early out of the locker room, but Lanesville charged back with another flurry to go ahead 41-39 early in the fourth period.

Just when a 13-2 Borden run — capped by a Chris Beam 3-pointer — put the Braves up 52-43 with 2:20 remaining, Lanesville wouldn’t see its season die.

The Eagles came back again, pulling within 54-50 on a Cody Hussung 3-pointer. Two baskets by junior Jarrett Beach inched Lanesville to within 56-54, and Borden held a slim 57-54 cushion after Beam made 1-of-2 at the free throw line with 35.7 seconds remaining.

Hussung attempted a 3 from the right wing to tie and, after a scramble for the rebound, Beach missed another chance to cut the gap to one. Dalton Wagoner grabbed the rebound and converted two free throws with 17.8 seconds left in the contest.

“Lanesville is going to be the team in this sectional that people are going to have to beat every year,” Nash said. “They’ve built their program to that level and tonight’s a perfect example of the winners at that school. I was never comfortable until I heard that buzzer the last time.”

It was a charged atmosphere, with fans lining the bleachers wall-to-wall on both sides. The Borden community came out in force as the school moved nearer to capturing the sectional crown that has eluded it throughout history.

The gym erupted into a deafening roar when Beam canned his 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.

“I’m proud for my guys that they got to play in this type of basketball game and be able to come out of it with a victory,” said Nash. “When Chris hit that shot, this place was wild. That was an amazing moment.”

Beam had three 3s and 17 points in the win. Kaden Nolot, held scoreless in the opening round against Henryville, had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

Wagoner also reached double figures for the second consecutive game with 10 points.

“It was a strong effort against a great team,” said Nash. “Everybody had to contribute to get us this win.”



Rock Creek-South Central

The Rebels trailed throughout the first three quarters, but outscored the Lions 21-9 in the final period and scored a 45-39 victory.

South Central scored the final nine points in the game, tying the contest on a 3-point play from William Hockenberry with 1:30 to go.

A five-second call against the Lions’ Ben Todd gave possession back to the Rebels, and Cody Jobe scored a bucket in the lane with 58 seconds to go that gave South Central the lead for good.

Rock Creek had two final chances to tie when Evan McGregory attempted a contested basket in the lane that rolled off the rim. Jobe was then fouled and missed the front end of a one-on-one. Rock Creek’s Aldwin Shade tried a 3 to win it but misfired.

“I held my breath maybe that whole last minute,” said Rebel coach Rob Murawski.

George Barber scored 14 points to lead the Lions while McGregory added 13. Barber scored his team’s first eight points and had 10 in the first quarter to help Rock Creek to a 12-10 advantage through one.

Randall Hertle had 14 points and 12 rebounds for South Central. Jobe added 10.



CLASS A BORDEN SECTIONAL

ROCK CREEK 12 6 12 9—39

SOUTH CENTRAL 10 4 10 21—45

Rock Creek — Barber 14, McGregory 13, Todd 0, Carver 2, Dale 8, Major 0, Shade 2.

South Central — Higdon 8, Keys 2, Hockenberry 9, Jobe 10, Hertle 14, Lopp 2.

Three-point field goals — Rock Creek 0; South Central 2 (Higdon, Jobe).

Rebounds — South Central 31 (Hertle 12); Rock Creek 20 (Todd, McGregory 4).

Turnovers — South Central 12, Rock Creek Christian 8.



LANESVILLE 9 15 13 17—54

BORDEN 15 14 10 21 —60

Lanesville — Hammond 7, Kissel 2, Hussung 9, Conder 7, Beach 18, McCulloch 0, Horton 4, Hammond 0.

Borden — Ooley 8, Beam 17, Kirchgessner 6, Potts 0, Nolot 14, Chester 4, Wagoner 10.

Three-point field goals — Lanesville 1 (Hussung); Borden 4 (Beam 3, Ooley).

Rebounds — Lanesville 23 (Walter 6); Borden 29 (Nolot 14).

Turnovers — Lanesville 10, Borden 10.