LEXINGTON — George Rogers Clark moved one step closer to becoming the first school to repeat as Sweet 16 boys’ state champions since Fairdale accomplished the feat in 1990 and ‘91.
The Cardinals overcame a sluggish slow start to rally, and knock off Lyon County, 60-56.
Trailing 51-50 with 6:44 remaining in the game, George Rogers Clark used an 8-0 run to take a 58-51 lead, and put the game away.
The Cardinals shot 19-of-41 from the floor while hitting 12-of-24 shot attempts from behind the arc.
Sam Parrish led the way with 15 points while Trent Edwards, and Reshaun Hampton each scored 12 points apiece. Jerone Morton scored 11 points, and finished with 10 rebounds while Tyleik Maxwell added 10 points.
Lyon County hit 23-of-48 shot attempts as Travis Perry led his team with 19 points. Brady Shoulders, and Jack Reddick each scored 14 apiece.
The Cardinals will face-off against 11th Region champion Frederick Douglas in one of Saturday’s semifinal. The other matchup will be Warren Central against Woodford County.
Lyon County started out hitting 5-of-11 shot attempts in the first quarter as Perry scored six points to give his team a 13-6 lead entering the second quarter.
George Rogers Clark struggled from the floor during the first eight minutes, hitting only 2-of-14 shot attempts.
The Cardinals began to heat up in the second quarter by knocking down seven 3-pointers while hitting 9-of-13 shot attempts from the floor to take a 30-24 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
George Rogers Clark shot 11-of-27 in the first half, including an 8-of-16 effort from 3-point range.
Parrish scored nine points while Maxwell added eight points, and Hampton added six points.
The Lyons hit 9-of-20 from the floor, and 4-of-11 from behind the arc in the first half while Shoulders had nine points, and Perry added eight points.
A 3-pointer by Hampton pushed the Cardinals’ lead to 43-35 with 3:27remaining in the third quarter, but Lyon County slowly chipped away at its deficit and by the end of the period, a 3-pointer by Perry cut George Rogers Clark’s lead to 50-46 entering the fourth quarter.
The Lyons opened the final quarter of play with a 5-0 run, taking a 51-50 lead at the 6:44 mark thanks to a 3-pointer by Perry.
The Cardinals responded with an 8-0 run, and managed to hold on to record the four-point victory.
