44TH DISTRICT BOYS HOOPS: Eagles battle past Berea

Nathan Hutchinson, Richmond Register, Ky.
·2 min read

Feb. 22—Nathan Hutchinson

Madison Southern's leading scorer — Jay Rose — was on the bench with an ice pack on his ankle.

The team's standout guard duo — Braden and Zach Hudson — was battling foul trouble.

And early in the fourth quarter, Berea Community pulled within a point.

"A lot of stuff happened, but we got through it," Madison Southern coach Bill Bevins said. "That's the most important thing. Survive and advance. We get another shot to come out here and play."

The Eagles (19-12) advanced.

It certainly wasn't easy, though.

Southern hit 14-of-17 free throws in the fourth quarter and pulled away late for a 73-58 win over Berea Community (9-22) in the semifinals of the 44th District Tournament at Alumni Coliseum.

Zach Hudson had 22 points and eight rebounds before fouling out and and Rose had 16 points before leaving the game.

Cameron Puckett had 17 points to lead the Pirates.

Southern advances to the district championship and will face Madison Central on Friday at EKU.

"I give Berea all the credit in the world," Bevins said. "They played their guts out. They played super hard. Every loose ball, it seemed like they got it. I give them a ton of credit."

Berea hadn't won a game since Feb. 7, but took an early four-point lead (11-7) and hang right with the defending district champs all game.

The Eagles finished the first quarter on a 12-0 run and took a 38-25 lead into halftime.

Berea, however, outscored Southern 19-9 in the third quarter.

"Our kids showed up and worked their butts off," Berea coach Eric Fields said. "Things really started to click for us in the past few weeks of the season. I'm proud of the effort and everything they do. We executed our gameplan. We just came up a little short. The worst feeling in the world is to come up just short for those seniors."

Two free throws by Finley Blevins got Berea within three points after three quarters (47-44). The freshman hit two more free throws early in the fourth to make it a one-point game.

Brett Erslan started an 11-0 Southern run with a jumper in the lane. Zach Hudson hit a three-pointers and hit two free throws as well during that surge.

Erslan finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Braden Hudson had nine points, eight assists and six rebounds. Avery Davidson had nine points and four rebounds. Casen Nobbe had five points and three rebounds. Micah Whitaker had one point.

Tommy Banderman had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Pirates. Jack Hemenway had 11 points. Blevins had nine points and three rebounds. Canon Cummins, Liam Brewer and Dolton Robinson had two points each.

The teams combined for 41 turnovers (21 by Berea).