Hot-shooting Lions end Russell's tourney run, advance to region final

MOREHEAD, Ky. — What looked like a fairy tale story must have had Stephen King write the final chapter.

With a major upset being, a furious scoring run from the Boyd County Lions proved to be too much to overcome for Russell, as the Red Devils fell 76-71 in the Region 16 semifinals at Ellis T. Johnson Arena on the campus of Morehead State on Monday night.

"I thought we played a great first half, took advantage of opportunities and outworked them," said Russell coach Derek Cooksey. "We knew (Boyd) was going to come with a run. We anticipated it and I thought we kinda staved it off there at the beginning of the third, but we just didn't capitalize.

"You've got to tip the cap. They're ranked state wide and very high. They're regional contenders every year and coach Anderson does a great job and they just come at you in waves.”

Boyd improves their record to 28-6 overall. The Red Devils end the season with a record of 22-6.

Four different scorers reached double figures for Boyd. Malachi Payne led the way with 23 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds. Jacob Spurlock finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Gunner Woods had 16 points and Ethan Rardon had 11.

Russell was paced by Ryder Burgess with a game-high 28 points and 3 steals. Senior Tyler Cordial finished his career with a double-double, scoring 15 points and 12 rebounds. Kaiden Benge had 13 points, pulled down 6 boards and a pair of steals.

The first half couldn't have gone any better for Russell, as they got contributions from its main cast of characters.

The lead changed hands three times early until Boyd County surged ahead 16-9 on a 3-pointer by Woods at the 2:45 mark. But a 3-pointer by Cordial ignited a 10-3 run that ended on a 3-pointer by Burgess that tied the game at 19-all to end the quarter.

A reverse layup by Spurlock to start the second quarter gave the Lions the lead. Payne’s triple put the lead at 30-25  but Burgess took over and made a driving layup, drained a trifecta and then hit a spinning layup for a 32-30 lead with 2:54 on the clock.

Payne drove for another basket to tied the game only to have Russell close the half with 5 unanswered points including a tip-in by Cordial at the buzzer and Russell led 37-32.

Burgess made a layup with 5:33 on the third quarter clock and Russell had a 44-37 lead.

That’s when the Lions began their first run of the half.

Two free throws each by Payne and Woods made it 44-41. A putback by Cordial interrupted the run but Spurlock sank two foul shots and Payne kicked a pass over to Woods at the top of the key for a triple to tie the game back up at 46-all at the 3:16 mark.

Burgess would answer with a bomb on the other end to give the Devils a brief lead before Spurlock’s 3-point play tied the score again. A basket by Taylor White for Russell and two foul shots by Payne led the game tied at the end of the quarter, 51-51.

Boyd County began its second run at the start of the fourth quarter when Spurlock scored on a pull up 3-pointer for a 54-51 lead. Rardon’s baseline drive made it 58-51 before Cordial’s 3-pointer momentarily stopped the bleeding.

The Lions then went on a 10-2 run capped by layup by Caleb Rimmer off a pass from Woods with 3:30 to play and it was 68-56.

The Red Devils managed to cut the deficit to 74-68 on a runner by Being with 26 seconds left, but a free throw by Rimmer made it a three score lead with only 25 seconds to play.

"We kinda got a little bit tired. We ran multiple defenses, but then we got comfortable in our man and we put guys on islands, and sooner or later, they took advantage,” said Cooksey.

“Looking back there's about four or five possessions that blew the game wide open and those were plays we discussed about not letting them get 3-point plays."

Despite the heartbreaking loss, Cooksey was proud of the performance of his team, not only on Monday but for the entire season.

"We didn't have a senior last year and it was a challenge because you look to senior leadership. That's what special about these two, Tyler Cordial and Issac Craft, they've waited for their opportunities," said Cooksey. "Tyler has played behind or with some of the better post players to play at Russell. He played with Brady Bell and Damon Charles, so he waited for his opportunity."

Russell 19 18 14 20 = 71

Boyd County 19 13 19 25 = 76

BOYD COUNTY (27-6): Jacob Spurlock 5 2 4-5 20, Gunner Woods 1 4 2-3 16, Clark Huff 0 0 0-0 0, Ethan Rardon 1 3 0-0 11, Malachi Payne 5 2 8-10 24, Caleb Rimmer 2 0 1-2 5, Jacob Carter 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 11 15-20 76. Rebounds: (O-6, D-25) 31 (Spurlock 11, Rardon 5, Payne 5, Rimmer 5). Assists: 7 (Spurlock 2, Rardon 14, Payne 2). Steals: 6 (Spurlock 2, Woods 2, Rardon 2). Blocks: 1 (Rimmer). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.

RUSSELL (22-5): Gabe Pridemore 1 0 2-2 4, Jagger Prickett 3 0 1-4 7, Ryder Burgess 5 6 0-2 28, Kaiden Benge 4 1 2-3 13, Corbin McGrath 0 0 0-0 0, Taylor White 1 0 2-3 4, Tyler Cordial 6 1 0-0 15. Totals: 20 8 7-14 71. Rebounds: (O-8, D-14) 22 (Cordial 8, Burgess 5). Assists: 9 (Pridemore 2, Burgess 2, Benge 2). Steals: 5 (Benge 3). Blocks: 4 (Cordial 2, Prickett, Burgess). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.