The Clay County Tigers advanced to the 13th Region semifinal with a 66-58 win over the Harlan County Black Bears Thursday at the Arena in Corbin. Clay County will take on the winner of the Corbin-Pineville game at 3:30 Saturday.
Clay County led by as much as 14 points in the second half before the Black Bears rallied to pull within two (59-57) with :59 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Alex Sergent.
However, Clay County hit seven-of-eight free throws in the final minute to beat the Black Bears by eight points. Harlan County missed its final four shots in the game as Clay County grabbed rebounds to secure the win. Tyler McGeorge, Lyttle, Brandon and Word all hit free throws in the final seconds.
McDaniel, a freshman, led the Tigers with 17 points while Kody Reed, who fouled out early in the fourth quarter added 13 points. Lyttle finished with 12 points and McGeorge had 11 points. Chad Massingale led the Black Bears, who finished the season with a 27-6 record with 18 points.
It was the fourth year in a row the Black Bears have lost in the tournament’s first-round.
