In what was an incredibly exciting 50th District tournament final Friday evening at Williamsburg High School, the South Laurel Cardinals were able to pull out a 65-64 win over Corbin in overtime.
The Redhounds got out a 7-0 start, and led by ten points, 15-5, at the end of the first quarter. They managed to extend their lead out to 14 points, 29-15, by the half. Freshman Ryder Akins scored ten of the team’s 15 points in quarter one, and scored all of their 14 points in quarter two. His 24 total points scored in the first half included five three-point buckets.
Akins would go on to lead all scoring on the night with a total of 33.
An 8-0 run by the Cardinals to begin the second half of play cut the lead to 29-23, but Corbin was eventually able to answer back and held on to a 45-34 lead going into the final quarter of regulation.
Two free throws by South Laurel senior Jordan Mabe brought the game to within two points, 45-43, with 5:15 remaining. The Cards missed a few shots that would’ve put them ahead and were out-rebounded by the Hounds, who were able to make baskets on their end that it seemed might give them the championship win.
Corbin could not manage to completely put South away, however, as Coach Jeff Davis’ squad continued to find ways to stay in the game. With only 16 second left on the clock, two Jordan Mabe free throws tied the game up at 51-51. Neither team could score before time ran out, sending the contest into overtime.
With the game once again tied, 59-59, this time with one minute to go in the overtime period, senior Redhound Connor Middleton made two free throws to put Corbin back up by two. Senior Colton Rawlings drained a three-point shot for the Cards, which was answered on the other end of the court a few moments later when Corbin junior Eli Pietrowski hit a three of his own.
A Jordan Mabe three-point bucket with just four ticks remaining put South up, 65-64. The Hounds got one more possession, but could not get a shot off in time.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 23-8 on the year. Meanwhile, Corbin drops to 19-10 as both teams now set their sights on next week’s 13th Region championship tournament. Brackets for the regional tournament will be determined tomorrow (Saturday). The News Journal will provide those details as soon as they become available.
2025 50th District championship final:
South Laurel 65, Corbin 64 (OT)
S. Laurel – 5 10 19 17 14 – 65
Corbin – 15 14 16 6 13 – 64
SLHS – Josh Steele 5, Max Fullmer 7, Colton Rawlings 11, Jordan Mabe 27, Kaden Taylor 15
CHS – Ryder Akins 33, Connor Middleton 11, Zach Reynolds 3, Dawson Farmer 2, Evan Ellis 9, Eli Pietrowski 6
50th District All-Tournament Team:
Cooper Prewitt (Williamsburg); Henry Bowling and Bryson Mahan (Whitley County); Ryder Akins, Eli Pietrowski and Evan Ellis (Corbin); Joshua Steele, Max Fullmer, Colton Rawlings and Kaden McQueen (South Laurel). South Laurel’s Jordan Mabe was named tournament Most Valuable Player
