Crittenden County started strong, but Union County had an answer in the second quarter and held off the Rockets 54-42 Thursday to advance to the Second Region Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2011.
Sawyer Towery’s 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter gave Crittenden an 18-13 lead, but Union County responded with a 16-8 second quarter run as Logan Thomas had six points and five rebounds in the quarter to put the Braves up 29-26 at halftime.
Union was able to pull way slightly in the third quarter to go up 38-31 and push the lead to 10 points three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Crittenden County, looking for their first win in the region tournament since 1957, got 17 points from Logan Belt and 11 points from Sawyer Towery. Their season ends with a record of 7-20.
Union County got 17 points from Thomas and 11 points from Elex Dunford. The Braves (15-15) advance to Saturday’s 8pm semifinal against University Heights, who beat Hopkins County Central 104-74 in Thursday’s opener. It was Union’s first region tourney win since 2011 when they beat UHA 49-46.
The other semifinal Saturday at 2pm pits Christian County and host Henderson County.