It’s completely understandable if Caldwell County and Union County fans forgot to breathe during the fourth quarter of Monday’s 2nd Region tournament first round game in Madisonville. In a wild back-and-forth affair, Caldwell (19-10) scored the game’s final four points to pull out a 67-64 victory and advance to Friday’s regional semifinals.
Derrin Boyd put Caldwell up 65-64 with two free throws with just 29 seconds to play.
Union’s Kale Gaither then left a shot in the lane short and Cayden Fraliex latched onto the rebound for the Tigers. He was fouled and sank two more free throws with 5.5 seconds remaining to give Caldwell its three-point lead.
But the Tigers still weren’t out of the woods. Gaither got off a good look at a 3-pointer from the left wing just ahead of the final horn. But his shot kicked off the left side of the rim, setting off a celebration on the Caldwell side of the floor as both fan bases tried to catch their breath.
Caldwell’s prize for Monday’s win is a matchup against third-ranked University Heights Academy in Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal tilt. The Blazers (29-4) already own an All ‘A’ Classic state championship this season. UHA breezed past Crittenden County 84-42 in Monday’s opener.
In the nightcap, Caldwell’s chances of advancing seemed to disappear when an eight-point third quarter lead turned into a seven-point deficit with 6 minutes left in the game.
Two free throws by Tripp Branch gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the night at 48-40.
But Union (19-9) countered with a 17-2 run, going up 57-50 on two Gaither charity tosses with 6:02 left in the contest.
The Braves still held a 61-55 lead following a Kaleb Kanipe layup with 3:05 to play.
The Tigers ran off the next eight points, though, going in front 63-61 on a Branch layup off a Boyd assist at the 1:58 mark.
Union went back up 64-63 on a Gaither three-point play with 1:37 to go.
But Caldwell, the best free-throwing shooting team in the 2nd Region, won the game at the free throw line late — and finished the night 22 out of 24 at the stripe.
Boyd finished with a game-high 21 points for Caldwell. He also grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists while going 10 of 11 at the free throw line. John Davis had 13 points and seven boards while Fraliex recorded a double-double, getting 10 points and 10 rebounds, helping Caldwell outrebound Union 38-29. Branch added 10 points for the Tigers.
It was Caldwell’s first win in the regional tournament since 2007.
Gaither had 16 points to pace Union. Cade Duncan tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds while Eli Wilkes had 11 points.
Caldwell now gets a rematch with UHA, with the winner advancing to the regional championship game on Saturday. The Tigers and Blazers hooked up in a shootout two weeks ago in Hopkinsville, with University Heights holding on for a 96-91 victory.