By JIM STEELE
mckenzierebels.com

ATWOOD - McKenzie had a chance to be at home for the first round of the Region 7A tournament Friday night. It had a chance to play for its third straight District 13A championship. It had a chance to avoid traveling to one of the top-four Class A basketball programs for the opening round of the next level.

A little formality like Big Sandy got in the way.

The Red Devils were more intense, started strong, then overcame an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit to stun McKenzie 76-74. Big Sandy will face Clarksburg in the 13A championship 7:30 Monday night. The Rockets stunned the second-seeded War Eagles 66-60 in the other 13A semifinal. McKenzie will take on West Carroll for third place 6 p.m. Monday.

McKenzie hadn't played in eight days and played like it at the start. There were spurts where it seemed the Rebels found their rhythm, but Big Sandy wouldn't go away. And when a team hangs around late, it has a chance, especially when it cashes in on a few breaks. This was the case for the Red Devils.

True, this wasn't McKenzie's best effort, but the Rebels were victimized by two late suspect calls in the final 1:14. The Rebs led 70-65 at that point, when Big Sandy seemed to want it more. With 1:04 to play, McKenzie was hit with a costly five-second call, nursing a 70-69 advantage. Five seconds later, Kevin Adams scored to give Big Sandy the lead for good, 71-70. But it's not like McKenzie was going away either. Big Sandy led 73-71 when senior Derek Carr was fouled attempting a three-pointer. He hit two of the three free throw attempts with :27 to play and the Rebels trailed by one, 73-72.

That's when the second suspect call occurred. The Rebels were whistled for an intentional foul on the ensuing possession. James Cuthbertson hit one of the two free throws for a 74-72 advantage and the Red Devils kept the ball. A second later, Chris Cox was fouled. He stepped to the line and hit a pair of free throws for a 76-72 lead. The Rebels managed a basket from Shabree Payne with :02 to play, but it was too little, too late.

"We had a good week of practice," said MHS coach Lynn Yarbrough. "We just weren't ready to play tonight."

The Rebels suffered a 47-45 loss to Huntingdon, ending a grueling week and giving MHS some much-needed rest heading into the tournament. Then the Rebs caught a break when they won the coin toss to determine the top seed. Perhaps winning the flip wasn't the best of breaks. The eight days off seemed to have dulled the Rebels and it showed in the opening four minutes. The Red Devils rocketed to a 13-4 lead and made it look easy.

Josh Brown's shot with 4:15 to play in the first started a 9-0 run, which saw Carr hit a triple and a deuce and Tyler Holt bang away from the inside. After one, the game was tied at 13.

McKenzie and Big Sandy volleyed back and forth in the second frame when the Rebels overturned a 19-18 deficit. Carr hit a two and a three, then Shabree Payne added a free throw for a 24-19 lead. Carr hit two of three free throws for a 27-21 lead with 1:02 to play. Cutherbertson hit a shot at the buzzer to draw the Red Devils closer, 27-23, at the half.

For a time, McKenzie appeared to separate from Big Sandy, taking a seven-point lead twice in the third, 46-39 and 48-41. Brown's shot gave McKenzie its last big lead. From there, Big Sandy went on a 9-2 run to knot the score at 50 going into the final frame. But the Rebels rallied to open the fourth with an 8-0 run for a 58-50 lead. From there, Big Sandy seemed to revive.

"This is a tournament and we have to be intense. We talked about all that this week," said Yarbrough. "But we weren't ready to play and that's my fault; we didn't go after any loose balls."

The Rebels kept firing errant threes and Big Sandy capitalized. It outrebounded McKenzie 47-28 as a result. The Rebels were 2-10 from the three-point line.

"We kept missing threes when we should have been attacking the basket," said Yarbrough. "We just quit doing things we talked about at practice."

Four Red Devils reached double figures: Cox with 23, Cutherbertson with 18, Hunter Foust with 15 and Kevin Adams with 14.

Carr had 28 points for the Rebels, 10 rebounds and was 12-14 from the free throw line. Shabree Payne scored 20 and was 4-7 from the stripe. Tyler Holt had nine points and 12 rebounds. Huner Herrin had nine points and four rebounds. Josh Brown had nine points and 11 boards.

CLARKSBURG BOYS 66, WEST CARROLL 60 District 13A semifinals at Atwood: Emmanuel McClerking scored 23 and Erin Harris 16 as the third-seeded Clarksburg boys stunned second-seeded West Carroll Friday night.

Clarksburg surged to a 28-19 lead at halftime and turned away a 10-triple effort from the War Eagles. West Carroll climbed back within one in the third, 41-40, after a 21-13 measure. But the Rockets wouldn't be denied.

Thomas Greer led the War Eagles with 15, Brandon Luther 13 and Justin Scruggs 11.

The War Eagles will battle McKenzie 6 p.m. Monday in the 13A consolation round. Clarksburg and Big Sandy will play for the district championship 7:30 Monday night, both games at West Carroll High School. Trophies and all-district honors will be awarded after the championship game.