In a game that was so good and so evenly matched that extra time was needed to complete it, the Adairville Cardinals edged the Lewisburg Rangers 47-46 in overtime Tuesday to win the boys championship of the Logan County Middle School Tournament.
Austin Rayno, a four-year starter for the Cardinals, hit a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining in the extra period to give AMS the lead and the win.
Alex Wilson had hit a layup with 8.3 seconds to put the Rangers in position to win. He and Ethan Smock combined for 35 points in the game while Rayno and Nick Wooden totaled 40 for the champions.
This was one of the best championship games in the history of the tournament and featured several players who appear destined to help their high school teams in the near future on the same Logan County High School floor where the tournament was played.
Lewisburg’s Jonathan Furlow, a post player, hit a 3-pointer to start the game and teammate Wilson hit two more from long range to give the Rangers an 11-6 lead after a quarter. Furlow, however, picked up his second foul two and a half minutes into the game. He managed to stay on the floor most of the game before fouling out in the last second of overtime, even though he was saddled with four fouls the entire fourth quarter and extra period.
Smock had a super second quarter. When his 3-pointer made the Rangers’ lead 20-13, he had already scored nine points in the quarter, and he added two more before halftime. Adairville’s Wooden responded on a 3-point play and a drive at the buzzer to cut the lead to 22-20 at the intermission. Wooden had half of his team’s points, as did Smock.
Furlow scored to start the second half, as he had done to start the game. When Jacob Smock hit a shot, Lewisburg’s lead was its biggest so far at 28-20. Trouble was brewing for LMS, though. When Adairville’s William Lyons collided with Furlow on his way to the bucket, the call could have gone either way, but it was called a block and Furlow had his third foul. Ethan Smock picked up his third personal, and Wilson was called for a charge, all in a matter of seconds. Still Ethan scored again to make the Lewisburg lead a commanding 30—20.
Wooden and Rayno each hit a free throw, and Rayno put together a 3-point play. Furlow was called for his fourth foul with 3.7 seconds remaining in the third period while battling with fellow big man Sawyer Hopkins for a rebound. The Lewisburg lead was 30-25 entering the final period.
After Wilson hit a shot to start the fourth quarter, Rayno was fouled . He hit the first free throw and got the rebound of his own miss on the second. When he scored on that play, the lead was down to four.
Wilson’s bucket on a runout made the lead six, but when Wooden hit two straight shots the game was tied at 38-38. After another tie, Wooden gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 42-40 with 48 seconds remaining in regulation. Jacob Smock, Ethan’s younger brother, tied the score with 34 seconds. Adairville had two shots to win it, but they didn’t fall and the game went into the extra period.
Wilson scored first in OT, but Wooden hit a free throw. Then Wooden made a steal and scored on an assist by Rayno to put the Redbirds ahead 45-44 with 31 seconds remaining. The Cardinals stole the ball on the inbounds play, but the officials ruled they had stopped play. They gave the ball back to Lewisburg.
Ranger coaches Jerald Tabb and Brian White called a timeout with 18 seconds and then ran a play with Wilson scoring what had a good chance of being the winning basket with 8.3 seconds.
Adairville put the ball in the hands of their leader, Rayno, and he took it toward the goal. On a collision with four seconds, one official called a block and the other a charge. The referee with the block prevailed, and Rayno went to the line. He capped a great middle school career by calmly sinking both free throws for the win.
Wooden finished with 22 points while Rayno had 18. Hopkins added 4 and Lyons 3 for the champions, coached by Kevin Rayno, who grew up as an Adairville athlete, and Brian Wooden, who played for the Cougars.
Ethan Smock led Lewisburg with 21 points while Wilson had 14, Furlow 7 and Jacob Smock 4.
All four of the Cardinals who scored are eighth graders, as is Daniel King. Ethan Smock, Furlow, Wilson, Mykal Hampton and Caleb Ramirez are eighth graders for the Rangers.