Semifinal matchups set in seventh-grade event

Four Teams Advance to the Semi-Finals
By Tim Chambers
STAR CORRESPONDENT
The Carter/Johnson County seventh-grade tournament resumed on Thursday with four boys games being played on the evening.
The first game saw Johnson County knock off Little Milligan 50-39 while Happy Valley No. 1 defeated Central 64-28 in the second contest.
In the third game, Unaka used a strong second half to defeat Cloudland 46-26 while Hunter cruised past Happy Valley #2 53-31 in the nightcap.
Johnson County 50
Little Milligan 39
The Johnson County Longhorns used a strong second quarter to knock off Little Milligan in the opening game.
The Longhorns held a slim 13-11 first quarter lead thanks to six points from Austin Phipps and four from Jesse Poteet. Little Milligan stayed close with Dan Campbell throwing in six while Greg Sams added a huge trey.
Poteet caught fire in the second quarter scoring nine while Phipps rang up six, leading the 'Horns to a 30-13 advantage. Adam Shelton added four with two nice moves in the paint.
Little Milligan tried to surge back in the third behind 10 from Campbell and a nice runner from Lucas Kland. The Buffaloes outscored Johnson County 26-20 in the second half, but the second quarter proved to be fatal for the Buff herd.
Poteet paved the way with 21 while Phipps added 14 and Shelton chipped in with nine to lead the Longhorns.
Campbell had a game-high 22 to lead the Buffaloes while Sams added eight to the cause.
Johnson County will take on Happy Valley at 5:15 in semifinal action today.
Happy Valley
Central 28
The run-and-gun Warriors had their way in the second game, knocking off the Comets.
After a mere five points in the first period the Warriors used a flying full-court press to outscore Central 19-10 in the second quarter to take a 24-13 lead.
Bradley McVey and two nice hoops while Matt Gouge knocked down a three in the second frame. Cody Hyder added three steals and two hoops to spearhead the attack.
The Warrior defense proved to be a thorn in the side for Central during the third period racking up 25 points to the Comets four. Chris Richardson and Zach Miller stepped up with two buckets while the Comets struggled to find the mark.
Brandon Birchfield continued his stellar play in the fourth period with five points while the Comets tired to hang with the Warriors behind seven points from Adrian Hopson but the damage had already done.
McVey with 12 paced the Warriors while Birchfield and Hyder added 10 each. Gouge had a nice game with seven along with Richardson, Miller, Chris Bardo and Adam Williams all with six points on the night.
Hopson led Central with 15 along with Isaiah Osborne and Dustin White each with four.
Happy Valley plays Johnson County today at 5:15 p.m. in semifinal action.
Unaka 46
Cloudland 26
Cloudland put a good effort against the Rambling Rangers but the Creekers proved to be too much for the blue and gold machine.
Unaka jumped out to a 12-6 lead after one thanks to five points from Travis Taylor. Cloudland got four from Brett Powell including a nice jumper in the closing seconds of the quarter.
The Rangers extended the lead to 25-13 at the half thanks to nine second quarter points from Jeff Peters. Randall Johnson kept the Highlander within striking distance draining a long three while hitting a driving one-hander in the quarter.
Unaka kept adding to the lead with Adam Colbaugh knocking down some key free throws while Michael Bowers tossed in a deuce enroute to a 13-point quarter and a 14-point lead.
Johnson and Powell tried to keep the Landers close in the fourth, but the Ranger machine kept running strong to claim a 20-point victory.
Peters with 20 led the Rangers while Taylor and Colbaugh tossed in nine and seven respectively. Bowers added six while Ryan Mick chipped in with four.
Johnson was high for the 'Landers with 15 along while Powell tacked on nine. Nick Sluder had the other basket.
Unaka advances to the semifinals tonight to take on Hunter at 8:15 p.m.
Hunter 53
Happy Valley No. 2 31
The Tiger attack was on the prowl in the nightcap, with Hunter racing to a 53-31 win. Hunter used a strong trapping press to dispose of the Warriors.
Hunter jumped on top 16-11 after one, with Cody Cornett nailing seven points, including a long three-pointer in the period. Kelly Rapert chipped in with four while Dakota Waters added a trey.
Richard Perkey and Tyler Jaynes had six and four during the period to keep the Warriors close.
The second quarter was a slower pace with Hunter outscoring the Warriors 8-4 behind four Rapert points and a deuce from Chris "Bucket" Pierce.
Hunter kept pounding in the second half as Drew Chambers gunned in five, one on a nice feed from Josh Peterson and Justin Pierce added four, including a nice runner.
The Warriors tried to stay close behind two long treys from Ethan Fleenor and some strong inside play from Perkey, but the blue and gold kept up the pressure, clawing their way to a 22-point win.
Rapert led all scorers with 14 while Cornett with 10 and Waters nine helped the cause. Carden came up with seven while Chambers rang up five. The Pierce duo of Chris and Justin had four each.
Happy Valley got a nice 13-point outing from Perkey while Fleenor chimed in with eight. Jaynes added five to the Warrior attack.
Hunter advances to semifinal action tonight at 8:15 against Unaka.