The Bowling Green boys’ basketball team found another gear in the second half to hold off Clinton County 51-38 in the Region 4 Tournament semifinals Friday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Trailing by one at halftime, Bowling Green (26-5) outscored the Bulldogs 30-16 in the second half to secure a spot in the Region 4 championship for a sixth straight season.

“(Clinton County) is a very good basketball team,” BG coach Derrick Clubb said. “I’m not sure we’ve played much better defensively all year as we did in the second half. I just thought the second half we found a little something extra defensively that maybe I didn’t even know they had. It was fun to sit there and watch them. We just beat a very, very good basketball team.”

Clinton County (24-8) came in looking to get to the region title game for the first time since 1960, but the Purples were too much for the Bulldogs in the second half.

Bowling Green jumped out to a 7-4 lead, but an eight-minute Purples drought and an 8-0 run from Clinton County saw the Bulldogs surge in front 12-7 after one.

The Purples scored the first six points in the second period to regain the advantage. No team led by more than three the rest of the half, with Clinton County clinging to a 22-21 advantage at the break.

Bowling Green took control early in the third quarter – outscoring the Bulldogs 16-3, including a 12-0 run that saw the Purples push the advantage to 37-25.

WKU signee Jackson Harlan scored the final four points in the third to trim the deficit to 37-29, but it was all Bowling Green in the final period. The Purples took control in the paint and used a 12-2 run to make the score 49-31.

The Purples led by as much as 19 in the final quarter, with Clinton County scoring the final six points to trim the margin to 13 at the horn.

“Once it got physical, they got more physical and we didn’t respond back,” Clinton County coach Todd Messer said. “They came out in the second half and really got up in us. They made it hard for us to get into any type of offensive execution. Hats off to them to getting us out of our comfort zone and the adjustment they made at halftime.”

Bowling Green dominated in the paint, outscoring the Bulldogs 28-10 – 18-6 in the second half.

Isaiah Mason led Bowling Green with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Kolbe Gray added 12 points, but the senior guard was also instrumental on the defensive end – holding Harlan to 13 points on 5-for-16 shooting.

“They are very athletic,” Harlan said. “They are smaller than me, quicker than me, so it was hard for me to get it down (the floor). I have to do a better job of handling it and getting it down to the top of the key and running the offense.”

Gray said he was excited about the challenge of trying to defend the Region 4 player of the year.

“Harlan is a good player, but we preached in practice to make it hard for him, make him dribble to shoot,” Gray said. “That’s all I wanted to do. I knew I had to guard him. I liked the challenge.”

The Purples advance to face Warren Central for the Region 4 championship at 6 p.m. Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

It will be the fourth meeting between the two schools this season, with Bowling Green winning two of the previous three. The two schools will be meeting in the Region 4 title game for the fourth time in the last six seasons. The Purples won the first two meetings, but Warren Central won last season to snap Bowling Green’s four-year reign as region champions.

“Last year we didn’t get the job done,” BG senior Jaylen Wardlow said. “This year we are hungry – we’re really hungry to get that title.”

BGHS 7 14 16 14 – 51

CCHS 12 10 7 9 – 38

BG – Mason 16, Gray 12, Buttry 8, Drobocky 5, Dingle 4, Cooper 4, Huddleston 2.

CC – Stockton 14, Harlan 13, Stines 5, Guffey 2, Cross 2, Madison 2.{&end}