The South Warren boys’ basketball team’s historic season continues after a 44-41 win over Monroe County in Monday’s Region 4 semifinals at E.A. Diddle Arena.

South Warren (19-10) led for most of the night, but had to survive a late charge to hold on and earn a trip to the Region 4 championship game in the program’s first-ever region tournament appearance.

“We are happy to get there,” SW coach Carlos Quarles said. “Any time you win and advance, it’s a great feeling. Hats off to Monroe. They fought their tails off and gave us all we wanted, but had some resilience. We grinded and we got it done. You just win and advance in March.”

Both teams entered with a chance to make the region final for the first time in school history, but it was the Spartans who were able to get the win and avenge a 58-53 loss to Monroe County in December.

Monroe County (18-13) started fast with three straight 3-pointers fueling an 11-3 run that gave the Falcons the early 11-6 advantage.

South Warren rallied back to take the lead for good, with Caden McIntye’s 3 as time expired making the score 18-12 after one. The Spartans were able to extend the margin in the second with a 3 from Brandon Perkins in the final seconds making the score 30-21 at halftime.

A 3 from Jax Decker made the score 37-37 early in the third to give South Warren its largest lead of the night before the Falcons tried to take flight. Monroe County was able to cut the lead 43-29 before McIntyre’s 3 at the horn gave the momentum back to the Spartans.

Monroe County scored the first five points in the fourth to get within 44-42, but missed a shot that would have tied the game. Later in the quarter the Falcons were down 49-46, but missed a 3 that would have tied.

After a free throw from Perkins extended the lead to four, Monroe County got a bucket to get within two and had a chance to take the lead, but missed a 3 with 32 seconds left. South Warren hit four free throws to push the lead to six. Monroe County got a 3 from Branson Williams with 5.9 seconds left, but South Warren was able to run the clock out and preserve the win.

“We had a situation where we were getting quality shots at the rim and couldn’t finish at the rim,” Quarles said. “We were getting great looks. We missed probably 10 or 15 layups in that game. We finally settled down and made some shots. We made some key free throws down the stretch. We took care of business.”

Perkins led the way for South Warren with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds. He said he did his part to keep everyone focused in the tense fourth quarter.

“I just (kept) reminding them this is what we do,” Perkins said. “We live for moments like this. We love playing in moments like this. Just stay calm and play (our game). Don’t let them rush us.”

Decker added 10 points, while Owen Shively finished with nine points.

Brison Nuckols and Reece Bartley finished with 14 points each for the Falcons.

South Warren advances to face Warren Central in Tuesday’s region final. It’s the fourth meeting between the two teams this season, with the Dragons winning the previous three – including a 70-46 win in the District 14 championship.

“I’m good with being the underdog,” Quarles said. “I don’t want to be patted on the back. We are going to go out and fight. They are going to have to fight us. They are a good team and we are coming to battle. This ain’t no participation thing. We are coming to fight and we want to get a Fourth Region title. They are a heck’uva team, but we are coming to play.”

MCHS 12 9 18 12 – 51

SWHS 18 12 16 8 – 54

MC – Nuckols 14, Bartley 14, Williams 8, E. Geralds 6, Rich 6, C. Geralds 3.

SW – Perkins 18, Decker 10, Shively 9, Pratt 7, McIntyre 6, Willis 4.

Warren Central 73, Barren County 38

The Warren Central boys’ basketball team put the ghosts of Region 4 Tournaments past behind them in resounding fashion, rolling to a win over Barren County in Monday’s semifinal at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Facing a Barren County team that pulled off the first-round upset in last year’s region tournament, Warren Central (25-3) led from the start and never let up – cruising into Tuesday’s region finals.

While last year’s loss was motivation, Warren Central coach William Unseld said ultimately it was about moving one step closer to a region title.

“That was part of it, but like I told them that was a totally different team,” Unseld said. “We are a totally different team. I didn’t want us to go too crazy about trying to get that back and be out of sorts, so they did a good job of managing that. They just played hard. I told them that if we play hard we do have the better team. They are a good team, but we have the better team if we play hard.”

The Dragons opened with a 9-0 run to take control before Barren County (19-14) was able to get the lead down to 11-7 less than five minutes in.

Warren Central took off from there, stretching the lead to 22-12 by the end of the first and opening the second quarter with a 15-2 run to extend the margin to 37-14.

“We felt like we kind of righted the ship maybe, settled in there, but that’s what they do,” Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said, “I know one time we had a rebound and they poked it away and made a 3, so that’s where they get you. It’s just so many extra shots that they get because of the turnovers and offensive rebounds.”

The advantage continued to grow as Warren Central held the Trojans to four points – one field goal – in the second quarter and took a commanding 45-16 halftime lead.

“Just coming out knowing that we had to throw the first punch,” Warren Central senior Dominique Anthony said. “That was our main goal coming into the game. Once we threw that first punch, we just had to keep going.”

Warren Central continued to extend the lead in the second half, with the Dragons going deep into the bench in the fourth quarter. Warren Central led by as many as 37 points in the second half and finished the night with six turnovers – three in the fourth with the game no longer in doubt.

“When we share the ball, we are really good,” Unseld said. “We preach that a lot. We’ve got a lot of guys that can handle the ball and they do a good job of being great teammates. We have moments where we have to pull them back down … (but) for the most part we share the ball well and take care of it.”

Anthony led the Dragons with 14 points, while Kaleb Prince added 12 points and five assists.

“I just watched it last year,” Prince said. “I know what my guys went through last year so going into this game I was bringing everybody together, bringing energy so we could go out there and do what we do.”

Weston Shelton led Barren County with 13 points.

Warren Central advances to face South Warren in Tuesday’s semifinal, looking for a fourth title in five years.

“We just have to play hard and do what we do,” Unseld said. “It’s a basketball game at the end of the day. Yes, it’s a region championship, but it’s a basketball game. We’ve got to treat it as such. Don’t put it high on a pedestal because if you do that you kind of lose your focus. We just have to treat it like a normal basketball game like we do every day and just go play hard. If we play hard and guard, then we give ourselves a chance.”

BCHS 12 4 12 10 – 38

WCHS 22 23 16 12 – 73

BC – Shelton 13, Pippen 5, Hardy 5, Browning 4, Griggs 3, Byrd 2, Nunn 2, Fryar 2, Bewley 2.

WC – Anthony 14, Prince 12, Johnson 8, Daniel 8, Duncan 8, Byrd 7, McCombs 6, Hoosier 4, Carter 2, Ra. Hulbert 2, Cousin 2.