Bowling Green boys’ basketball coach Derrick Clubb expected a counterpunch from Todd County Central after his team raced out to an early lead in the Region 4 Tournament semifinals at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Sure enough, the Rebels delivered with a roundhouse wallop right to the Purples’ collective kisser, surging back from an 11-point deficit in the second quarter to pull within one.

It was Todd County Central’s best shot, and it wasn’t nearly enough to floor Bowling Green. The Purples punched their ticket into Tuesday’s regional championship with a 71-44 win sparked by a bone-crushing 21-2 run in the third quarter. Bowling Green (23-10) will face District 14 rival Warren Central in Tuesday’s 6 p.m. championship as the Purples chase their fifth straight regional championship.

But first, Clubb’s squad had to deal with the upset-minded Rebels. Despite Todd Central’s determined efforts to pack defenders into the paint in a tight zone and force the Purples to prove they could shoot, Bowling Green pushed out to a solid 16-9 lead by the end of the first quarter capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Trevor Dennis.

Back-to-back scores by Isaiah Mason to open the second quarter pushed the lead to 11, and the Purples were rolling – but not for long.

Todd County’s Nolan Barrow drained back-to-back 3-pointers, Tashaun Foster scored two straight layups off steals and Bryce Nolan dropped in a basket off an inbounds play to cap a stunning 12-2 run that had the Rebels back within one with 2:59 left in the second quarter and still down just three at 24-21 heading into halftime.

“We got up (20-9) – they didn’t quit,” Clubb said of the Rebels. “They hit us in the mouth the last three minutes (of the second quarter) and made it a ballgame for sure.”

Todd County Central (19-13) hung around for a couple minutes in the second half, getting back to within one before Dennis broke loose on the outside. His back-to-back 3s kick-started a 12-0 spurt, part of that clinching 21-2 rally.

Dennis hit four of his five 3s in the third quarter, scoring 14 of his game-high 19 points in that quarter.

“We run quite a few things for him, especially once he makes a couple,” Clubb said. “The guys did a great job of getting him the ball. They were wanting him to get shots.”

Down 20 heading into the final eight minutes, the Rebels couldn’t do much against the quicker, longer Purples.

“I just felt like they hung in there and we just could not get it going,” Todd County Central coach Frank Johnson said. “We could not get it going down low and we could not get it going from the outside, either. We just played a good basketball team at a horrible time for us.”

Johnson tried to blunt Bowling Green’s advantages with the zone anchored by 6-foot-7 center John Calvery, hoping to keep the score in the 50s by limiting some of Bowling Green’s easy opportunities. The Rebels couldn’t pull it off, as the Purples dominated under the glass for a 43-25 rebounding advantage that included 19 offensive rebounds good for 23 second-chance points.

“We thought if they zoned us then that would be a chance for us to kind of fly around,” Clubb said. “When you go against a zone you don’t really have designated block outs. They had a great game plan – they had (Calvery) kind of plant his flag right there in the middle. While he took away a lot of stuff we were trying to do, I think it was also hard for them to block out.”

Barrow led the Rebels with 11 points. Mason had 16 points for the Purples, who also got a double-double from Jarius Key (10 points, 10 rebounds) in the win.

“They tried to press us at the beginning of the game and we figured it out, so coach drew some stuff up,” Purples point guard Ziyon Kenner said. “We knew what we did at practice would work for us, so we just settled down. We knew what we had to do.”

Todd County 9 12 6 17 – 44

Bowling Green 16 8 23 24 – 71

TCC – Barrow 11, Calvery 9, Foster 6, Weathers 4, McCuiston 3, Nolan 3, Sharp 3, D. Johnson 2, Morrow 2, Briggs 1.

BG – Dennis 19, Mason 16, Key 10, Dice 6, Gray 5, Kenner 4, Wardlow 4, Buser 2, Jo. Dingle 2, Drobocky 2, Huddleston 1.{&end}