Without a player on the roster that had previously won a postseason game, the Todd County Central boys’ basketball team returned to the 13th-District title game for the first time since 2017/18 with a 50-48 victory over Russellville on Tuesday night.
The Rebels overcame a spirited effort by the 7-17 Panthers and will now face top-seeded Franklin-Simpson in Friday’s championship game. Todd Central lost both regular-season meetings with the Wildcats.
After trailing early, Todd Central surged in front after back-to-back 3-pointers by Mareke Johnson and Perez Whitlock for an 11-6 advantage late in the 1st quarter.
Johnson scored 10 points in under five minutes in the 2nd quarter, with his steal and layup giving the Rebels a five-point edge with 2:55 left in the half. Whitlock and Johnson went back-to-back from behind the arc again to send Todd Central to the locker room with a 31-24 lead.
Russellville’s Jayden Russell led the Panther surge in the 3rd, scoring the last of his 10 points on a bucket in the lane to cut the Rebel lead to two. However, after the ball found Todd Central’s Andrews in the final seconds of the frame, he drilled a 3 to wrestle the momentum back and make the score 40-35 with a quarter to play.
The Rebels seemed to be in control at 47-40 after a basket by Johnson with 1:35 to play, but they left the door open with turnovers a handful of missed free throws. A 6-1 run in the final minute, capped by a jumper by AJ Woodard, pulled Russellville back within two at 50-48.
Todd Central missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give the Panthers one last look, but Eli McMurry’s jumper rolled off at the buzzer.
Todd Central 12 19 9 10 — 50
Russellville 10 14 11 13 — 48
Todd Central (23-7) — M. Johnson 20, Glass 10, Whitlock 8, Andrews 5, Moore 5, Rager 2
Russellville (7-17) — Gamble 12, Russell 12, Steele 9, A. Woodard 6, Bowens 4, McMurry 3, Ries 2
