Dawson Springs senior Montgomery Johnston needed just one point in Monday’s 7th District semifinal game to become his school’s all-time leading scorer.
He set that mark in just 1:22 and then went after another record — the single-game scoring mark in the CAB gym at Caldwell County.
Johnston poured in 43 points as third-seeded Dawson upended second-seeded Caldwell 85-75.
The Panthers (17-14) will go for their first 7th District championship since 1997 on Thursday when they face top-seeded Madisonville-North Hopkins. The Maroons escaped with a 67-64 win over Hopkins County Central in Monday’s opener.
Dawson and Caldwell battled back and forth into the third quarter before the Panthers took a 63-58 lead to the final frame.
A Johnston three-point play early in the fourth quarter put Dawson up 66-58.
Caldwell (16-11), which had beaten Dawson twice during the regular season, rallied to tie things at 68-68, but another three-point trip by Johnston put the Panthers back in front to stay.
While Johnston was dominant at one end, Caldwell senior Jaydarius Wilson was almost as unstoppable at the other end. Wilson finished the night with a career-high 37 points.
Johnston had 27 of his 43 in the second half.
Wilson had 24 of his points after halftime.
Johnston got help from Jaydon Plunkette, who had 17 points, including five first-half 3-pointers. Plunkette’s second 3 of the night got to him 1,000 career points.
Deacon Dever, who missed part of the season with an injury, added 16 points for the Panthers.
Dawson ended a six-game losing streak in the series with Caldwell. The Tigers had taken 18 of the last 19 get-togethers, but it’s the Panthers who have earned a berth in the 2nd Region tournament field for the first time since 2017.
Caldwell, which held its Senior Night ceremony prior to the contest, got 11 points from Collin Whittington and nine from Cade Rowland.
The Panthers led 21-18 after one quarter, but the Tigers got to halftime with a 42-41 advantage.
Johnston, who has scored 1,984 points, did fall short of the gym scoring record, although that hardly marred the night for the Panthers. That mark belongs to Kam Woods of Pinson Valley, near Birmingham, who had 49 points in an 84-82 win over North Little Rock (Arkansas) in the 2019 West Kentucky Hoops Classic.
Dawson Springs 21 20 22 22 — 85
Caldwell County 18 24 16 17 — 75
Dawson Springs (17-14)—Johnston 43, Plunkette 17, Dever 16, Blue 9.
Caldwell County (16-11)—J. Wilson 37, Whittington 11, Rowland 9, Aikins 8, K. Wilson 6, D. Lander 4.
