University Heights weathered an early storm from Hopkins County Central to cruise to a 104-74 win in the quarterfinals of the Boys’ Second Region Tournament at Henderson County Thursday.
UHA jumped ahead 10-2 early and led 18-10 midway through the first quarter before Hopkins Central used a 9-0 run to take a 19-18 lead. Kyky Tandy foreshadowed the rest of the game by drilling a 3-pointer to end the quarter and give the Blazers a 21-18 lead.
Tandy scored 13 of his 21 points in the second quarter as the Blazers outscored the Storm 28-13. UHA got a huge lift off the bench from Will Bryan and Kwan Dorsey, who combined for nine points and six rebounds.
Key Hobgood tried to keep the Storm in the game by scoring 14 of his team-high 28 points in the second quarter.
Drew McGowan scored seven of his 14 points in the third quarter as the Blazers saw nine different players score in building their lead to 77-52.
Bryan’s bucket with a minute left put the Blazers over the 100-point mark for the first time in a region tournament game, and they became the first team since South Hopkins in 1996 to top the century mark in the region tourney.
Tandy led the Blazers with 34 points – one of four players in double figures. After McGowan’s 14 points, K.J. Crump scored 12, Quan Hollowell added 11 points, and Bryan netted 10.
Tylan Mann added 12 points, and Blasin Moore added 10 points for Hopkins County Central, who was making their first region tourney appearance since 2011. The Storm last won a region tourney game in 2009 and see their season end with a record of 16-14.
UHA (21-7) moves into Saturday night’s semifinal game as they continue their quest for their first region title since 2008.
