South Lenoir fought its way back against Clinton and could smell the upset, but the Blue Devils fell short.
Jonte Midgette led four South Lenoir players in double figures with 20 points but the Blue Devils’ huge second-half comeback came up short as the Dark Horses won 73-72 Wednesday in the East Central 2A Conference semifinals at Richlands.
Ishmael Baldwin added 18 points, Dion Jones scored 14 and Jaquan Wooten 12 as South Lenoir (14-10) opened the second half on a 21-3 run to go ahead 47-44 after trailing 41-26 at the break.
Jones tied it at 72 on a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left before Midgette fouled a Clinton (19-8) player, who hit 1 of 2 from the line, with 10.4 seconds to play.
The Blue Devils had the ball knocked out of bounds with 0.5 seconds left on their final possession, then Jones’ game-winning 35-foot attempt bounced off the back iron as the Dark Horses held on.
Baldwin had 12 rebounds and Wooten 14 as South Lenoir outrebounded Clinton 38-22.
Clinton will face today’s Jacksonville Northside-Richlands winner in the tournament championship on Friday.