By Michael Lindsay
The Jackson County Blue Devils are district champions for the second time in three seasons following their 58-49 victory over York Institute Tuesday evening in the District 5-2A title game.
Sophomore forward Will McCrary led the Blue Devils with 22 points and 22 rebounds in the championship victory along with 12 points by Parker Patterson and 10 from Alex Meadows. Heath Wattenbarger, Bryson Bilbrey and Jackson Conatser scored 14 points each for York Institute.
Jackson County opened the contest on a 9-3 run three minutes into the contest and led 13-3 with 3:58 left in the opening frame. York Institute battled back to tie the contest at 14 points each at the end of the first period.
Jackson County extended their lead to 9 points by halftime as a Patterson buzzer-beating layup gave his team a 27-18 advantage at the break.
The Blue Devils controlled the third quarter on the defensive end as they outscored York 15-5 to take a 42-23 lead into the fourth quarter. They held off the Dragons over the final 8 minutes to win by a 58-49 final score.
Both Jackson County and York Institute will host first-round matchups in the Region 3-3A tournament Saturday at 7 p.m. Jackson County will host Trousdale County while York Institute will host Liberty Creek.
