Cayden Reed banked in a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to lead Montgomery County (22-10) to a thrilling 59-56 victory over rival George Rogers Clark (27-7) in the 10th Region championship Wednesday night in Mount Sterling, KY.
Playing at home in front of a capacity crowd, Montgomery County was able to hold the ball for the final 1:23. It looked like they would run out of time before Tyce Jarvis got in the lane to draw the defense and then found Reed just in the nick of time.
Trailing by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, Reed assisted on back-to-back triples by Luke Fawns and Dawson Gentry to pull the Indians within 55-51 with 5:46 left and jump-start a 16-3 run to close the game.
The Indians pulled even on an Andrew Terry dunk with 2:50 remaining and then forced two Cardinal turnovers in the final minutes,, setting up Reed’s heroics.
The Tribe has been a different team since Reed got eligible in mid-January after sitting out a calendar year following his transfer from Mason County. He helped Montgomery County end a nine-year losing streak to GRC in the district finals, and controlled the tempo again tonight, finishing with 16 points and six assists.
Fawns led the way with 18 points and hit four of the Indians’ 10 triples. Luke’s father, Billy Ray Fawns, led Montgomery County to a region championship 30 years ago, dropping 47 points in a wild 99-92 double overtime video over Mason County.
“It’s funny how life brings you full circle,” Billy Ray told WMST radio after the game.
When asked whether 1995 or 2025 was more special, Billy Ray had no question.
“This one for sure. When it’s your son it’s different. I’m so proud of how he carries himself.”
Malachi Ashford led the Cardinals with 19 points. They trailed by eight in the second quarter but built a 10-point fourth-quarter lead when they turned up a halfcourt trap after halftime. The Cardinals, however, were doomed by empty possessions down the stretch and shot only 1-for-7 from downtown in the game.
Next Up:
Montgomery County (22-10) plays Thursday, March 27 at 1:30 PM vs Lawrence County (23-10) at Rupp Arena in the Sweet 16 state tournament.
I may be biased toward my red, white, and blue alma mater, but In my opinion, the Indians are favored to win the first round and also the second, where a potential matchup against Breathitt County or North Laurel looms. The bracket opened up when No. 4 Hazard was upset by the Bobcats in the 14th Region final.
This is Montgomery County’s third region championship. They made the quarterfinals in 1995 and semifinals in 2013, where they were led by Omar Prewitt. The Mt. Sterling Trojans made four appearances, including a semifinal in 1943 (shoutout Walter Johnson, Woody Fritts, Coco Jackson, Robert Lockridge and Rezin Howell) before consolidating into Montgomery County.
Lawrence Co. will be playing in its second state tournament in county history.
