The final session of the first round of the National City/KHSAA boys Sweet Sixteen had some great storylines going in, and some early fireworks, but in the end, the strengths prevailed for each winning side.

Elliott County, champions of region 16, made the most of their 1st ever appearance in the state tournament, with a 68-55 win over the region 15 champs, the Shelby Valley Wildcats, while old face Warren Central, champions of region 4, overcame a hot start by newcomer June Buchanan, champions of region 14, to win going away, 71-53.

The Wildcats of Shelby valley got off to a blistering start, not missing until the 4:45 mark of the first quarter, and coupled with some Rupp Arena jitters by Elliott in the form of turnovers, Shelby Valley was able to race to an 18-10 lead at the end of one period of play.

A minute into the second frame, that lead went to 9 after a free-throw, and was still 8 with 4:20 left in the half, before the Lions finally awoke from their slumber and came roaring back, outscoring the Wildcats 11-2 in the final 4:20 to go into the break with a 29-26 advantage.

From that point on, it was all Elliott County, as they themselves led by as many as 9 in the third quarter. Shelby Valley had their chances, but were not able to hit the shots when they needed. Their cold shooting led to just 8 points in both the second and third quarters, allowing the Lions to go from down 8, to up 7 heading into the final period. Elliott led by as much as 15 in the final quarter, getting the win, 68-55.

"After we settled down, we finally starting playing the kind of basketball we have been playing all season," coach Rick Mays said following his team's win. "I know we shot a lot of free-throws, but if they were going to foul us, we were going to go shoot them, and luckily, we made 72% of them. We lost a game earlier this year because of our free-throw shooting, and we weren't going to let that happen again," he added.

The Wildcats tried to drag the game out as much as possible, putting the Lions on the line 34 times in the second half, and the majority of those coming in the final 12 minutes. In fact, 26 of Elliott's final 34 points were from the stripe.

Jonathon Ferguson led all scorers with a, thus far, tournament-high 28 points. Ethan Faulkner recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Jacob Bryant led Shelby Valley with 18 points in the loss, while Jonah Justice came off the bench to get 12.

The Lions quarterfinal opponent Friday night will be a very familiar face to the Sweet Sixteen in the form of the Warren Central Dragons, 71-53 winners over the Crusaders of June Buchanan. The Dragons are making their 6th straight appearance to the state tournament, and that experience won out.

Early on, it seemed as if the Sweet Sixteen had found their darlings, as tiny June Buchanan took it to mighty Warren Central. Following a timeout at the 5:29 mark of the first quarter, the Crusaders went on a 20-5 run that went over into the second quarter, racing out to a 23-14 lead.

That is when the Dragons flexed their muscles, and their quickness, charging all the way back with a run of their own, 18-8, to go into the break with a 32-31 lead, something they would not lose the rest of the way.

Warren's team speed and depth were simply too much for June Buchanan to handle, as the hot shooting touch by the Crusaders iced over fast, as shots were falling short, both on the inside and outside. June Buchanan shot only 1-of-12 from behind the arc in the second half. Warren Central took full advantage of those miscues as they started pulling away late in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Crusaders 18-7 in the period to lead by 12, 50-38.

Warren Central did not miss a shot in the 4th quarter until after the midway point, stretching their lead to 20 before coach Tim Riley pulled his starters the rest of the way.

"We were tight starting out, but give credit to June Buchanan for that and their chaser defense they applied to us," coach Riley said on his team'w win. "It took us some time to get adjusted to that, but once we did, we got rolling and played our style of play."

"June Buchanan played a very good game," he continued. "They have some very good young players, but I feel the key was we just simply wore them down, especially in the second half."

The Dragons placed 4 players in double figures, with Joe Hood and Monie Hudson each leading the way with 18 points a piece. Hood was 5 for 7 from behind the arc for the game. Nick Britt added 16 points, an Aaron Rhodes had 10.

Leading scorer Jeremy Anderson was held to a season-low 2 points, but they didn't need him on this night.

Clark Stepp led the way for June Buchanan with 18 points, with Tate Cox, one of the better freshmen in the state, adding 12.

The quarterfinals are set, as Adair County and Scott County kick things off on Friday afternoon, followed by South Laurel and Covington Holmes. Then later that evening, Ballard takes on Clark County, and Elliott County and Warren Central round out the day.