CORBIN — “These ain’t your Daddy’s Mountain Lions.”
A Facebook post from Pineville coach Brad Levy summed up just how the Mountain Lions and their fans are feeling about their basketball program after the Lions knocked off Clay County 73-68 on Thursday in the final first-round game from the 13th Region Tournament, ending a 13-year drought between regional tournament wins.
It was also a major turnaround from first-round exits the past two years as Pineville fell 80-50 to Clay County last year and 70-44 to South Laurel in 2023. This year’s Lions featured an all-senior lineup and they played with the maturity and confidence that Levy hoped to see.
“The past couple of years we’ve gotten here we’ve been excited to be here. We weren’t built to do anything on this stage,” he said. “This year we expect to win. We wanted to come out and do something special. This is a fantastic night for our program and our kids, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Clay jumped out to an 11-4 lead as the Tigers’ size advantage in the post was evident with junior center Aiden Wagers scoring three times in the paint. Pineville battled back by using its advantage in the backcourt as Sawyer Thompson and Jeremiah Beck each had two baskets to cut the deficit to 17-14 after one quarter.
The Tigers still led by three midway through the second period, but Pineville closed the half with a 13-2 run sparked by back-to-back 3s from Kaiden Robbins to build a 35-27 advantage.
The lead grew to 12 early in the third quarter on baskets by Cam Puckett and Ashton Moser. Clay fought back to within four as Landon Dezarn and Jerrod Roark each had baskets in a 7-0 run. Zander Garrison provided a lift off the bench as the Lions moved out to a 54-47 lead heading into the final period.
Clay got as close as three on two free throws by Grubb with 3:23 left before Robbins came through again with a 3, and then a basket off a drive for an eight-point lead. Pineville put the game away at the line as Thonpson, Beck and Moser connected on two free throws each.
Beck, a transfer from Middlesboro, led the 23-9 Lions with 22 points. Robbins hit four of six 3-pointers and added 17 points. Moser tossed in 16. Thompson added eight and had a clutch performance finding the open man with 10 assists.
Roark scored 19 for the 21-8 Tigers. Wagers and Grubb added 16 and 13 points, respectively.
Pineville advances to a semifinal matchup against South Laurel on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Lions will seek their first trip to the regional finals since 1973.
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Pineville (73) — Sawyer Thompson 8, Ashton Moser 16, Cameron Puckett 3, Kaiden Robbins 17, Jeremiah Beck 22, Zander Garrison 7.
Clay County (68) — Jerrod Roark 19, Landon Dezarn 8, Ethan Jackson 2, Adon Grubb 13, Aiden Wagers 16, Grayson Hooker 6, Isaiah Bundy 4.
Clay County 17 10 20 21 — 68
Pineville 14 21 19 19 — 73
