Final: Mason County 60, Shelby County 50

Hear postgame comments from Mason County star Darius Miller and Coach Chris O’Hearn.
Hear Shelby County Coach Coach Mike Clark’s postgame news conference.

• Mason County (33-4) has earned a spot in the finals against Holmes (34-2).
• Darius Miller had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Royals. Ethan King added 18 points and Russ Middleton 14. Mason County hit 16 of 19 free throws.
• Shelby County was led by Coty Minnis’ 14 points and 5 rebounds. The Rockets shot 40% (18-for-45).
• If Shelby County had pulled an upset, it would’ve set up a 30th anniversary rematch with Holmes. They played in the 1978 state finals, with Shelby County winning in overtimer.
• It looks like Mason County is going to hang on. The Royals lead 58-49 with 36 seconds left.
• Tim Sanford’s three for Shelby County cuts the lead to 52-49, but seconds later Darius Miller hits an acrobatic shot in the lane, and adds a free throw to make it 55-49 with 1:07 left. Shelby County misses a three, Ethan King rebounds for the Royals and is fouled. He hits both free throws to put Mason County ahead 57-49 with 52 seconds left.
• Mason County is on top 52-46 after Keith Downing’s free throws. There’s 1:26 left in the game.
• Mason County has a fight on its hands. Its lead is down to 48-46 after Nigel Beach scores for Shelby County. There’s a timeout with 2:13 left.
• Mason County has its biggest lead of the day after Darius Miller’s soft dunk puts the Royals ahead 46-37 with 4:23 left.
• Russ Middleton’s buzzer-beating three-pointer put Mason County up 38-30 after three quarters. Middleton and Darius Miller have 12 points apiece. Miller also has 10 rebounds. Shelby County’s top scorers are Coty Minnis and Donovan Johnson with 8 points apiece.
• Mason County still hasn’t put Shelby County away. The Royals lead 33-25 with 2:45 left in the third quarter after a one-hand jam by Darius Miller, who has 12 points and 8 rebounds.
• Halftime: Mason County 22, Shelby County 19. Not many people expected this close of a game. Both teams are struggling offensively. Shelby County outscored Mason County 6-4 in the second quarter. UK signee Darius Miller has 8 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Royals, who are only 3-for-10 on threes after hitting 7 of their first 11 against Paducah Tilghman the night before. Coty Minnis has 6 points to lead Shelby County.
• Sluggish game here. Mason County holds a 20-17 lead with 2:35 left in the half. The teams are a combined 13-for-37 shooting. Not a lot of energy. UK Coach Billy Gillispie and former Cat (and former Minnesota Timberwolves coach) Dwane Casey are sitting together on press row)
• Mason County is ahead 16-15 at the end of the first quarter. Russ Middleton’s three-pointer gave the Royals the lead. Shelby County, a big underdog, is hanging in there. Cache Tomlinson’s 5 points lead the Rockets. Middleton has 6 for Mason County.
• Norris Beckley’s and Cache Tomlinson’s back-to-back three-pointers have helped Shelby County take a 15-11 lead with 2:24 left in the first quarter. Mason County, which opened red-hot in its rout of Paducah Tilghman Friday night, is 4-for-10 so far today.
• Ethan King’s three-point has put Mason County ahead 8-5 with 4:29 left in the first quarter.