While the top-seeded Mountain Lions (22-3) cruised past Huntington St. Joseph’s by 25 points in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, the fourth-seeded Highlanders (22-4) ended James Monroe’s two-year run as state champions when Rayden Triplett sank a turnaround jumper at the buzzer after taking a long inbounds pass from teammate Zach McCourt after the Mavericks had tied the game at 53-53 with 3.8 seconds left to play.

Senior-laden Tucker County is attempting to get back into the title game for the second straight season.

The Mountain Lions received a huge game from forward Ashton Lycliter on Wednesday as he score 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Junior guard Trevan Bonner added 14 points, Garrett Wilfong 13 points, Owen Knotts seven points, eight caroms and four blocked shots and Maddox Anderson nine assists

Photos courtesy of Marcus Constantino / West Virginia Press Association Tucker County’s Ashton Lycliter blocks a shot attempt by Huntington St. Joseph’s Micaiah Ehirim. Lycliter had 22 points and 13 rebounds in the quarterfinal victory.

Leading scorer, senior Ethan Rosenau, was limited to just six points but hit a key 3-pointer in the second quarter to give Tucker County a double-digit lead.

The Mountain Lions own regular-season wins over all three teams remaining in the Class A portion of tourney, including a 53-38 victory at Webster County back in early February.

In the other semifinal set for 7:15 p.m. today, third-seed East Hardy (20-3) battles No. 2 Tug Valley (20-6).

The title game is set for 5 p.m. Saturday