TITLE BOUND: Crosslin drops 25 points to lead Raiders to region championship game

There are 16 high school basketball teams remaining in the state of Tennessee.

Coffee County’s Red Raider boys are among them.

Dayne Crosslin played arguably the best game of his career Tuesday night (March 1, 2022), dropping a game-high 25 points to lead the Red Raiders to a 64-47 win over Franklin County in the Region 3-4A semi-finals. (a game you heard live on Thunder Radio).

With the win, Coffee County moves to the Region 3-4A championship, which will be against Walker Valley at 7 p.m. Thursday in Manchester. Franklin County is eliminated from postseason play with the loss.

Coffee County only led by 4 at the end of the third quarter. It was a 2-point lead at the close of the third before Jahlin Osbourne ripped a rebound and put it back for points as time expired.

But the Raiders absolutely dominated in the fourth. CHS took off on a 15-0 run to start the fourth quarter and led 55-36 with 2:03 to play as CHS completely stymied the Rebels ability to score. The Raiders outrebounded the Rebels 14-5 in the second half.

Most of the Raider offense was generated by Crosslin. The junior guard lit up the Rebels for 17 points in the first half alone, starting off 5-for-5 behind the arc. He finished with 25 points and added 4 rebounds and a steal.

Jackson Shemwell came off the bench for big minutes for the Raiders. He dropped 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Brady Nugent added 9 points for the Raiders. The senior guard also had 4 assists, 5 defensive rebounds and a pair of steals. Connor Shemwell added 7 points and 6 rebounds. Phineas Rollman had 7 points for the Raiders and Aidan Abellana 4.

The Raiders were solid at the free-throw line late, squashing any chance of a Rebel rally. CHS was 13-of-16 at the stripe. The Raiders led by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter before the Rebels finally stopped the hot run.

The Raiders will host Walker Valley in the Region 3-4A Championship at 7 p.m. Thursday at Joe Frank Patch Gymnasium. Tickets are available at the gate and the game will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio.

If Coffee County beats Walker Valley, the Raiders will host the loser of Cane Ridge and Stewarts Creek on Monday night (March 7). If the Raiders lose to Walker Valley, they will travel to the winner of Cane Ridge and Stewarts Creek on Monday.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE BROADCAST REPLAY.

Thunder Radio photos by Holly Peterson