Josh Conrad
DAYTON, Tenn. — The Columbus Christian girls were within three seconds of advancing to the Division 8 championship game of the National Association of Christian Athletes tournament before falling in a controversial finish on Thursday night.
The Crusaders, after a pair of free throws, led Fayette Christian from Tennessee 33-32 with 3.1 seconds remaining. However, the clock started and expired before the ball was inbounded. Officials put 3.3 seconds back on the clock, and Fayette Christian threw a long inbounds pass and made a basket at the buzzer.
Emma Murray led Columbus Christian with 16 points. Eva Blair added six.
On Friday morning, the Crusaders lost to IAM 37-30 to finish fourth place in Division 8. Olivia Wise led Columbus Christian (15-16) with six points.
Meanwhile, the Crusader boys came away with a sixth-place finish in Division 7 after beating Rhea County (Tennessee) 66-46 on Thursday and falling to Rocket City from Boonesville, Alabama, 53-43 on Friday morning.
Josh Conrad led Columbus Christian with 25 points against Rhea County. Peyton Walden scored 14, Jayden Howe had 11 and Cam Pritchard added seven.
Walden led the Crusaders (14-15) with 21 points against Rocket City. Conrad added 10.
Columbus Christian boys 66, Rhea County 46
Columbus Christian;16;17;19;14;—;66
Rhea County;17;11;8;10;—;46
Columbus Christian (14-14): Adam Haines 0 0-0 0, Jayden Howe 4 2-2 11, Cam Pritchard 3 0-2 7, Brayden Howe 2 0-0 4, Ben Halsey 0 0-0 0, Cannon Carr 0 0-0 0, Josh Conrad 9 3-4 25, Peyton Walden 7 0-5 14, Branson Carr 1 1-2 3, Elijah Fields 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 6-15 66.
Rhea County: Judah Hall 5 0-2 12, Jackson Wolfe 2 4-6 9, Aubrey McKinney 4 0-0 8, Juade Sims 3 0-2 9, Kenton Hysell 0 0-0 0, Kasen Travis 0 0-0 0, Luke Brown 2 0-2 4, Cullen Neudigate 0 0-0 0, Jeremiah Gross 0 0-0 0, Haykin Taylor 1 2-4 4. Totals: 17 6-16 46.
3-point goals: Columbus Christian 6 (Conrad 4, J. Howe, Pritchard); Rhea County 6 (Sims 3, Hall 2, Wolfe).
Rocket City 53, Columbus Christian boys 43
Columbus Christian;9;8;14;12;—;43
Rocket City;15;4;18;16;—;53
Columbus Christian (14-15): Haines 0 0-0 0, J. Howe 1 1-3 3, Pritchard 1 2-2 4, B. Howe 1 0-0 2, Conrad 4 0-0 10, Walden 9 3-5 21, B. Carr 0 1-5 1, Fields 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 7-15 43.
Rocket City: James David Coln 6 0-0 12, Lincoln Turney 4 0-0 12, Tyler Schlarman 1 0-0 3, Aiden Vanderberg 0 0-0 0, Lucian Burchers 5 3-6 14, Landon Burnette 0 0-0 0, Kai Parsons 5 2-2 12. Totals: 21 5-8 53.
3-point goals: Columbus Christian 2 (Conrad 2); Rock City 6 (Turney 4, Schlarman, Burchers).
Fayette Christian 34, Columbus Christian girls 33
Columbus Christian;8;5;10;10;—;33
Fayette Christian;6;5;5;18;—;34
Columbus Christian (15-15): Kaeli Clawson 1 0-0 3, Eva Blair 2 0-0 6, Paige Harden 0 1-6 1, Katie Bond 1 0-0 2, Olivia Wise 0 2-4 2, Emma Rice 1 0-0 3, Mara Nickerson 0 0-0 0, Belle Blair 0 0-0 0, Emma Murray 5 6-14 16. Totals: 10 9-24 33.
Fayette Christian: .Riley Adams 0 0-0 0, Addison Price 0 1-2 1, Kaylee Roebuck 0 0-0 0, Ellena Goforth 0 0-0 0, Emma Raiteri 5 3-9 14, Kenzie Murphy 0 0-0 0, Madison Holley 3 0-2 6, Faith Johnson 0 0-0 0, Baileigh Raiteri 0 0-0 0, Addison Cornwell 6 1-3 13 Totals: 14 5-16 34.
3-point goals: Columbus Christian 4 (E. Blair 2, Clawson, Rice); Fayette Christian 1 (E. Raiteri).
IAM 37, Columbus Christian girls 30
Columbus Christian;7;4;9;10;—;30
IAM;6;17;5;9;—;37
Columbus Christian (15-16): Clawson 0 1-2 1, E. Blair 2 0-2 5, Harden 1 1-2 3, Bond 1 3-4 5, Wise 3 0-4 6, Rice 0 2-4 2, Nickerson 1 2-2 4, B. Blair 0 2-4 2, Murray 0 2-2 2. Totals: 8 13-24 30.
IAM: Ella Rainey 0 0-0 0, Hadley Clark 2 2-6 7, Mylee Carr 1 0-0 3, Kaelyn Delph 0 0-0 0, Emma Jaworski 2 1-2 5, Kaedyn Ford 0 2-2 2, Hannah Kate Bratton 0 0-0 0, Ella Jaworskii 6 4-8 17, Cloe Hicks 1 1-2 3. Totals: 12 10-20 37.
3-point goals: Columbus Christian 1 (E. Blair); IAM 3 (Clark, Carr, E. Jaworski).
