CYNTHIANA – After dominating the first half against Nicholas County, Deming looked as if they could coast to an easy win in Tuesday’s 38th District Tournament matchup. Though they may have coasted a little too much in squandering most of a 27-point lead, the Black Devils were able come through when it counted to hold off the Bluejackets for a 60-49 win.

After Deming’s Billy Graves and Nicholas County’s Dylan Boone traded three-pointers on each team’s opening possession, the rest of the half would be all Black Devils. Deming scored the next six points, then after trading baskets, rolled off another 16 unanswered points. By the time Jarrod White closed out the run with back-to-back three-pointers two minutes into the second quarter, the score was already 27-7 and the contest appeared to be all but over.

After Deming took a commanding 35-18 lead to halftime, all but the most optimistic Nicholas County faithful were ready to give up hope when Deming scored the first eight points of the second half and eventually pushed the lead as high as 51-26.

Facing what seemed to be an unsurmountable 27-point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Nicholas defense would begin to press and create a slew of turnovers from a Deming team that has gone into cruise control. Compounding the problems for the Black Devils was that leading scorer Travis Massey picked up his third and fourth fouls during the stretch and would have to spend most of that time on the bench.

“Our defense was wonderful in the first half and we got the ball out and pushed it on offense and got some good baskets,” said Deming coach Jamey Johnson. “I told the guys to act like they’re the team that’s up 26 points and wants to keep the lead, not like you’re down 26 and starting to panic. Unfortunately we did exactly that. But I can’t compliment (Nicholas County) enough. It was great coaching. He knew what to do with the press and we had a hard time adjusting.”

The result would be a 23-2 run that pulled the Bluejackets to within six points with 3:33 to play.

Desperately needing to stop the Bluejackets’ momentum, Johnson called a timeout and his team answered with consecutive defensive stops. After a Caleb Curtis free throw, the Black Devils were able to force a Nicholas County turnover on the ensuing possession, allowing Massey to feed Graves for an open layup to return the lead to a more comfortable 56-47 with just over a minute to play. Deming then went 4-4 from the line in the final minute to seal the win.

“I don’t understand it,” Johnson said of his team’s second half lapse. “In pressure situations it seems like we can turn it on but in non-pressure situations we get too relaxed. It also hurt that Travis was in foul trouble, but when he came back in, they relaxed and did a good job of picking it up and getting it turned around.”

Boone took game scoring honors with 22 points, 12 coming in the second half comeback attempt by Nicholas County, who closes out the year at 5-22. Massey led the way for Deming with 20 points and was joined in double-figures by Graves with 11.

Though they are excited to have already locked up a trip to Maysville for the 10th Region Tournament, Johnson is quick to mention that he and the Black Devils still have business to take care of in Cynthiana, where they take will take on Harrison County for the 38th District championship at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“We’re definitely happy to be going to the region,” said Johnson. “It’s a big thing for us. I’ve got to give it up to these guys. They try to give me a heart attack at times but they work hard and everybody played an exceptional game tonight. I told them not to be satisfied with just going to the region though. I want to go into the region as a winner.”

Nicholas County 7 11 16 15 – 49

Deming 19 16 16 9 – 60

NC: Boone 7 7-11 22, Campbell 5 0-0 12, McCarty 4 0-0 8, Duncan 2 0-3 4, Mattox 1 1-2 3. Totals 19 8-16 49.

D: Massey 7 5-6 20, Graves 3 3-4 11, White 3 0-0 9, Grause 4 0-0 8, Curtis 2 1-2 5, K.King 2 0-0 4, Mitchell 1 0-0 3. Totals 22 9-12 60.

Three-pointers: NC 3 (Campbell 2, Boone), D 7 (White 3, Graves 2, Massey, Mitchell).

Records: Nicholas County 5-22, Deming 13-14.