KINGSPORT— Basketball is a game where persistence pays off and if no one believes that, they can just ask the T.A. Dugger Jr. Cyclone boys’ basketball team as the Jr. Cyclones found themselves down 37-30 in the fourth quarter before battling back to take a heart-stopping 41-39 victory in Area One boys’ tournament action.

Cade Russell had an all-around effort to lead his team capped off by a great assist to Peyton Johnson who collected the game-winning layup.

The Jr. Cyclones built a 20-16 halftime lead behind Johnson’s 8 points and found themselves trailing 30-26 at the end of the third quarter before putting together the game-winning rally.

Johnson led the Jr. Cyclones with 12 points and recorded 4 rebounds in the win. Russell wasn’t far behind with 10 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds.

Bradley Cannon played a big role in the game with 7 points and swiped the boards for 5 rebounds. Nate Stephens (4 rebounds, 4 assists) and Dalton Mitchell (4 steals, 4 assists) scored 5 points apiece.

Josh Sweeney closed out the scoring with 2 points for TAD.

With the win, the Jr. Cyclones draw a game with Ross Robinson Monday night in the tournament semi-finals.