With less than two minutes to play, the East junior first came up a with a huge steal before draining a long 3-pointer at the other end to put East up 37-32.
The Thunderhawks then put it away at the free-throw line in a 43-41 Division I sectional semifinal victory at Lakota West. Cox led all scorers with 22 points, including four 3s.
“Oh man, I was so hyped,” Cox said of his big 3. “I felt like I had to do something. I hit that, and that’s when I knew we would win. I was feeling it all night, and I want to give my teammates credit for getting me the ball.”
“Obviously he is a gamer,” East coach Clint Adkins said. “That 3 was huge, but that’s who he is. He hits big shots.”
The Thunderhawks held the Knights to three points in the second quarter to grab a 21-9 halftime bulge, but it was a different-looking Kings team that came out in the second half.
Matt Sichterman poured in 11 of his team-high 13 points as the Knights rode a big third period to cut the gap to 25-24 before Jackson See beat the buzzer with a long 3 to put East up 28-24 going to the fourth.
The Knights closed to within two multiple times in the fourth quarter, but Cox and the Thunderhawks had an answer every time.
“I felt like we had some chances to put it away, but we weren’t as sound defensively as we were early,” Adkins said. “Give them credit. They got their bigs good looks down low and they hit some shots. They kept fighting.”
Evan Kuhlman had 12 points and eight rebounds for East, which improved to 16-7. The sixth-seeded Thunderhawks hit 14 of 40 from the field, but only 5 of 21 in the second half.
Clay Spivey scored all 11 of his points in the second half for the 18th-seeded Knights, who finished 10-14. Kings hit 14 of 34 from the field, but nailed 10 of 21 after halftime.
“Our defense has to be better,” Adkins said. “When you are not going to shoot well, you have to be sound defensively.”
East will return to West on Saturday for a 7 p.m. sectional final against Greater Miami Conference rival Mason (19-2). The fourth-seeded Comets beat No. 16 St. Xavier 59-49 in Wednesday’s second game at West.
Mason defeated the Thunderhawks 48-34 on Jan. 3 and 59-44 on Feb. 7.
Kings 6-3-15-17—41
Lakota East 10-11-7-15—43
KINGS (10-14): Gabe Stacy 2 2 8, Jack Hussey 1 0 2, Tyler Mitchell 1 0 2, Clay Spivey 4 2 11, Dan Sichterman 2 1 5, Matt Sichterman 4 5 13. Totals: 14-10-41
LAKOTA EAST (16-7): Jalen Peck 2 0 4, Jackson See 1 0 3, Evan Kuhlman 3 6 12, Jarrett Cox 7 4 22, Alex Mangold 1 0 2. Totals: 14-10-43
3-pointers: K 3 (Stacy 2, Spivey), L 5 (Cox 4, See)
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