The Boyle County boys took the long way to the top.

Six years removed from their last district title and six weeks removed from a disheartening first half of the season, the Rebels may have finally become the team they thought they could be.

They took the fight to a Danville Christian team that had beaten them twice this season and turned the tables Friday night with a 52-45 victory for the championship of the 45th District Tournament at Garrard Middle School.

Boyle (15-15) pushed into the lead late in the third quarter and stopped DCA (24-6) down the stretch to win the district for the first time since 2018 and for only the second time in the past 11 seasons.

“We haven’t had one in a while,” Boyle coach Dennie Webb said. “We’re tickled to death.”

There weren’t many smiles in the Boyle camp when the Rebels lost nine of their first 12 games or four straight in the final days of the regular season.

But Webb and his players always believed they had a team that could contend for district and regional titles and showed that potential at times, and they showed it again this week with consecutive wins over Lincoln County and DCA in the final rounds of the district tourney.

“The team’s come together since earlier this year,” Boyle forward Seneca Driver said.

Driver, a freshman, was named the tournament’s most valuable player after posting 15 points and 12 rebounds in the title game.

Meanwhile, the Rebels’ defense held DCA, which was trying to win the program’s first district title, to three field goals in the final 14:10 and six points in the fourth quarter and outrebounded the Warriors 15-9 in the second half.

“Offense is going to come and go, but you can always have effort, you can always have defense and you can always rebound, and when you get them all going together you get something pretty good,” Webb said. 

Boyle never trailed after taking the lead in the final minute of the first half, but the game was tied four times in the third quarter before the Rebels used a 7-2 run that included five points by Lyndon Smith to take a 43-38 lead.

They never led by more than five points until the closing seconds, but they never let DCA get its offense untracked in the fourth quarter and they held the Warriors scoreless over the final 2:51.

Montavin Quisenberry had 10 points, Guy Turner had nine and Lyndon Smith had eight for Boyle.

Geu Ateny had 15 points and Emmanuel Dut had 12 for DCA, which had beaten Boyle by 11 and six points in the regular season and had won 10 straight games since a Jan. 26 loss to Newport in the All “A” Classic.

Both teams will play in the 12th Region Tournament, which begins Wednesday at Pulaski County. Visit @Advocate_Sports on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday for information on the regional draw.

 

Most Valuable Player

Seneca Driver, Boyle County

All-Tournament Team

Geu Ateny, Danville Christian; Demauriah Brown, Boyle County; Emmanuel Dut, Danville; Jaydon Noe, Garrard County; Blade Nuckols, Lincoln County; Montavin Quisenberry, Boyle County; Guy Turner, Boyle County