Chalk another victory up for the underdog in a wild and wacky First Region tournament.

First Heath upends First Region frontrunner Graves County on Monday night.

Then Carlisle County stuns Marshall County on a last second shot in Monday’s nightcap.

Calloway County avenges an early season loss and upsets Paducah Tilghman on Tuesday.

And now, Mayfield sends Fulton County packing in Tuesday evening’s nightcap.

Mayfield advances to the semi-finals of the regional tournament with a 49-45 win over Fulton County at Murray State’s RSEC. The Cardinals will face Calloway County Friday night at 7:45. In the other semi-final contest, Heath will meet Carlisle County.

“We’ve gelled more as a team,” said Cardinals coach Chris Guhy. “This is a great win for our program.”

Indeed.

Fulton County, perhaps the most athletic team in the region, was considered by many one of the most dangerous teams remaining.

“I can’t remember the last time all four underdogs won,” Guhy said.

According to the Paducah Sun, this year marks the first time in over 50 years that all four district runner-ups have posted upset victories over district champions in the First Region tournament.

Balance was key for Mayfield in the upset bid.

Senior Justin Shoales scored a team-high 13 points and snagged 10 rebounds.

Perhaps the biggest play of the night came from freshman Adam Shelton. Shelton tossed in 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists for the Cardinals.

“Adam Shelton had the best game of his career,” Guhy said.

Senior Greg Cook connected on a pair of back-to-back three-pointers for eight points with two blocks and senior Tienne England had eight points and five assists.

After the Pilots pulled at 39 with 3:53 remaining in regulation, Shelton made a nice move in the post to help Mayfield reclaim the lead at 41-39 at the 3:16 mark.

Then Shoales scored in the paint on a give-and-go play and Shelton went inside for another basket as the Cardinals led 45-41 with 1:47 remaining.

Fulton County missed a pair of scoring opportunities late in the frame and England sank two free throws and Shelton and Shoales each made 1-of-2 attempts to preserve the win.

Always a team that showcases a hot hand from beyond the three-point stripe, Fulton County was 3-of-21 for 14%.

It was only fitting that Mayfield’s seniors stole the show on Senior Night.

“We had a great game out of our seniors,” said Cardinals coach Chris Guhy after an 66-62 upset win over Carlisle County Tuesday night at the Mayfield Sports Arena. “They all did a great job.”

Guhy started all five seniors on the night that they were recognized for there dedication and hard work.

And all five starters delivered. Whether it be scoring, rebounding or defending.

Seniors Greg Cook and Justin Shoales gave the Cardinals a spark in the first quarter with sharp-shooting from the perimeter.

Cook drained a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes of the quarter and scored eight first period points. Shoales scored eight first quarter points as well as Mayfield raced out to a 19-13 lead.

Mayfield used a 7-2 run midway through the quarter to build the cushion and Cook’s pair of treys preserved the lead after the Comets cut the margin to two points with less than two minutes remaining in the frame.

Tienne England drilled a three-pointer to open the second quarter and scored six points in the period as Mayfield led 30-19 at the half.

“I thought that we did a great job on Brett Hoskins in the first half,” Guhy said. “But he sure did turn it on in the end.”

Mayfield held Hoskins, who is widely considered the top player in the First Region, in check in the first half.

But in the second half, Hoskins would catch fire on his way to a game-high 39 points.

The Cardinals overcame four turnovers in the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter and went on a 9-4 run in the final four minutes of the period to claim a 44-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Little did the Cardinals know that a 64-52 lead with 1:19 remaining would nearly disappear.

Hoskins was fouled on a made three-pointer and turned the play into four points for Carlisle County. And Hoskins sank two free throws and scored in the paint on a putback of his own missed free throw with 33 seconds remaining to make it a 64-62 Mayfield lead.

But Cook sank a pair of free throws to seal the win for the Cardinals with seven seconds remaining.

England led the Cardinals with 20 points while Shoales scored 18 points with 14 rebounds. Cook scored a season-high 13.

“We needed this win big,” Guhy said. “Especially at home. This will give us momentum heading into the district tournament.”

Mayfield will play at Hickman County on Friday and then face St. Mary in the First District tournament next week at Graves County High School.

Graves County coach Allan Hatcher knew that Fulton County was a dangerous team coming in.

Now, everybody else knows, too.

“Honestly, we should have been beaten,” Hatcher said after the Eagles defeated the Pilots 60-51 in overtime Monday night at the Eagles Nest. “Give Fulton County credit.”

But on Senior Night, it was only fitting that a senior seal the deal for Graves County in overtime.

Senior point guard Josh Frick opened the extra frame with a three-pointer and sank 4-of-6 free throws in the final 1:39 over overtime for the nine-point win.

“That was the worst case scenario for us,” said Fulton County coach Shayne Midyett. “They opened overtime with hitting a three-pointer. And it was a big one.”

Senior A.J. Adams led four scorers in double-digits for the Eagles with 16 points. Frick scored 15, Randon Cavette added 12 and Zack Sims tossed in 10.

Graves County improves to a First Region best 21-4 on the season.

In the first half, Elvis Holloway powered Fulton County’s offense with three three-pointers in the first quarter alone as the Pilots claimed a 16-5 lead.

The Eagles found success in the post early in the second quarter as Cavette scored three consecutive baskets in the paint. Adams sank 3-of-4 free throws and Cavette recorded a steal and layup late in the quarter to trim the margin to 22-18. Sims drained a wide-open three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining as Fulton County held a 22-21 halftime lead.

Been there. Done that.

That was the sentiment of Mayfield coach Chris Guhy Tuesday night after yet another close encounter with one of the First Region’s top guns in Paducah Tilghman.

“That’s the way that it has been all year,” Guhy said after Mayfield’s 46-38 loss to the Blue Tornado. “We’re a lot better when we’re hitting the basket. But that ball just wouldn’t go in.”

The Cardinals (7-13) had their chances in the fourth quarter to pull off the upset. Down 38-28 heading into the final frame, Mayfield trimmed Tilghman’s lead to seven points after freshman Adam Shelton drained a jumper and senior center Adam Ivey drilled a three-pointer.

But over the next six minutes of play, the Cardinals would miss eights shots and commit one turnover.

End of comeback effort.

End of story.

“I felt like we had some opportunities,” Guhy said. “But we didn’t check the boards down. And we had a costly turnover.”

Senior forward Justin Shoales led Mayfield with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Ivey tossed in eight points and snagged nine rebounds. Tienne England scored nine points and had five boards for the Cardinals.

“We were picked to get beat by 15,” Guhy said. “But it was a lot closer than that.”

Guhy said that it wasn’t shot selection that doomed the Cardinals, just missed opportunities.

“It wasn’t bad shots,” Guhy said. “We had the shots that we wanted.”

Curtis Hamilton led the Blue Tornado in scoring with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Mayfield plays at regional stronghold Marshall County on Friday night.

Mayfield coach Chris Guhy had a warning for his troops before their tip-off against Ballard Memorial - don’t look at the Bombers 1-17 record.

“I was afraid of that,” Guhy said. “We missed a lot of shots that we should have hit.”

The Cardinals were able to shake off a late Ballard Memorial rally in the closing minutes of play and claimed a 43-40 Third District win Thursday night at the Mayfield Sports Arena.

There were a pair of crucial defensive plays that sealed the win for Mayfield with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. Senior forward Justin Shoales blocked a shot at the 1:14 mark and senior point guard Tienne England recorded a steal with 34 seconds remaining.

England, who scored a team-high 14 points with five rebounds, drained a pair of free throws with 32 seconds remaining to give the Cardinals a 42-38 edge. After Ballard Memorial’s Tim Lanier pulled the Bombers within two points with a bucket in the paint at the :12 mark, Mayfield senior Greg Cook sank the front end of a pair of free throws for the three-point victory.

Mayfield improves to 7-12 on the season with Ballard Memorial falls to 1-18.

Adam Ivey scored 10 points and snagged seven rebounds for the Cardinals. Shoales led Mayfield on the boards with a season-high 15 rebounds and Cook had a season-high nine points.

The Cardinals were 10-of-15 from the free throw stripe.

Mayfield outrebounded Ballard Memorial 37-16.

Up 19-18 at the half, Mayfield built a 36-25 lead in the third quarter behind the effort if Ivey in the post. Ivey scored scored on his own putback and scored again in the lane off an assist from England at the 2:40 mark on his way to eight points in the frame. England tallied a steal and capped off the quarter with a layup for the 11-point lead heading into the fourth period.

Mayfield heads into its toughest stretch of the season in the next two weeks. The Cardinals host First Region power Paducah Tilghman Tuesday night and travel to regional stronghold Marshall County next Friday night. Mayfield host Carlisle County the week after next and rounds out the regular season at Hickman County.

“I feel good about our match-ups,” Guhy said. “It will be a good test to get ready for the district tournament.”

A.J. Adams would not be denied.

Double-teamed.

Triple-teamed.

It didn’t matter.

If the ball was heading to Adams in the post, he was putting it in the basket.

“Our coaches ran a lot of plays to get me the ball and my teammates got me the ball,” Adams said after pouring in a team-high 30 points in a convincing 61-50 win over arch-rival Marshall County Monday night at the Eagles Nest.

Adams dominated the paint, draining 10-of-10 attempts from the floor with seven rebounds and one blocked shot. At the foul line, Adams made the Marshals pay netting 10-of-13 attempts.

When asked if it was his best shooting performance from the field, Adams smiled and said, “I’d have to say so.”

“A.J.’s finally realized that he is going to have to put himself in the position to make big plays for us,” said Graves County coach Allan Hatcher. “And he did that tonight. He stepped up.”

Don’t let the final score fool you, it was all Graves County from the get-go.

Sophomore Randon Cavette jump-started the Eagles in the first two minutes of play with a pair of free throws, a score in the post and recorded a steal that resulted in a layup as Graves County went on a 6-0 to open the gates. After a Marshall County score in the paint, Adams scored on a putback and Cavette sent the crowd crazy with a slam dunk at the 3:27 mark of the first as the Eagles went ahead 10-2.

“Randon was off to a great start before he picked up those two quick fouls,” Hatcher said.

After Cavette picked up his second foul at the 1:11 mark of the first, Hatcher looked to his bench and found solid bac