Franklin HS boys basketball
Photo: Deb Scally

The top-seeded Franklin High School Admirals escaped with a 42-40 victory over the defending state champion Independence High School Eagles in the District 10-4A championship on Tuesday night.

Independence (18-12) got the ball with 9.1 seconds left to play and guard Dawson Miller missed a contested layup at the buzzer that would have tied the game at Page High School’s gym, which hosted the boys’ and girls’ tournaments.

Regular-season district and tournament MVP Christian Brown proved to be too much for the Eagles inside. The James Madison signee scored 12 points in the first half and finished with game-high 19 points to help secure the Admirals’ (23-5) third victory over the Eagles this season.

Seniors Jedi Jarrett and Zander Johnson added six points each for Franklin.

Nick Degman almost brought the Eagles back from a 21-15 halftime deficit with his team-high 18 points. His performance earned him all-tournament honors. Miller finished second on the team with 10. First-team all-district performer and Abilene Christian University signee Tylan Lewis scored just four points in the loss.

Both teams will host home games in the region tournament on Saturday night at 7 p.m. with Franklin playing Warren County and Indy will take on Coffee County.

The third-place game saw Centennial High School defeat Nolensville High School 53-48.

Centennial (15-14) used double-digit scoring performances from three players to take a 2-1 series lead over Nolensville (17-14) this season. Junior Santos Zirker led the team with 14 points, including eight in the first half. Kani Johnson and Carter Ezell each had 12. First-team all-district and all-tournament performer Daniel Patton finished with nine.

Kael and Kyson Barney led the Knights with 16 each. Junior Chris Johnson had eight.

The Cougars led by seven at halftime, and the Knights closed to within four at the end of the third quarter but failed to overcome the Cougars.

Kyson and Johnson received their second-team all-district honors along with the others in a ceremony postgame. Kyson also earned an all-tournament selection.

Both squads will have to travel for road games when the region tournament begins Saturday. The Knights will travel to Shelbyville Central in the first round, while the Cougars will head to Lincoln County.