It was a resounding dunk by Yantis’ Jayden Modrell as the buzzer sounded capping a furious fourth-quarter rally which saw the Owls fly past the Bellevue Eagles 50-45 and moves them into the regional quarter finals to be played Tuesday night in Commerce (after Monitor press time).

Down 38-30 going into the fourth quarter, the never-say-die Owls hustled and clawed their way back from the deficit with a 20-7 run in the final 6:40 of the game. The Owls got numerous second chance points on sheer hustle on the boards from Modrell, Lucas Cerretani and Bradley Potts. Potts had gotten into early foul trouble with four fouls going into the final quarter, but the talented junior skillfully maneuvered the rest of the game without another call against him. Tucker Hathcoat and J.D. Nolen each had timely steals to support the comeback. The Owls dove after every loose ball and came up with several key fourth-quarter turnovers in showing a stellar effort and desire to win the game.

Bellevue struck early and took a 4-0 lead in the first two minutes of the contest. Nolen hit a layup and Modrell had a put back after an offensive rebound to knot the game at 4-4. Yantis’ Marshall Anderson hit a three-pointer at the end of the quarter and the score stood at 10-7 with Yantis leading. The teams battled back and forth the rest of the first half with neither team leading by more than three points. With Bellevue leading 20-18 Modrell hit a short jumper with 33 seconds to go in the half to make it a 20-20 ball game at intermission.

In the third quarter, with Bellevue up by seven points, Cerretani hit a shot to make in 33-28. A Nolen steal and floor-length drive for a bucket with a minute to go cut the Eagle lead to 35-30. Bellevue ended the quarter with a 15-foot jumper to take what appeared to be a safe 38-30 lead over the Owls going into the frantic final frame.

Playing great defense with Modrell dominating the boards on both ends, the Owls kept coming back. With 6:43 left in the game Modrell made a tough shot as he was being hacked resulting in a foul. Modrell’s free throw was good and the Owls were down 38-33. After an Eagle free throw, Potts and Nolen took over hustling after steals and putting the Owls in position for the comeback. Potts hit a field goal and three free throws in a one-minute span to make it a 41-38 game. Modrell was fouled, hit a pair of charity tosses and cut the lead to 41-40 with 3:41 left in the game.

Bellevue went up 42-40, but Hathcoat came back with a free throw making it a 42-41 contest at 3:05. Potts gave Yantis their first lead of the second half, 43-42 on two free throws with 2:50 to go. With the score tied at 45-45, Modrell had a put back on a missed Owl shot to give Yantis a 47-45 lead. Potts added a free throw to make it 48-45 and as Bellevue tried desperately to score, Potts made a steal, tossed to Modrell who slammed it home at the buzzer for the final 50-45 area championship victory.

Modrell led the Owls in scoring with 25 points, dominating under the bucket with 16 rebounds and five assists, while the floor general Potts added nine points and several key steals and defensive plays. The hustling Nolen had eight points and was a constant threat to the Bellevue perimeter players on defense. Hathcoat scored three points and was also instrumental on defense in the final quarter. Cerretani had two points and held Bellevue’s main offensive threat to just two final quarter points and had eight defensive rebounds, several in the fourth quarter comeback.

The Owls head to quarter-final play with a fine 21-10 record. This makes 11 consecutive years the Yantis boys team has made it to the state playoffs.