With Marshall County’s all-time leading scorer KJ Johnson filling up the hoops at David Lipscomb University this season, Cornelius Turner steps in as the main scoring threat for the Tigers and the senior came through in a big way Friday night at the Dottie Kelso Memorial Gymnasium in Lewisburg, scoring the game-winning basket as time expired to lift MCHS to a 57-56 win over Fairview.

“It was just the way we drew it up,” a smiling MCHS head coach Lavon King said. “Cornelius has more experience than anybody out there on the floor, it’s his time to shine in situations like that, he has to step up to the plate and I thought he did a great job with that tonight.”

Turner ended up with a game-high 25 points, including three 3-pointers and a 4-for-7 effort from the free throw line.

“It’s been a little rough, but we are picking it up,” Turner said. “It was hard changing speed, with KJ we were always push and go, now we have to try to set up in our offense and score.”

Silas Hurt had 14 points for the Tigers while Kaamil Hazel netted eight and Devonte Davis and Devon Wilson scored six points apiece.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 9-4 lead behind seven points by Hazel, including a 3-pointer to start the game.

Fairview eventually tied the game at 11-11 with three minutes to go in the first quarter, only to see the Tigers score five straight on a Hurt rebound and put-back and a long 3-pointer by Wilson.

The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to 16-13 on a buzzer beater by Kennedy Pendergrass at the end of the first quarter and they took a 19-16 lead early in the second period on a 6-0 run, capped off by a Locke Hord steal and score.

Marshall County responded with a 7-2 burst, eventually retaking the lead at 23-21 on a Turner 3-pointer from the top of the key with just over two minutes to go in the first half.

Ryan Stannard busted the MCHS string with a bucket for Fairview, but the Tigers pounced again with eight straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Davis and Turner at the end of the quarter that put Marshall County in front 31-23 at the break.

Hurt scored on back-to-back trips down the floor to begin the second half and it looked like the Tigers were going to pull away with their biggest lead of the game at 12 points.

Marshall County controlled the pace and with less than a minute to go in the third quarter, another Turner trey made it a 44-31 contest, but the Yellow Jackets tallied the final five points of the stanza to trail by eight points, entering the fourth quarter.

Fairview’s push to get back in the game took a while as they outscored MCHS 18-7 up to the 1:59 mark of the contest when Stannard tied it up at 51 on a drive to the hoop.

Turner was clutch as he scored the next four points, including both ends of a one-and-one opportunity from the free throw line with 36 seconds left, giving the Tigers a 55-51 lead.

Hord drilled a 3-pointer and after MCHS could not convert the front end of a one-and-one, Bill Eads scored in the low post to give Fairview a 56-55 lead with 6.4 seconds remaining in the game.

The ensuing inbounds pass from Davis went to Turner, who drove the length of the floor, only to find three Fairview defenders in his path, but he contorted his body and twisted through the crowd, hitting the up and under layup at the buzzer for the game-winner.

“I was just trying to get open and get down the court as fast as I could, we only had six seconds left,” Turner said. “I was just trying to get around all of them and make a soft touch off the glass.”

The Tigers (2-3) lost 61-36 at Coffee County (6-3) on Saturday and will take the court again this Saturday at Franklin County (1-5).

“They’re (Fairview) predicted to finish first or in the top two in their district and it was a good measuring tool for us to see what we are made of and I think we stepped up to the plate,” King said. “This is a completely different team this year and that’s what I preach to the guys is everybody has to step up and do their part.”

Fairview 13 10 13 20-56

MCHS 16 15 13 13-57

Fairview (56): Bill Eads 18, Locke Hord 15, Ryan Stannard 9, Easton Huddleston 8, Garrett Wooten 3, Kennedy Pendergrass 2, Jacob Neal 1.

Three-point goals (3): Hord, Stannard, Eads.

Free throws: (9-for-12): Hord 4-for-5, Eads 3-for-3, Wooten 1-for-2, Neal 1-for-2.

Marshall County (57): Cornelius Turner 25, Silas Hurt 14, Kaamil Hazel 8, Devonte Davis 5, Devon Wilson 5.

Three-point goals (7): Turner 3, Hazel 2, Davis, Wilson.

Free Throws (6-for-13): Turner 4-for-7, Hurt 2-for-4, Omarion Alred 0-for-2.

Halftime score: MCHS 31, Fairview 23.