CARTERVILLE — Nashville senior Isaac Turner has had plenty of big offensive nights during his career with the Hornets. Wednesday night’s Carterville 2A Sectional semifinal against Murphysboro was not one of them, that is until crunch time.

Turner scored five of his 14 points in the final 2:35 on a pair of go ahead baskets, including a three-pointer with 1:42 left to put the Hornets in front stay on the way to a 33-30 win and a date in Friday night’s sectional championship game against Breese Central.

Neither the Hornets nor their fans could truly celebrate until Calvon Clemons’ potential game-tying three in the final seconds rattled out. Clemons led all scorers with 15 points on the night.

Another Nashville senior, Saxton Hoepker, did the heavy lifting in the first half. Hoepker scored 10 of his 14 before halftime, including a pair of dunks, sending the Hornets’ faithful into a frenzy. Hoepker did not have a field goal in the second half, but was 4-4 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.

Nashville 15-14 at the half and extended that lead to six in the third quarter. The Hornets led 22-19 after three and scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to lead by five. That’s when Clemons and fellow Murphysboro senior Tyreek Feggins ignited a spurt.

The Red Devils ripped off eight straight points to turn the 24-19 deficit into a 27-24 lead with 3:13 to play. Two Hoepker free throws and a Turner jumper put Nashville back in front ever so briefly, as Feggins answered by hitting a turn around jumper while being fouled, as Murphysboro regained a 29-28 lead with 2:00 to play.

Feggins scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, but missed the free throw to finish the three-point play opportunity. The Red Devils finished 4-9 from the free throw line, including 1-4 in the fourth quarter.

Nashville will face Breese Central Friday night for the sectional championship. The Cougars blasted Massac County 59-24 in the other sectional semi Tuesday night. Central won the first matchup with Nashville earlier in the season, beating the Hornets 51-40 in the championship game of the Nashville Invitational.

The winner of Friday night’s 7:00 rematch will advance to face either Teutopolis or Mt. Carmel Monday night in the SIU 2A Supersectional.