On Tuesday night at the Gallatin County 1A Sectional, the result was the same but the contest was hardly an easy win for the top-ranked team in the state and the ABV Preseason and current number one team in the Deep South.

But as all championship teams will attest, hardware is brought home by the teams' that can handle adversity.

In front of a packed house and on their opponents home floor, Meridian took another step towards its ultimate goal of winning a state championship with a 66-56 triumph.

Coach Jeff Mandrell's club, who had romped passed this same team 88-51 back on February 5 at the GEC/SEC Shootout, got a real scare on Tuesday night.

However the Bobcats calmly got the job done at the free throw line, nailing 8-of-8 attempts in the fourth quarter as they squashed the Hawks rally and sent the partisan crowd home with a season ending defeat.

“Early in the season we struggled from the foul line but we've gotten a lot better,” said Meridian head coach Jeff Mandrell. “It seems like in clutch situations we've been there. I told my assistant with about six minutes to go that we've got to take care of the ball and make free throws and we did that.”

Five-foot-eleven senior guard Joshua Jones led the way with 20-points for Meridian, as Coach Jeff Mandrell's team improved to 27-2 on the season with the win.

Cameron Ballard and Jerry Johnson added 16 and 13 in the win, while Michael Schoffner and DeMarko Ransom chipped in nine and six points.

The significance of Ransom and Schoffner scoring in the fourth quarter helped keep Gallatin County from making a run in the final minutes.

Those two combined to make 5-of-5 free throws, sealing the victory and a berth in Friday night's title game.

The Hawks promising season ended with Andrew Drone continuing to impress and setting the ground work for what could be a banner season in 2012-13.

The 7-foot junior center was a force in the middle for the Hawks, hitting for 26-points, grabbing 15-rebounds and rejecting six shots.

His teammates also put up some good numbers with Patrick Lowe scoring 16-points while Daine Hish nailed three 3-pointers for nine points.

“We missed some shots early. It was a big crowd and the kids were tight at first,” said Gallatin County head coach Robert “Radar” Patton. “I thought our game plan went right down to what we needed to do but they (Meridian) hit free throws late in the game. I thought we played well. Drone, Hish and Lowe all hit big shots for us.”

Nevertheless, each time Gallatin County rallied, the Bobcats had an answer during what was an exciting contest from the opening tap.

Meridian didn't shoot the ball well, especially in the beginning as Drone and Company, unlike their previous two encounters with the quick 'Cats, stayed within striking range throughout the game.

Gallatin County held just one lead, 2-0 in the early going on the first basket by Drone.

But as they usually do, Meridian made its first big run with Ballard scoring on a 3-pointer and a tip in.

Jones added a score on a high-low pass from Johnson and Meridian had a 12-4 lead with 2:42 left in the first quarter.

Gallatin closed the frame with Drone hitting two free throws and Lowe tipping in a missed shot for a 12-8 score at the first horn.

Not known as a great 3-point shooting team, the Bobcats exploited the Hawks zone defense twice in the second quarter.

Jones and Ballard both dialed up long distance and when Jones grabbed a rebound and scored while being fouled by Drone, his conventional three-point play pushed Meridian to a 21-13 advantage at the 3:18 mark.

Johnson and Jones each scored on shots in the paint to close the half.

Jones took a lob pass from Jones and his conversion closed the second quarter at 25-14.

Coach Patton talks about Drone being his team's “bread and butter” player and the junior center came up big in the third quarter as the Hawks mounted a comeback.

Drone scored eight points in the quarter. After Hish nailed one of his trifectas from the left wing, Drone took a lob pass and banked home a shot to get Gallatin County close at 32-29 with 2:52 to go.

“He (Drone) is darn good and he just keeps getting better,” said Coach Mandrell. “If he gets it close to the basket he is tough. He continues to improve.”

Meridian, who had committed three turnovers to help fuel the Hawks flight, scored the next six points and led 38-31 at the end of the third quarter.

With the crowd behind the hosts, Gallatin County made one final run.

Drone scored six consecutive points and when his 12-foot baseline shot found the mark with 6:14 remaining, the Hawks were down just 42-37.

That would be as close as Gallatin County would get because of two factors.

The Bobcats took care of business by making a quick 8-0 run and, late in the contest, made its shots from the foul line.

On the other hand, the Hawks failed to capitalize on its chances from the charity stripe, hitting just 7-of-16 in the game.

On that 8-0 burst, Johnson, Ballard and Ransom all put in shots.

When Ransom closed the run on a steal and subsequent pass from Jones for a fast break, the Bobcats led 50-37.

Schoffner, Ransom and then finally Jones shut the door with those three combining for six straight free throws converted to send the Bobcats into their third consecutive sectional title game.

Meridian didn't shoot the ball well, hitting just 25-of-65 overall, but they held a 32-27 rebounding edge and committed just eight turnovers compared to 16 miscues by Gallatin County.

Seventeen of those rebounds were offensive, which led to a lot of second chance points.

The Hawks were 23-of-49 overall from the floor but the foul line problems and turnvovers against the Meridian pressure ended the Gallatin County season at 20-9 with back-to-back regional titles in the trophy case and a good outlook for next winter.

“I told the kids that we were going to have to fight hard to get a win here against them,” added Coach Mandrell. “They (Gallatin County) had a big crowd on their floor. We could have played better but it is better to get the win instead of falling short.”

Meridian will face the winner of Wednesday's Crab Orchard/Sesser-Valier semifinal this Friday.

“They (Meridian) are well coached and athletic but you know what? My kids had something to prove. My kids played well. We had an excellent game plan, but we just fell a little bit short,” finalized Coach Patton.