Red Bank senior Brandon Moon says he always makes the big shots.

He couldn't have found a better time to make the biggest one of his life Thursday night.

With 14 seconds left and the game tied at 58, Moon lofted one of his patented left-handed three-pointers from the deep corner.

The ball found nothing but net and fourth-ranked Red Bank defeated McMinn County, 61-58, in a Region 3-AAA high school basketball semifinal before a large crowd at Red Bank.

The victory gave Red Bank (29-3) a berth in Friday's 7:30 p.m. final against Bradley Central (24-10). The Bears defeated rival Cleveland, 68-48, in the other semifinal Thursday night.

Red Bank has won two regular-season games this year against Bradley, and also beat the Bears in the Region 3 tournament last year in Crossville.

Both teams advance to sectional play on Monday night against either No. 3-ranked Shelbyville Central or No. 8-ranked Siegel from Region 4.

RED BANK 61, McMINN 58: Moon had suffered through a miserable shooting night before his game-winner. He had just missed a three-pointer from almost the same spot, and had scored only one field goal the entire game.

"I always hit the big shots,'' Moon said. "Even though I had been missing, I still had confidence. This was a big one. We're not ready to go home yet.''

Said Red Bank coach John Cherne, "We really wanted to run down the clock a little more, or even call a timeout. But even though Moon has been off for awhile with his threes, he came up with that one. Players make plays, that's all I can say.''

Red Bank roared to a 20-6 lead in the first quarter. McMinn pulled within 32-26 in the second quarter, and trailed by only 51-43 entering the fourth quarter.

Dominique McDuffie made a traditional three-point play with 5:51 left and Red Bank led, 54-43.

McMinn County then outscored Red Bank 15-4 down the stretch and tied the game at 58 on a field goal from Justin Hicks with 1:31 left.

The Cherokees (20-12) had several key turnovers late in the game, the final one coming with :30 left, setting the stage for Moon's heroics.

Red Bank's Jonathan Craig took a charge with 1:08 left, and Jeremy Caldwell pulled down the winning rebound after McMinn County's Hicks missed a three-pointer with :03 left.

"What a great atmosphere,'' Cherne said. "And it should be even greater tomorrow night.

"I'm just ecstatic we came out of this alive. My biggest fear was their three-point shooting and they made some critical ones in the fourth quarter.''

In the final quarter, McMinn County coach Keith Elliott went to a 1-3-1 zone and extended it past the top of the key. Red Bank struggled the rest of the way, scoring only 10 points in the final period.

"It was a great coaching move,'' Cherne said. "We had worked on it yesterday in practice. It slowed down the tempo, and we just didn't attack the basket enough.''

McDuffie led Red Bank with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Caldwell and Mike McGowan had 11 points each, and Caldwell had five rebounds.

Randall Smith contributed nine points and seven assists for Red Bank and Tim Benford had eight points and seven rebounds.

Hicks led McMinn County with 20 points, Brad Barham added 16 and Nick Arnwine scored 12.

BRADLEY 68, CLEVELAND 48: Terrence Oglesby has become much more than a scorer for Bradley Central's Bears.

The junior guard, who is already receiving national recruiting attention, did his scoring early Thursday night with 12 points in the first quarter against rival Cleveland.

When Cleveland went to a box-and-one offense with the chaser on Oglesby, the savvy point guard turned into a playmaker. He kept finding teammates for easy baskets, and the Bears rolled into the championship game agaisnt Red Bank.

With Olgesby scoring his 12 points, Bradley took a 25-11 lead after one quarter. Oglesby scored the last points of the quarter on a four-point play.

Cleveland then went to a box-and-one on Oglesby, and he turned the game over to his teammates. He scored only two points in the second quarter, but Bradley held a 34-20 lead at the half.

Oglesby found Bradley Central post Keith Dodd for three quick buckets to start the third quarter, and when Oglesby made a three-pointer the Bears had pushed the lead to 43-20.

"When teams go to a box, Terrence is doing a really good job of getting the ball to the open man,'' Dodd said. "He's really passing it around.''

Said Oglesby, "I've been seeing the box-and-one and triangle-and-two all year. This wasn't my first rodeo with it tonight. I just tried to get it to my teammates and they really stepped up tonight.''

Oglesby led the Bears with 23 points and Dodd added 18. Blake Crabtree contributed 15 points.

"When we lost at Cleveland a few weeks ago we knew something had to change,'' Oglesby said. "Now we're clicking as a team. Everybody is playing so well.''

Said Bradley head coach Kent Smith, "After the loss at Cleveland, we went to martial law. I'm calling more sets and we're getting the shots we need. We're sharing the basketball and we're much more patient with our half-court offense.''

Smith gave Oglesby a huge pat on the back when he took his junior star out of the game with :39 left.

"The last five games, Terrence has become our floor leader,'' Smith said. "We redefined his role after the Cleveland game. Now, he's not so focused on shooting.

"He's so savvy with the ball. He kept his composure all night, and we never let Cleveland get on a roll.''

Cleveland (20-11) was led by Ben McChesney and Alex Goldston with 14 points each.

SUMMARIES

McMINN COUNTY (58) -- Nick Arnwine 12, Brad Barham 16, Justin Hicks 20, Jeremy Simpson 3, Orlanda Wells, John Winfield 7.

RED BANK (61) -- Jeremy Caldwell 11, Jonathan Craig 4, Dee Staton, Tim Benford 8, Brandon Moon 5, Patrick Horton, Dominique McDuffie 13, Randall Smith 9.

McMinn County...11 15 17 15 -- 58
Red Bank........20 17 14 10 -- 61
Three-point goals -- Caldwell 3, Smith 3, McGowan 2, Arnwine 2, Hicks 2, Barham, Winfield, Moon.

CLEVELAND (48) -- Preston Scoggins 4, Houston Phillips 6, Ben McChesney 14, Alex Goldston 14, Colby Dodd 8, Allen Chambers, Colby Stansberry, John Adkins, Dominique Macon 2, Watson Horner, Monte Scotton, Tommy Nichols, Aaron Cagle.

BRADLEY CENTRAL (68) -- Jamie Baird, Logan Watson 7, Matt Perkins, Wes Adams 2, Blake Crabtree 15, Mark Gibson 3, Matt Hawkins, Terrence Oglesby 23, Keith Dodd 18, Ryan Wright, Matt Risenhoover, Michael Payne.

Cleveland....11 9 9 19 -- 48
Bradley......25 9 21 13 -- 68
Three-point goals -- Oglesby 5, McChesney 4, Phillips 2, Dodd 2, Watson.

(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)