KINGSPORT – A season of renewal for the Unaka Rangers came to an end on Wednesday in the boys’ region 1A basketball tournament at J. Richard Carroll gymnasium.

University High (27-5) continued its quest of a trip to Murfreesboro with a convincing 63-42 victory over Unaka.

Forward Kaleb Meredeth scored a game-high 28 points – including 14 first-quarter points as the Buccaneers built a commanding lead – as UH shot an astounding 20-for-37 (54.0 percent) including 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

“I’m not disappointed,” Rangers head coach Aaron Dugger said. “I’m disappointed in the loss, but not in these guys. If you had told somebody at the beginning of the season that we would end up here in the region they would have said you were crazy. And it’s nothing that I did, these kids bought in and worked their tails off, and the only thing they have to do now is up their talent. This is one of my favorite teams to have coached. They made coaching fun for me again.”

UH led 17-7 after one period and raced to a 31-15 halftime lead with Meredeth scoring 17 first-half points. He shot 10-for-15 (66.7 percent) from the floor including 3-for-3 from long range.

“We lost in the semi’s last year, and it feels good to be here now,” Bucs head coach Justin Penley said. “Your goal every year is to get to Murfreesboro, but you can’t do that if you don’t get to the sectional. It’s been a few years since we have gotten to this point and hopefully, the kids will enjoy the moment and continue to work hard. Two good teams will play for the championship, and home court in the sectional is huge.”

The Rangers (14-17) came in with a lot of emotion but could not find the range on the most basic shot as they were forced into hurried shots by a determined Bucs defensive effort. UH led 50-26 going into the final period and Unaka never could put together a run to get back into the contest.

“My hat’s off to them,” Dugger said. “That’s where we have to get to. We have to raise our talent level, by working hard, to where we have six and seven deep that can contribute.”

John Ramsey led the Rangers with 13 points and eight boards with Hill adding 12.

Region 1A quarterfinal

University High 63-42

Unaka (42)

Johnson 2, Hill 12, Sexton 10, J. Ramsey 13, Drew 1, Ensor 3, Whitehead 1.

University High (63)

Fleenor 11, Daniel 3, Vargo 11, Meredeth 28, Broome 4, Cunningham 3, Carter 3.

Unaka     7 8 11 16 – 42

University High 17 14 19 13 – 63

3-point goals : U 0, UH 10 (Meredeth 3, Fleenor 2, Vargo 2, Daniel, Cunningham, Carter 1)