Tanner's CJ Yarbrough tries to dunk over Cleveland's Parker Cornelius in the second quarter of the Northwest Regional Tournament Thursday.

HANCEVILLE — C.J. Yarbrough’s last second shot banked off the backboard and into the net as the buzzer sounded Thursday in the semifinals of the 2A Boys Northwest Regional Tournament.

The only problem for is it was one point short as Tanner lost to Cleveland 60-59 in the 2A boys regional semifinal. Yarbrough’s final basket gave the sophomore 39 points on the night to go along with his 15 rebounds and three blocked shots.

It was too little too late though as Tanner fell into a big hole early in the game that proved too much to overcome. The third-ranked Rattlers trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, but closed the third quarter on a 13-2 to climb back into the game.

Cleveland got most of its point from 6-foot-9 guard Khalil Johnson, who scored a team-high 25 points. Despite his intimidating stature, Johnson did most of his damage from outside, hitting five 3-pointers.

Quick start

Johnson started the game hitting back-to-back 3-pointers as Cleveland took a 6-2 lead to start the game. In total, Johnson hit four 3-pointers in the first half to help Cleveland take a 30-22 at halftime.

The Panthers led by as many as 14 in the second quarter before Tanner closed the half on a 10-4 run.

Tanner pulled within seven points just after halftime, but another Johnson 3-pointer and quick break basket from Micah Fallin stretched the lead back to 12 points midway through the third.

Tanner responded with a full-court press that forced four consecutive turnovers and allowed Tanner to go on a 11-0 run. During the run, Yarbrough hit a 3-pointer and pulled Tanner to within 1-point of Cleveland with an emphatic dunk in the final minute of the third quarter.

J.J. Johnson’s jump shot as time expired in the third quarter made it 39-38 Cleveland entering the fourth quarter. In the fourth, Yarbrough tied the game in the opening minute of the quarter and again on two made free-throws after he suffered a hard foul with five minutes to play.

Yarbrough made 13 of 20 free-throws and 29 total points in the second half to keep Tanner in the game.

Tanner finishes the season with an 18-9 record and runners up in Class 2A Area 16.