Thursday, February 18, 2010 9:29 pm

COOKEVILLE — Cannon County's boys rallied in the second half here Thursday night to advance in the District 8-AA Basketball Tournament being played at Tennessee Tech.

The Lions defeated DeKalb County 73-63 behind 30 points from junior guard Justin Davenport.

They will face top-seeded Livingston Academy Friday at 8 p.m. in a semifinal contest.

Against DeKalb, the Lions took a 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, but fell behind 34-27 at the half as the Tigers put 20 points on the board while holding Cannon County to 12 in the second quarter.

The Lions battled back to tie the game at 45 entering the final period. In the fourth, the Lions put 28 points on the scoreboard while clamping down on defense and holding DeKalb to 18 for the 10-point win.

The victory also earned the Lions an automatic berth in the region tournament next week.

SCORING: Justin Davenport 30 points; Cody Ruehlen 17; Jared Nave 10; Andrew Woodin 7; Ethan Womack 6; Colin Jones 2; Brian Cripps 1.

The top-seeded Cannon County girls will also be in action Friday, opening tournament action against DeKalb County, a 73-68 winner over York Institute Thursday.