UNIONVILLE - In the middle of January, the Community Vikings were 1-2 in district play and were still trying to find their identity with a 10-7 overall mark.

Thirteen consecutive wins later, the Vikings found that identity, and will get to showcase their game on the big stage in Murfreesboro.

Community (23-7) took the lead for good with just over two minutes left in the third quarter and stretched their lead down the stretch en route to a 58-46 victory over the East Nashville Eagles in a AA sectional game Monday night.

The Vikings avenged a sectional loss to the Eagles last season and punched a ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 1944.

Stratton Lovvorn scored seven points for the Vikings while Evan Petrie and Jackson Bailey each had four as the lead changed hands six times in the opening quarter.

A late basket by Bobby Joyner gave the Eagles a 16-15 lead heading to the second quarter.

A trey by Jordan Crawford gave East Nashville its biggest lead of the game at 19-15 with 7:40 left before the Vikings went on a run.

Led by five points from Will Reed, Community scored the next nine points and took a 24-19 lead with 4:53 left.

The Eagles responded with five consecutive points of their own to tie the game at 24-24.

The teams were deadlocked 27-27 at the half.

Lovvorn and Bailey each had six points in the third quarter as the Vikings used a 7-0 run to take a 36-29 advantage with 4:30 remaining.

The Eagles were not ready to throw in the towel.

East Nashville scored the next eight points and took a 37-36 lead with 2:32 to play.

It would be the last Eagle lead as Petrie connected on a 3-point play to put Community up 39-37 with 2:12 left.

The Vikings ended the quarter with a 42-37 lead.

Another 3-point play by Petrie in the fourth quarter completed a 9-0 Viking run and gave Community a 45-37 lead with 6:41 left.

East Nashville got within 47-41 with 3:51 to play but would not get closer. Petrie scored five points and Bailey added four as the Vikings expanded their lead.

Jacob Cooper, who had not scored during the game, supplied the dagger with a three-pointer from the corner to give Community a 52-41 lead with 2:44 left.

The Vikings took their biggest lead at 54-41 and used four free throws by Reed to protect their lead down the stretch as Community players, coaches, students, and fans celebrated the final seconds of the momentous occasion.

Bailey led three Vikings in double figures with 17 points.

Lovvorn had 15 points while Petrie added 14.

Crawford led the Eagles with 17 points.

The Vikings finished an impressive 13-of-16 at the foul line while East Nashville was 4-of-8.

Community will play Kingston on March 18 in the quarterfinal round of the TSSAA Class AA state tournament at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro. Game time is 10 a.m. Kingston defeated Sullivan East in its sectional matchup.

***Coach Robbie Davis of the Vikings on building from other sectional appearances:

Since I've been here, this is the fourth time we've been to the substate. Every time you're in a game like this, you learn a little bit more as a coach. You learn what to do, what you can improve on, the mistakes that you made in a game. Very rarely do you get to play the exact same team you played the year before. It's the same philosophy. You basically get a kind of do over. Last year, I learned a lot from that game.

***Davis on East Nashville:

East Nashville is such a good basketball team, and they're so athletic and they're so quick that you can't simulate that in practice. A lot of times you're able to reverse the ball against presses pretty easily, but not with these guys.

***Davis on the strategy it took to beat East Nashville:

When we went to game planning for this, I told the guys there's three key things here and it's pretty simple: take care of the basketball, handle their pressure, and guard the three. When they shoot it, we go get it.

***Davis on reducing turnovers in the second half:

I told the guys to remember what we worked on in practice. Look up the floor and pitch it ahead and when we do, go attack the basket. We started doing that.

***Davis on Jacob Cooper:

Jacob Cooper does all the little things. He's the guy that never shows up in the stat book, but if you watch film, he holds everybody in our district's best player below their average. He rebounds, takes care of the ball, and is unselfish. When he made that three in the corner to put us up 11, that was when I kind of knew this could really happen.

***Davis on building his teams through the years:

A lot of hard work has gone into this from players 1 through 14. When you start to build a program and you want to build a certain way, senior leadership has been passed down from year to year. Every kid that I've had since '13 has played in a substate game.

***Davis on the team's next appearance in Murfreesboro:

When I first got here after our first substate game, they do this thing where teams can go to the state tournament and you get in one day for free and you watch games. We went one time. That team that was returning had a lot of those guys but I said we're not going back. The next time I go back to the state tournament, we're going to carry our uniforms. I told the boys at walk-through today here's your chance to go watch the state tournament and take your uniforms.

***Davis on Unionville:

More importantly, I'm happy for this town. You look back through all the banners that are up there and the coaches that were here, like Coach Edmondson and all the things he did with two substates here. I was a little boy watching those '80s teams. So I know what basketball means to Unionville. It's important. I know this means a lot to a lot of people.

E.Nashville 16 11 10 9 - 46

Community 15 12 15 16 - 58

E. Nashville: Jordan Crawford 17, Joshua Cole 11, Jaylen Jones 8, Bobby Joyner 8, Cullen Cleaves 2, Korian Turrentine, Nick Thompson.

Community: Jackson Bailey 17, Stratton Lovvorn 15, Evan Petrie 14, Will Reed 9, Jacob Cooper 3, Maki Fleming.

3-Point goals: E. Nashville (6): Crawford 4, Cole 2; Community (5): Lovvorn 2, Bailey, Reed, Cooper.

Halftime score: Community 27, E. Nashville 27.