The Johnson Central Golden Eagles ended Paintsville’s hopes of a 57th District championship Tuesday night with an 82-69 victory.

Johnson Central placed three players in double figures, led by a dominant performance from Austin Slone. Slone poured in 37 points, shooting 63.6 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from three-point range and 62.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Mason McKenzie followed with 19 points, connecting on 60 percent of his shots from both the field and three-point range while finishing perfect at the line. Brayden Shepherd added 15 points, shooting 50 percent from the field and going perfect from the free-throw line.

As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 51.9 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from beyond the arc and 87 percent from the line. Johnson Central also pulled down 33 rebounds.

Statistics for Paintsville were not available at press time.

With the win, Johnson Central improves to 24-5 overall and advances to face Martin County in the 57th District Championship on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Johnson Central.

The two teams have split their regular-season meetings. Martin County claimed an 80-76 win on Jan. 30, while Johnson Central answered with a 79-76 victory at Martin County on Feb. 13. Martin County enters the championship game at 20-8 overall and 7-1 in district play, with its lone district loss coming against Johnson Central.

Paintsville closes its season at 14-14.