Scott Co., Holmes move on to semi-finals

It was session of strategy, skills, and mental toughness as one-half of Saturday morning's semi-finals were set, and what a game it should be, as the Scott County Cardinals and the Covington Holmes Bulldogs pulled out some tough wins.

Scott County showed their superiority of being the number one team in the state by holding off a gritty, pesky Adair County team, pulling away late and moving on to a Saturday morning semi-final date with a 68-53 win.

Adair controlled the tempo for much of the first half with their ball control and Scott County's cold shooting, only trailing 10-6 after one quarter, and 16-10 with just under 5:00 left in the half.

Missed opportunities, though, proved to be too much for the Indians to overcome, and too much Matt Walls, as Scott's strength of size and quicknes let their lead gradually grow over the course of the game. Adair was only able to score 14 points off Scott County miscues and missed shots. And against a team like Scott County, you have to take advantage of every opportunity.

But the Indians were not going to go down without a fight. Trailing 43-32 heading into the final quarter, Adair made a run to cut it to 6 less than a minute in, 43-37, and were only down 8 and had the ball when Bud Mackey fouled out at the 5:57 mark.

Once again, however, a missed opportunity to get closer failed to materialize for the Indians, and Walls put his team on his back at that point, leading his team on a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach, and sending the Cardinals to the semi-finals.

"Adair played an outstanding game tonight, gave us everything they had," said coach Billy Hicks after his team's win. "We were concerned when we were only up 12 at the half, and they were shooting 21% from the field, and we were in foul trouble. But Matt Walls is our rock, and he got us through, and hitting two big 3 pointers."

"Adair is a very well-coached ball club, and the Fudge kid does a great job running his team at the point position," coach Hicks added. "We are just happy to be playing on Saturday morning."

Walls was the man for Scott County, leading all scorers with 26 points, and equally the tournament-high with Elliott county's Jonathon Ferguson. He was the only double figure scorer for the Cardinals. Cam Hundley and Jordan Lee scored 9 a piece.

Adair County was led in scoring by Chris Lewis with 16 points, 10 coming in the second half. Leading scorer Darren Ballou scored 14 points, also getting 10 in the second half, and Nick Fudge added 13, with 9 of those in the second half.

These Indians can hold their heads way high, as they took it to the number one team in the state. And when you get to this point in the year, you have to be a good team, and the Adair County Indians proved that in the best of ways.

The Cardinals semi-final opponent used their superior team speed, and the controlling of the offensive glass, to tough out a 55-49 win over a very experienced and dogged South Laurel bunch.

South jumped out to a early 10-4 lead in the first quarter, thanks much in part to some very cold shooting from Holmes.

But even with the shots not falling, Holmes still used their quickness and athleticism to keep things close, and only trail 12-10 after the quarter.

The Bulldogs finally moved ahead early in the second frame, 15-12, part of an 11-2 run, and both teams went back and forth from there, with Holmes moving into halftime with a slim 22-20 advantage.

Things were very slow in the third, as South became the team misfiring, scoring only 6 points. But still, Holmes was unable to pull away, even though they did extend their halftime lead to 33-26.

Things looked very bleak for the Cardinals at the beginning of the final stanza, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a lead of 9, 37-28 at the 6:45 mark.

But South would respond, thanks in large part to their leader, Ty Proffitt, who was held scoreless through the first 3 periods. Proffitt led a charge that saw him score 10 straight points to bring his team back to within a single point, 39-38 with 4:06 to play.

Holmes would not be denied, however, their place on Saturday, as they went on a 9-2 run of their own to extend things back out to 48-40. From there, it was just a matter of hitting their free-throws, and they did, going 7-of-8 in the final 1:23 to seal the victory, 55-49.

"We are so happy to be playing on Saturday morning," coach David Henley commented after his team's win. "I can't say enough about the play of Arrez Henderson and his defense on Proffitt. Very proud of that young man, as I am this whole team. That was a fierce battle, and we are glad to be moving on to face Scott County."

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Greg Rice, who got himself a double-double, with 23 points and 10 boards. Austin Hill had another big game, playing arguably the best ball in the tournament thus far, with 21 points.

South Laurel was led by Jordan Hammonds' 18 points, while Ty Proffitt scored 12, all in the final quarter.

Scott County and Convington Holmes has the makings of being one of the best games to ever be played in tournament history, and join the ranks of Clay Co.-P.R.P, Scott County-Paintsville, and Hazard-P.R.P., just to name a few. Should be exciting.

Posted by: Marc Hall

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