Friday, March 16, 2001
Ky. Boys Sweet Sixteen Roundup
Trojans go from hot to cold to hot
By STEVE BAILEY
AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. — North Hardin appeared to be cruising toward a berth in the boys' state basketball tournament quarterfinals.
The Trojans hit 60 percent of their first-half shots to take a 40-35 lead over Grayson County at halftime Thursday afternoon.
Then the bottom dropped out.
North Hardin went from red hot to stone cold in the third quarter, shooting only 3-of-21 (14 percent) as the Cougars pulled ahead 51-49 entering the final period.
The Trojans' shooting touch returned in the fourth quarter, however, and they held on to beat Grayson County 71-65 and advance to Friday's quarterfinal round.
North Hardin (29-3), the Region 5 champion, will take on Region 16 champion Ashland Blazer (22-9), a 47-35 winner over Hazard, in the first game of Friday's evening doubleheader.
In the other late quarterfinal, Region 11 champion Lafayette (22-11), a 62-49 winner over Carlisle County, will take on Region 6 champion Fairdale (26-7), who needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat Madisonville 42-39.
The early session will pit Region 13 champion Clay County (25-7) against Region 4 champion Russellville (23-7) and Region 7 champion Male (30-3) against Region 12 champion South Laurel.
Quinton Smith scored 19 points and Larry Fox had 17 off the bench as North Hardin won its 16th straight game.
North Hardin outshot Grayson County 46 percent to 44 percent for the game despite missing 18 of 21 third-quarter shots. The Trojans were 7-of-10 in the final period to regain control and hold off the Cougars.
“We went 3-for-21 in the third quarter, and we were still in the ballgame,” North Hardin coach Ron Bevars said. “That says a lot about our defensive effort.
“I think when we were missing, we were aiming our shots. But good defense kept us in it.”
Down by two, a 9-3 run to open the fourth quarter put the Trojans ahead to stay. Chris Gaither's jumper pulled the Cougars to 58-56 at the five-minute mark, but they would get no closer as Fox went 5-of-6 from the line during the final two minutes to seal the game.
Cedric Burton added 13 points for North Hardin. Gaither had 19 points, James Gaither 16 and Nick Crawford 14 to lead Region 3 champion Grayson County (23-8), which lost for the first time in 10 games.
James Peterson gathered a Madisonville turnover in the final seconds and drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer as Fairdale won its 16th straight game.
Fairdale's James Brice tied the game at 39 with a free throw with four seconds remaining. Madisonville's Spencer Johnson lost the ensuing inbounds pass, which bounced into Peterson's hands in the left corner.
His rainbow shot dropped through the net as the horn sounded, sending the Bulldogs' bench into a frenzy.
“I've never hit a bigger shot than that ... never,” a jubilant Peterson said. “I never expected to get the ball. I just put it up and it went in, man.”
Coric Riggs was 7-of-15 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line for 18 points to lead the Bulldogs.
Michael Haney, an Eastern Kentucky signee, finished 10-of-17 and pulled down five rebounds for a game-high 21 points for Region 2 champion Madisonville (28-4), which had its own 15-game winning streak snapped.
Robert Madison had 17 points, Quinton Roberts 16 and James Gentry 15 in Lafayette's come-from-behind victory over Carlisle County.
The Generals trailed by seven with less than three minutes to play in the third quarter but turned up the defensive pressure down the stretch to pull ahead and cruise to victory.
Doug O'Neill was 9-of-13 from the field and 7-of-10 from the line for a game-high 25 points for Region 1 champion Carlisle County (23-6), which played in its first Sweet Sixteen since falling to Henry Clay in triple overtime in the 1983 championship game.
Matt Hoskins added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Comets, whose 25 turnovers — 19 of which came in the second half — led to 25 Lafayette points.
“Anytime we smell blood, we're like sharks and we attack,” Madison said of the Generals' second-half defensive effort. “That's what we did with our press. We just got after it.”
Mark Surgalski scored 19 points and Arliss Beach added 10 in Ashland Blazer's lackluster victory over Hazard.
Surgalski, playing with a heavily taped right hand, made 11-of-14 free throws and pulled down seven rebounds for the Tomcats, who won their ninth straight game.
Clint Napier scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Steven Sizemore added 10 points to lead Region 14 champion Hazard (18-13).
The Bulldogs shot 41 percent to the Tomcats' 35 percent but got outrebounded 29-22 and committed 19 turnovers. For the half, Hazard shot 39 percent but committed 13 turnovers. Ashland shot only 28 percent and turned the ball over nine times.
“Our goal is to be the best but the most boring team in the state tournament,” Ashland coach Mike Flynn said. “That was a typical game for us the last month — very deliberate, patient, and good defense.
With Hazard up 21-19 midway through the third quarter, Josh Cook hit consecutive 3-pointers to ignite a 13-0 run to put Ashland in control 32-21.
Napier scored five straight to pull Hazard within 32-26 at the end of the third quarter, but the Bulldogs would get no closer as the Tomcats made their free throws down the stretch.
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