Allen County-Scottsville takes rematch from Edmonson County

Published 3:00 pm Friday, December 27, 2024

by Micheal Compton

BROWNSVILLE – It was a rare early-season rematch between Allen County-Scottsville and Edmonson County in the opening round of the Caveland Classic on Thursday at Edmonson County High School.

Six days after Edmonson County beat Allen County-Scottsville 80-71 in the Eagles Classic at Apollo High School, Allen County-Scottsville returned the favor in more of a halfcourt defensive battle that saw the Patriots prevail 53-47.

The short-handed Patriots, playing without Robert Robledo for a fifth straight game, got a big night from senior forward Jackson Morris and a strong defensive effort to earn the road win.

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“Without (Robledo) I want to slow things down, kind of grind it out here,” ACS coach Jeremy Garrett said. “I am proud of these guys for answering the call. They worked their tails off. It was a good win.”

Allen County-Scottsville (4-5) got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 13-0 lead in the first four minutes. After missing its first seven shots, Edmonson County (6-5) broke into the scoring column on a bucket by Blayne Deweese that helped get the offense going.

The Wildcats closed the deficit to 15-8 after one quarter and still trailed 22-13 midway through the second quarter, before exploding for a 14-0 run that pushed Edmonson County in front 26-22 late in the half.

Jax Coffey’s bucket ended the run, but the Patriots still trailed 26-24 at the half.

“We played them last week and went up 18-7,” Garrett said. “We lost that lead. We did it again tonight, so have to do a better job of protecting our leads and stuff. At halftime I told these guys that we have to do a better job of turning the page and get over the hump.”

Allen County-Scottsville did just that in the opening minutes of the third quarter, with a 10-2 spurt that gave the Patriots the lead for good.

The Patriots’ advantage grew to eight points late in the third as Edmonson County struggled to find offensive consistency – held to nine points in the period.

Edmonson County was able to make a run in the fourth, getting as close as 49-47 with 27 seconds left, but Allen County-Scottsville closed it out with four free throws in the final 14 seconds to secure the victory.

“I told our guys, like seven or eight silly turnovers, that cost us the game,” Edmonson County coach Brad Meredith said. “We missed a lot of shots too, a lot of easy shots that we hit last week, but mainly it was stuff we did to ourselves. I think that was the difference.”

Morris finished the night with 21 points, 16 in the first half. Kyler Pedigo added 15 points for the Patriots.

“The first time we played them we didn’t have much legs,” Morris said. “We played five games that week and we were dead. It was still close. It just didn’t go how we wanted it. It feels really good to get them back tonight at their place.”

Owen Ruth had 15 to lead Edmonson County, which shot 31% for the game – 8 for 27 in the second half.

“I wanted to make them shoot over us,” Garrett said. “We played them last week and they were getting layups, layups, layups. I’m thinking if we take that away from them and make them shoot over us, that will make it harder for them to score.”

ACSHS 15 9 17 12 – 53

ECHS 8 18 9 12 – 47

ACS – Morris 21, Pedigo 14, Ross 7, Grainger 5, Coffey 4, Turner 2.

EC – Ruth 15, Wright 8, Doyle 8, Sanders 5, Deweese 4, Swihart 4, Lindsey 3.

Edmonson County 72, Paducah Tilghman 45, girls

Cariann Williams had 23 points and 16 rebounds in three quarters of action as the Lady Cats rolled to a win in the opening round of the Caveland Classic.

“Our goal of course was to start 1-0 in the tournament,” Edmonson County coach Jody Booth said. “Paducah Tilghman is young, but they are going to be pretty good in the next couple of years. It’s tough because you are coming back on the 26th. Most teams probably aren’t starting back until tomorrow. The girls came out aggressive on both ends. I think that is what really helped us get off to a good start in the game.”

Edmonson County (3-6) led wire-to-wire, scoring the first 11 points and continuing to pull away from there.

The lead grew to 39-24 by halftime, with Edmonson County exploding for 31 points in the third to push the margin to 70-33 and start the KHSAA-mandated running clock.

That allowed Booth to empty the bench in the fourth and rest his starters, allowing Paducah Tilghman (3-5) to make a small dent into the final margin.

“Anytime you play a tournament that is three games in three days, if you can find any time to rest kids (you do),” Booth said. “We are only about six or seven deep. If we had to play a full four quarters, then it would have definitely been dead legs by the end of the third day. We got those young kids in, got them some experience. We are still looking for kids where we could possibly go eight or nine deep. I’m proud of the girls the way they came out and handled business.”

Williams was one of three Lady Cats to finish in double figures. Kennadi Swihart had 15 points, while Shelby Sowders finished with 13 points.

“I love playing on our home court, so it was great to defend it,” Williams said. “I love getting the big lead, and not being comfortable but having a cushion so we can try to do some things.”

PTHS 6 18 9 12 – 45

ECHS 16 23 31 2 – 72

PT – Smith 15, Carruthers 11, Hughes 9, Browne 8, Shumpert 2.

EC – Williams 23, Swihart 15, Sowders 13, Cook 6, Sanders 4, Cassady 4, Wilhite 4, Norris 2, Simon 1.

About Micheal Compton

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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