Scott Brown's SportsBytes on WKDZ

Another fun buzzer-beater

Buzzer beaters are always fun to watch.  This one comes from Frankfort, Illinois where Denton Wallace of Lincoln-Way North High School heaves one from the other end of the court to beat Amos Alonzo Stagg High School 66-63.

 

(H/T to The Big Lead)

Shawn Berner resigns as Fort Campbell football coach

Fort Campbell football coach Shawn Berner has resigned, according to a source at the school.

Berner coached at Fort Campbell for 11 seasons, compiling a 112-31 record (.783 winning percentage).  the 112 wins is second at the school to Marshall Patterson, who won 227 games from 1962-93.  However, Berner's postseason record was 25-8. 

Berner led the Falcons to three consecutive Class 2A state titles from 2007-09. He also coached two Kentucky Mr. Footballs at Fort Campbell -- Micah Johnson and Antonio Andrews.

The Falcons were 9-3 in 2012, losing to South Warren in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.

The new Fort Campbell coach will be only the fifth head coach in the 51-year history of the Falcon football program.

 

Trigg County game with Christian County tonight moved to 6pm

Trigg County's basketball game with Christian County tonight has been moved to 6pm, according to a release from Christian County schools.

The varsity game will be at 6pm, and there will be no JV game.

Airtime on WKDZ 100.9 FM and online at www.wkdzradio.com will be 5;45 tonight.

Tonight's game will be the 50th career meeting between Trigg County and Christian County, with Trigg's only wins at Colonel Gym coming in 1974 and 1998.  Christian County leads the all-time series 43-6.

 

When shooting a brick actually earns you money

NBA players shoot bricks all the time and get paid.  So why not a fan?  Watch what happens when an Atlanta Hawks fan attempted a half court shot Friday during halftime of the Hawks/Jazz game.

 

2012 Kentucky Sportsman of the Year: My Ballot

The 32^nd Kentucky Sportsman of the Year winner will be announced Jan. 31, 2013, the second annual Bluegrass Sports Awards Banquet in Lexington.

The award is given by the Lexington Herald-Leader and is voted on by statewide media and the Herald-Leader.

Here is a list of potential nominees for 2012 Kentucky Sportsman of the Year

Kenneth Faried, the former Morehead State basketball star, was the 2011 Kentucky Sportsman of the Year.

Just who is eligible to win the award?  Any athlete, coach or sports administrator at any level is eligible if he or she plays for a team in Kentucky, is from Kentucky, or played for a college in Kentucky.

Horses that were born in the state are also eligible. So are horse owners who are from Kentucky or who own farms in the state. Jockeys and trainers who compete regularly at tracks in the commonwealth are also eligible.

So who did I vote for?  Here is my top 10 list.

10. Emma Talley - She wasn't on the nomination list, but I felt like she deserved the recognition.  The former Caldwell County golfer graduated high school in the spring, then went on to make the cut at the U.S. Women's Open.  Talley also advanced to the Round of 32 in the U.S. Women's Amatuer Golf Tournament.  She then led top-ranked Alabama with the low score in one of their three fall matches.

9. Angel McCoughtry - The former Louisville basketball standout shined on a national and international level.  She was impressive in the Olympics, helping the U.S. to the gold medal as the team's second-leading scorer.  She also led her WNBA team in scoring at over 21 points a game.

8. John Calipari - The University of Kentucky basketball coach finally delivered a national championship to a starved fanbase.  However, his ability to sell the program and put the team and university in the national eye through social media and regular media makes him worthy of the Sportsman title.

7. Casey Brockman - The former Calloway County standout threw for 3,729 yards and 28 touchdowns for Murray State.  Despite Murray not living up to expectations this year, he still was named First Team All Ohio Valley Conference and finished sixth in the Walter Payton Award voting.

6. Larry Warford - Perhaps the best player on a really bad football team.  Warford, a product of Madison Central High School in Richmond, was named Third Team Associated Press All-American, First Team All-SEC by ESPN.com, and Second Team All SEC by both the Associated Press and SEC Coaches.  He is expected to be a high NFL draft pick.

5. Antonio Andrews - The former Fort Campbell standout helped put Western Kentucky football in the national spotlight and advance to the school's first-ever Division I bowl game.  Andrews was named First Team All Sun-Belt Conference as both a running back and all-purpose player.   His 3,161 all-purpose yards was the second-most all-time in college football behind only Barry Sanders.  He was also a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award.  His two-point conversion pass in overtime helped the Hilltoppers beat Kentucky.

4. Jonathon Jackson - The Mayfield High football standout led Mayfield to another Class 1A state football championship.  Jackson ran for 2,229 yards and 36 touchdowns and dominated the defensive side of the football with 601 career tackles.  Jackson was penalized in the Mr. Football award because he played for a small school in a small town.

3. Isaiah Canaan - What else is there to be said for Canaan? His played sparked Murray State basketball into the national spotlight that included a visit from ESPN's Dick Vitale to a game in February.  The junior guard was named All-OVC, and he was named a preseason All-American for this season.  However, his demeanor off the court is impressive, whether it's posing for pictures with parents and kids after games or granting interviews to reporters from a small Cadiz radio station.

2. Ty Scroggins - The football coach at Louisville Central High School guided his team to a fifth state football championship in six years.  For the second straight year, he did it with injuries to key players throughout the season.  Coaching in a city where Trinity and St. Xaver get most of the publicity, Scroggins has done a wonderful job at Central.

1. Anthony Davis - The Kentucky freshman led UK to their first national title in 14 years.  Davis also brought home the individual hardware, winning the Wooden Award, AP Player of the Year, and SEC Male Athlete of the Year.  Davis also won an Olympic Gold Medal and was the top pick in the NBA Draft.

 

Deonquez Nance moving up statistical lists

Deonquez Nance is moving up a pair of Trigg County basketball statistical lists.

The senior guard scored a career-high 38 points against Livingston Central Friday night, giving him 1,562 career points.  He has moved past Anthony Mayes into fifth place on the TCHS Scoring list.  He is 259 points behind Chris Sparks, who is in fourth place. 

Nance also has 285 career steals, which puts him second only to Lemar Northington's 383 steals from 1995-99.

TCHS Career Scoring List

1.  Lemar Northington - 1,931 points (1995-99)

2.  Jeremy Jones - 1,909 points (2002-06)

3.  Jonathon King - 1,854 points (2005-09)

4.  Chris Sparks - 1,821 points (1994-97)

5.  DEONQUEZ NANCE - 1,562 points (2009-13)

6.  Anthony Mayes - 1,541 points (1992-97)

7.  Eddie Radford - 1,461 points (1966-70)

8.  Joe Graham - 1,441 points (1957-61)                                                  Cadiz Record Photo

9.  Devron Wadlington - 1,408 points (1998-2002)

10. Mike James - 1,392 points (1990-94)

 

TCHS Career Steals List

1.  Lemar Northington - 383 steals (1995-99)

2.  DEONQUEZ NANCE - 285 steals (2009-13)

3.  Jeremy Jones - 252 steals (2002-06)

Livingston Central 39 Trigg County 22

Livingston Central outscored Trigg County 25-5 to end the game and finished their district schedule unbeaten with a 39-22 win Friday night in Smithland.

In an effort to cut down on turnovers, Trigg County has started using a more deliberate offensive style.  For the second straight game, their opponent failed to reach double-digits in scoring in the first half.

Trigg led 9-7 at halftime but were outscored 32-13 in the second half when they hit just 5-of-13 shots from the field.  Livingtson hit 11-of-21 from the field after halftime.

Mallory Mize led Trigg County with nine points, and Jakashea Martin added six points.

Livingston Central got nine points from reserve Jennifer Head and eight points from Carly Mayhugh.

Trigg County falls to 0-12 with the loss and have lost 21 straight games dating back to last year. 

Livingston Central improves to 11-6 overall and 6-0 in district play.  These teams will meet again in the first round of the Fifth District Tournament next month at Wildcat Gym.

Trigg County will travel to Webster County Monday night in the first round of the All-A Classic Second Region Tournament in Dixon.

Game Boxscore

Trigg County 68 Livingston Central 63

Trigg County built a big lead early then held off Livingston Central 68-63 Friday night to snap a two-game district losing streak.

Trigg led by as many as 17 in the first half and led 62-49 with 3:40 left.  However, the Wildcats were outscored 12-5 in the final three minutes of the game where they hit just 3-of-10 from the free throw line and were outrebounded 7-3.

Deonquez Nance scored 38 points and had 10 steals -- both career highs.  Nance shot 17-of-24 from the field.  Cole Gardner added 11 points.

The Wildcats snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 9-5 on the season.  They finish their district schedule with a 4-2 record, which assures them of a #2 seed in the district tournament next month where they will play Crittenden County.

Livingston Central (3-14) got 19 points each from Austin Woodward and Austin Wright.

Trigg County returns to action Tuesday in the first round of the All-A Classic Region Tournament against Webster County at Wildcat Gym.

Game Boxscore

Former Lynch High School football coach Ed Miracle has died

Ed Miracle, who coached Lynch High School to four state titles between 1959-68, died this week in Richmond.  He was 83.

Miracle led the Golden Bulldogs to eight Class 1A state championship appearances.  His teams were 4-4, winning state titles in 1959, 1960, 1963, and 1968.

Lynch's last state title appearance was in 1971 when Trigg County rallied in the second half to win 30-23 and claim the first of the school's consecutive state title.

Lynch won 10 region titles in 13 seasons and won their final region title in 1974.

 

2012 Sports Year in Review

I'm not a big fan of looking back.  I'd rather look ahead because that makes for better discussion.

However, here's a quick audio look back at the year in local sports.

2012 Sports Year in Review

 

Trigg County to host regional wrestling duals today

Trigg County is hosting the Region I small school wrestling duals tournament today at Wildcat Gym.

Eight smaller schools are expected to compete at the event, with the top two scoring schools to advance to the state tournament in Louisville.

Wrestling begins at 9:30am at Wildcat Gym.  Trigg County fans who wear their Wildcat gear will be admitted free.

Trigg wrestling coach Ralph Stevens talks about today's duals matches

 

Lyon County 72 Trigg County 61

Things are now interesting in the Fifth District boys basketball race after Lyon County beat Trigg County 72-61 Friday night at Wildcat Gym.

Both teams are now 3-1 in district play with both teams yet to play Crittenden County and Livingston Central.  Crittenden beat Livingston 56-39 Friday night.

Thomas Scott scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half.  He also grabbed nine rebounds.  He helped Lyon outscore Trigg County 34-30 in the paint.

Lyon County led 36-29 at halftime and led by 17 in the second half before Trigg County battled back to cut the deficit to 61-56 in the fourth quarter.  But Trigg got no closer.

David Wease led Trigg County with 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Deonquez Nance scored 20 points on 8-of-24 shooting.

In addition to Scott's 20 points, Lyon County got 20 points and nine rebounds from Jericho Wilkerson.

Game Boxscore

Lyon County was able to keep Trigg County's rallies at bay by hitting 15-of-19 (79%) at the free throw line.  Trigg hit just 7-of-15 free throws.  The Wildcats also hit just 4-of-28 (14%) 3-pointers.

Trigg County falls to 8-4 overall and 3-1 in the district.  Lyon County is now 8-6 overall and also 3-1 in the district.

In the series that dates back to 1948, each school has won 72 times.

Postgame interview with head coach Mike Wright

 

Lyon County 60 Trigg County 37

Lyon County used first half streaks of 12-2 and 10-2 to beat Trigg County 60-37 Friday night at Wildcat Gym. 

The Lady Lyons led 37-17 at halftime and led by as many as 26 points in the second half.  Trigg could get no closer than 15 points.

Freshman Jakashea Martin led Trigg County with 13 points.  Junior Jessica Lovdahl added nine points and eight rebounds, and Gabby Wimbleduff contributed six points and nine boards off the bench.

Kacie Freeman led Lyon County with 22 points, and Melanie P'Poole added nine points and 10 rebounds.

Game Boxscore

Lyon County snaps a four-game losing streak to improve to 5-8 overall and 2-2 in district play.

Trigg County falls to 0-10 on the season and have lost 19 straight dating back to last year.

Lyon County has won nine straight games vs. Trigg County and 22 of their last 24 meetings.

Interview with Lady Wildcat head coach Amy Breckel