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Henderson County used a strong performance on the boards to hold off Christian County 63-56 in the Second Region Tournament in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.
Henderson outrebounded Christian 41-27 and scored 16 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds. Kaleb Duckworth had 10 points and 13 rebounds, while D. J Washington added 15 points for Henderson (24-5).
Christian County got 19 points from Quan Poindexter and 10 more from C.J. Cotton. Christian County's season ends at 15-15.
Henderson County led 53-34 after three quarters but did not make a field goal in the fourth quarter. Christian scored 11 points off eight Henderson turnovers in the final period to make the final score closer.
Here is the radio call of the final seconds of Trigg County's 66-64 buzzer-beating win over Caldwell County last night. Rick Chidester actually had a better angle on the final play and helped bring the call home.
Game-winning call of Trigg County's 66-64 win over Caldwell County
Below is a picture that Shannon Gipson took of the aftermath on the court and posted on Twitter.
David Wease's putback off a missed shot just before the horn gave Trigg County a 66-64 overtime win over Caldwell County and moved the Wildcats into the Second Region semifinals for the first time in four years.
Trigg County let a 16-point third quarter lead evaporate as Caldwell County took a three-point lead late. Both teams had chances to win the final six seconds but Trigg missed a free throw with six seconds left and Caldwell missed three inside shots in the final few seconds to send the game to overtime.
Tied at 64, Trigg County ran the clock down from a minute to seven seconds left and called timeout. From there, Deonquez Nance drove to the bucket but had the basketball slapped away. Debo Mayes picked up the loose ball and shot a 12-footer that missed. David Wease got the backside rebound and stuck it in with no time left to give the Wildcats the win.
The win off a missed shot was ironic because Trigg County was ourebounded 67-27 in the game. Caldwell grabbed 35 offensive rebounds that led to 27 second chance points. Wease's offensive rebound was only Trigg's fourth of the night.
Despite the lopsided numbers on the glass, Trigg County gets their 20th win of the season (20-8). It marks the third time Trigg County has put up back-to-back 20-win seasons.
Nance had 36 points to lead Trigg County, while Dee Cain had 22 points and 14 rebounds for Caldwell. Eli Pepper had 16 points and 18 rebounds.
Trigg County will play Henderson County in the semifinals Friday night at 7:30. Henderson beat Christian County 63-56.
Trigg will try and snap a 10-game losing streak to Henderson County that dates back to 1976.
Hopkinsville opened defense of their Second Region basketball title with a convincing 74-41 win over Webster County tonight at Tiger Gym in Hopkinsville.
Hoptown scored 30 points off 23 Webster turnovers as the Tigers used a relentless press to jump out to a 19-6 first quarter lead. Up 37-21 at halftime, Hoptown scored the first 10 points of the second half to salt the game away.
Jordan Majors had 27 points on 9/10 shooting for Hoptown, while sophomore Jaqualis Matlock had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Hopkinsville advances to Friday's semifinals with their 21st straight win. They are 29-4 and looking to repeat as region champs for the first time since 1986.
Webster County got 23 points frm Kyle Hayes. They shot just 32-percent from the field and were outrebounded 45-34. The Trojans' season ends at 19-14.
Webster County has now lost 11 straight region tourney games dating back to 1995.
Trigg County gave head coach Mike Wright a Wildcat Gym going away present with a 78-61 win and Fifth District title Friday night. The win gave Trigg County their 18th career district title and first in four years. Trigg County has now won a district title five of the last seven times it has been held in Wildcat Gym.
Trigg County jumped ahead 19-8 in the first quarter, but Lyon County used a 10-3 run to get back into the game and pull to within 34-33 at halftime.
Deonquez Nance then scored eight points during a 10-0 Trigg County run that gave them a 47-36 lead. Lyon County would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Nance finished with 32 points and became the school's all-time leading scorer in the process. Cole Gardner added 19 points and eight rebounds, and Dee Murphy contributed 14 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
Thomas Scott led Lyon County (15-16) with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Trigg County improves to 19-8 with the win. They now lead the all-time series with Lyon County 73-72.
The district title is the fifth for Mike Wright -- four as boys coach and one as girls coach. He is now 5-2 in district championship games.
Members of the All-Fifth District Team were (back from left) Thomas Scott of Lyon County; Austin Woodward of Livingston Central; Ethan Hill, Aaron Owen, Bobby Knox, and Devin Clark of Crittenden County; (front row) Jordan Gary and Jericho Wilkerson of Lyon County; and Deonquez Nance and Cole Gardner of Trigg County.
(photo courtesy of Justin McGill, Cadiz Record)
The 2013 All-Fifth District Team announced Thursday night were (from left) Courtney Walker, Kaitlyn Kirkham, and Hailee Lampley of Livingston Central; Chelsea Oliver of Crittenden County; Kacie Freeman, Melanie P'Poole, and Barrett Blackburn of Lyon County; Kaitlin Binkley of Crittenden County; Mallory Mize of Trigg County; and Becca Somers of Lyon County.
(Photo courtesy of Todd Griffin, Princeton Times-Leader)
Trigg County held off a game Crittenden County team 60-57 Tuesday at Wildcat Gym to advance to their first district title game in four years.
The game featured five ties and 12 lead changes before the Wildcats used an 8-0 run to end the third quarter to lead 40-34. Trigg built their lead as much as 53-45 in the fourth quarter but Crittenden County hit two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds to stay close.
Deonquez Nance scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter. David Wease added 10 points and four rebounds before fouling out in the third quarter. Corbin Estes added nine points.
Bobby Knox scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for Crittenden County before fouling out late in the game.
Crittenden County's season ended with a record of 15-16.
Trigg County improves to 18-8 and moves into Friday's championship game against Lyon County.
Livingston Central used a strong pressure defense to beat Trigg County 51-35 in the first round of the Girls' Fifth District Basketball Tournament Monday night at Wildcat Gym.
Hailee Lampley scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Lady Cardinals, who scored 21 points off 23 Trigg turnovers.
The Lady Wildcats hit just 7-of-46 shots from the field, but stayed relatively close to the Lady Cardinals by hitting 21-of-25 free throws.
Mallory Mize had 16 points and nine rebounds for Trigg County, while Jakashea Martin added seven points and four rebounds.
Livingston Central snapped an eight-game losing streak and improved to 13-14 on the season.
Trigg County's season ends with a record of 1-24, which marks the fewest wins and most losses in a season.
Former Trigg County basketball coach Ray Maggard made his first trip back to Wildcat Gym in 28 years Thursday to watch the Wildcats beat Fort Campbell 80-62.
Maggard (seen at right from the Kentucky New Era archives) was 77-108 in seven seasons as Wildcat head coach from 1978-85. The Wildcats advanced to the region tournament in four of his seven seasons as coach, including a district title in his final season in 1985.
The 1980-81 team went 17-11 and lost to Caldwell County in the district title game. The squad, led by Rodney Vinson and Spencer Acree, knocked off Madisonville in the first round of the region tournament before falling to Todd County Central in the semifinals.
The 1984-85 team lost their first seven games and endured several player defections during the season before rallying to win six of their final nine games, including an upset win in the district tournament. That team lost to West Hopkins by one point in the region tournament.
Before Trigg County, Maggard was a standout basketball player at Lexington Henry Clay High School. He later played basketball at East Washington State.
He returned to the Bluegrass State and began his coaching career at Pineville, putting together a 51-46 record in four years.
Maggard moved on to Morgan County where he was 25-43 in three seasons. Morgan County had just consolidated several county schools and had not built a new high school gym in those three seasons.
He left Morgan County for Trigg County in 1978.
After seven seasons at Trigg County, Maggard left for Daviess County where he was 65-112 in seven years in Owensboro. During that time, he coached his son Kevin "Goose"Maggard. When Kevin graduated and went on to play at Eastern Kentucky University, Ray resigned as head coach.
Maggard came out of "retirement" in 1994 to serve as an assistant coach at Muhlenberg North, which included one region champion team, and took over as head coach in 1996, leading the Stars to a 17-14 record.
Maggard's final stop was at Logan County from 1997-99 where the Cougars were 46-38. His overall coaching record in 25 years as head coach was 281-361.
GIRLS
There are no teams with a winning record in the girls’ district tournament, with the four teams combining to lose their last 21 games heading into the tournament. In fact, one-win Trigg County has the most recent win of the group last Monday.
Livingston Central (12-14) is the top seed in the tournament and the defending district champion. However, the Lady Cardinals have lost eight straight games since advancing to the title game of the All-A Classic Region Tournament last month.
Incredibly, Livingston Central, who was averaging 44.6 points before the losing streak, have scored just 39 points a game during their losing streak.
If there is an advantage for the Lady Cardinals, its six-foot junior Hailee Lampley, who leads Livingston in scoring (13.5 ppg.) and rebounding (9.1 ppg.). However, the offense hasn’t run through her as much as it should, and the Lady Cardinals tend to rely more on the three-point shot. Other than Courtney Walker (36%), no Livingston player is shooting more than 30% from outside the arc.
Trigg County (1-23) will have some matchup issues with Livingston’s inside players and despite their record, the Lady Wildcats have been paying better basketball of late.
Despite Livington’s offensive struggles, Trigg County has topped 40 points just twice this year. They were able to control the tempo and hold Livingston to 39 points in their January 11 game in Smithland but could only muster 22 points.
Mallory Mize and Jakashea Martin, the team’s leading scorers, will have to stay out of foul trouble for Trigg to have a chance.
The last time Trigg County hosted the district tournament, Trigg upset top-seed Livingston Central in the first round and won the district title.
Trigg County coach Amy Breckel talks about Livingston Central
Two seed Lyon County (10-18) has lost all seven of their February games and have suffered two huge losses this year.
Junior Jill P’Poole, the team’s leading scorer from last year, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener. Then last week, her sister Melanie also suffered a season-ending knee injury. Melanie had put up several double-doubles prior to her injury.
Despite the injuries, Lyon County has had a chance to win four of their last five losses.
Lyon beat Crittenden County (4-22) 43-40 and 61-42 this year.
Trigg County plays Livingston Central Monday at 6pm. Lyon plays Crittenden at 7:45pm. The championship game will be played Thursday at 7pm.
BOYS
The guys begin play Tuesday with three teams having a legitimate shot at winning the district title.
Lyon County (14-15) earned the top seed when Trigg County lost consecutive games to them and Crittenden County in early January. The Lyons snapped a five-game losing streak Thursday with a win over 18-win Heath.
The Lyons aren’t deep, but they maximize production from their starting five.
Sophomore Jordan Gary leads the Lyons in scoring (14.1 ppg.) and assists (4.1) per game, while fellow sophomore guard Jericho Wilkerson is averaging 13 points, six rebounds, and shooting 38-percent from behind the three-point arc.
Lyon County gets a first-round game with two-time defending district champion Livingston Central (5-23). Lyon beat Livingston 76-65 in December and thumped them 69-43 in January in Smithland.
Austin Woodward leads the Cardinals at 16 points a game and is shooting 36-percent on three-pointers. He will need some help if the Cardinals are to pull off the upset.
The two-three seed game features one of the best first round matchups in the region.
Trigg County (17-8) has the best record of any of the four teams in the tournament. They face a Crittenden County team (15-15) who they split with during the season.
The Wildcats have won eight of nine heading into the tournament with their only loss to Hopkinsville during that stretch.
Trigg County has been lead by guards Deonquez Nance (26.2 ppg.) and Cole Gardner (14.5 ppg.) during that stetch. Gardner tied a school record with nine three-pointers in Trigg County’s 80-62 win over Fort Campbell Thursday.
Trigg County forced 25 turnovers when they beat the Rockets 69-53 in Cadiz in December. In January, the Wildcats played without guard Dee Muprhy and sixth man Jonta Acree and fell 66-45 in Marion.
The Rocket inside game of Devin Clark and Bobby Knox have given the Wildcats trouble in those two games, with the duo combining for 45 points and 41 rebounds in the two games against Trigg. Aaron Owen has also played well against Trigg, averaging 17 points against the Wildcats.
The Wildcats will want to dictate the tempo of the game effectively against a Rocket team that scores just 53 points a game.
Mike Wright breaks down the first round game with Crittenden County
Lyon County plays Livingston Central Tuesday at 6pm, followed by Trigg County and Crittenden County at 7:45pm. The championship game will be played Friday at 7pm.
Once again, WKDZ 100.9 FM will be broadcasting the Fifth District Tournament and will be streaming the games on the internet at www.wkdzradio.com.
The first team to be inducted into the Trigg County High School Athletic Hall of Fame was the 1962-63 Trigg County basketball team.
The 1962-63 Wildcats accomplished many firsts worthy of induction into the Trigg County athletic Hall of Fame.
The team was the first to play their home games in Wildcat Gym, which was built following the school fire of 1960 that destroyed the high school and gym. In the two seasons that followed, Trigg County was a respectable 25-25 while playing all of their games on the road.
The 1962-63 team was also the first integrated basketball team at Trigg County. The Wildcats were coached by Duke Burnett and assisted by Tommy Cunningham. Trigg was coming off a 13-12 season and lost three of their top five scorers from the previous season.
The Wildcats opened with nine straight home games, winning them all. Trigg ran out to a 14-0 record, which still stands as the best start to a season in school history.
Trigg’s first loss came to Calloway County 41-40. Their only other regular season loss came to Clarksville, Tennessee 48-46.
The Wildcats nearly saw their season come to an end in the first round of the 7th District Tournament on their home floor. Buddy Sivills hit a late shot to send their game with Hopkinsville Attucks to overtime. Billy Joe Armstrong hit two free throws with six seconds left to give Trigg County a 59-58 win in double-overtime.
The Wildcats went on to beat Dawson Springs and Christian County to claim the school’s first district title since 1947.
Sivills was named the MVP of the district tournament and was joined on the all-tournament team by Armstrong. However, a key component of the Wildcats that season was 6-1 senior James Boyd, who was known for his defensive prowess.
In the district tournament, Boyd held Attucks’ leading scorer, Lynn Shaw, to just seven points. Against Dawson Springs in the semifinals, Boyd limited Winky Menser to just five points.
In the district title game, Trigg County beat Christian County for the first time 55-53, with Boyd helping hold Tommy Porter to just nine points. Porter went on to play basketball at University of Kentucky.
Because their gym was the new jewel of the Second Region, Trigg County played host to the Second Region Tournament for the first time. In the opener, the Wildcats hammered Livingston Central 74-48 for the school’s first region tourney win.
Their season came to an end in the semifinals with a 52-33 loss to eventual region champion Princeton Dotson.
The 62-63 Wildcats finished the season with a record 23-3, including a 20-3 record on their home floor. The .884 winning percentage is still a school record as is the 14-game winning streak and the 20 home floor wins.
Senior guard Billy Joe Armstrong led the Wildcats in scoring at 15.7 points a game, followed by 6-6 junior John Graham who scored 12.9 points.
Senior Carl Ray Francis averaged 11.3 points a game, and sophomore Buddy Sivills scored 11.1 points and grabbed 11.2 rebounds a game. James Boyd, the defensive stopper, averaged 7.6 points a game.
Other members of the team were William Banister, Sam Kirby, Randy Allen, Dale Henderson, Kenny Rogers, David Banister, Henry Gude, William Bridges, and Jerry Burnam.
Team managers were C. Ray Hall, who also contributed many of the game reports to The Cadiz Record, Richard Nesbitt, and Charles Ray Cunningham.
Head coach Duke Burnett induction speech
Buddy Sivills induction speech
Carl Ray Francis induction speech
Award acceptance by Jim Wallace on behalf of the late John Graham
Wiliam Bridges induction speech
Charles Ray Cunningham induction speech
David Banister induction speech
Dale Henderson induction speech
William Banister induction speech
Allen "Buddy" Perry was inducted into the Trigg County High School Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday night.
Buddy Perry was a long-time coach and athletic director at Trigg County High for over two decades.
Perry came to Trigg County from Dyersburg, Tennessee and was an assistant football coach on Trigg County’s back-to-back Class 1A state championship teams in 1971 and 1972, helping coach the offensive and defensive lines.
Perry is credited with helping coach and mentor All-State lineman David Sadler, who later went on to play football for Paul “Bear” Bryant at the University of Alabama.
He also coached the Trigg County baseball team.
Perry served as head wrestling coach for two seasons and was an assistant track and field coach in the mid-1970s, helping fill coaching voids where the school needed him.
Perry was the Trigg County High School golf coach from 1979-93 and had several state qualifiers, including girls’ region champion Jaime Towler.
Coach Perry also served two terms as athletic director from 1984-89 and from 1991-94. He did this while teaching a full schedule during the day and working out of an office in the back of his classroom no bigger than a closet. He said during his time as AD he pushed for grade checks of the student-athletes.
“Academics were just as important as athletics to me,” he said.
Following his retirement, Coach Perry stayed involved in Trigg County athletics by running the clock for Trigg County basketball games for over a decade.
“I hope somewhere I helped some of these young kids become better citizens and influenced them in the right way. Winning is important, but character is more important,” Perry said.
Ladonna Diggs was inducted into the Trigg County High School Athetic Hall of Fame Saturday night.
She is a 1975 Trigg County High School graduate and was a key member of Trigg County’s first two state champion track teams.
Diggs was a member of the 440-yard relay team that won three straight Class 1A state titles in 1972-74.
She was also a member of the 880-yard relay teams that won state titles in 1972 and 1974.
A five-time champion, Diggs helped Trigg County win Class 1A state track and field championships in 1972 and 1974 and a runner-up finish in 1973.
In addition to running on the track team, Diggs was also a cheerleader for TCHS.
After school, Diggs remained involved in Trigg County sports and is a fixture at many Trigg County sporting events where she can still cartwheel like she did in high school.
Ladonna also is very active in her church and community activities.
Ladonna Diggs induction speech
Trigg County football teammates David Wease and Ryan McCloud will continue their playing career at Murray State University as preferred walk-ons.
Both players said they looked at other programs that offered some type of scholarship opportunities but preferred to walk on at Murray State.
McCloud, an All-WKC center, said he expected to contend for attention at center during the preseason workouts. He strengthened his game last summer by attending several high profile camps.
Wease, who played kicker, punter, and tight end, said he expects to try out for punting duties for the Racers and could see some time at receiver. Wease caught a team-high 32 passes for 512 yards and six touchdowns. He also averaged 32 yards a punt.
Trigg County's all-time leading scorer in girls' soccer will continue her playing career at Murray State University.
Lauren Frazier signed a letter of intent to play for the Lady Racers, capping a high school career that her name littered throughout the Trigg County soccer record book.
Frazier scored 140 goals and handed out 31 assists in 71 career games for Trigg County. She holds the school scoring record for goals in a game (9), season (42), and career (140). The 140 career goals also ranks in the top ten in state history.
Frazier is part of a large signing class for Murray State, which includes five starters for Murray High School. She said she chose Murray State over Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.
Frazier is the second Trigg County girls' soccer player to play Division I college soccer, joining Brianna Heffington who played at Southern Mississippi and UT-Chattanooga.
With just a month to go before the start of the 2013 high school baseball season, Christian County is looking for a new baseball coach.
The school confirmed through an e-mail statement that Blake Leach will not return as head coach for the 2013 season.
"It has been brought to my attention that CCHS will be taking a new direction for this year's baseball team and Mr. Blake Leech will continue to serve in his capacity as a teacher at CCHS. As we near baseball season, I will work with CCHS Athletic Director Steve Lovelace and Principal Michael Stevenson to keep you informed of who will be selected to coach the CCHS baseball team," Christian County Public Schools Communications Director Heather Aubin said in an e-mail statement.
Leach was 80-66 in four seasons as Colonel head coach, including a district title in his first season as head coach in 2009. The past three seasons, Christian County has lost to Hopkinsville in the district title game and not advanced past the first round of the region tournament.
Christian County was 19-20 last year and lost to Henderson County in the first round of the region tournament.
The statement from the school did not say who would be serving as interim coach until a new baseball coach is officially named.
Christian County is scheduled to open their season March 8th against Webster County.
