Published: February 28, 2007 08:49 am      

47th DISTRICT BOYS’ BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Pulaski wins district thriller

It was a game reminiscent of the shootout at the OK Corral between Wyatt Earp, along with brothers Morgan and Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday, going up against the Clantons and McLaurys.

Fortunately for Pulaski County, the Maroons Caleb Rowe had one more bullet in his six shooter at the end of the night.

Rowe, who turned in a stellar effort in the opening round of the Boy’s 47th District Tournament on Tuesday night against Rockcastle County, wore the laurel of hero for the Maroons, thanks to his three-point shot from deep out of the left corner that banked in, with :3.2 remaining in the game.

Thanks to that big-time shot, Pulaski County survived against a very stubborn and pesky Rockcastle County team, living to play another day with a 70-67 victory.

“I called bank,” stated Rowe with a big-time grin across his face after the contest. “I knew that time was running down, and we had to get a shot up.”

“I didn’t want our season to be over, and it was just crazy out there, because I could almost feel the gym shaking after I made it,” Rowe added.

And as a result of Rowe’s heroics, PC was able to shake off a very gutsy and determined effort by Benny Blanton’s Rockcastle County team, hanging on for the three-point victory.

Rockcastle County, coming into last night’s contest with only a 5-21 record, played lights out for much of the night, taking the action right at the heavily favored Maroons.

The Rockets had lost to PC in both previous meetings this season, losing the first matchup between the two in Mt. Vernon, 83-49, and dropping the rematch at PC back on February 2nd, 82-61.

Last night however, it was a much, much different story, as PC barely survived, earning a berth in next week’s 12th Regional Tournament at Lincoln County High School.

“We had been keeping a close eye on Rockcastle County for the past few weeks, and we had been watching them gain some confidence and improve,” stated Mark Flynn, after his club improved to 20-9 with the win.

“They’ve got a bunch of kids that absolutely play as hard as they can play,” said Flynn. “We knew coming in that their dribble penetration was one of the keys tonight, and they still did a pretty good job of hurting us with that. They just battled like crazy on the boards, and even though they were small, size doesn’t always matter, and it didn’t tonight.”

In a sign of things to come, despite the fact PC opened up a double digit lead in the first quarter, this one was going to go to the wire.

In the first quarter, there were four lead changes and six ties between the two clubs, but thanks to Shawn Whitis, PC was able to close out the period on a strong note, leading Rockcastle 27-15 after one period of play.

Whitis scored 11 of his 19 points in the first quarter, and PC would need each and every one of them by the end of the night.

The Maroons, once gaining that comfortable lead, would be in front for the rest of the way, but things certainly got interesting coming down the stretch.

Corey Dixon played like a man possessed at the start of the second half, as he tallied 14 of his game-high 24 points in the third stanza, helping keep his club out in front.

As a result of Dixon’s dominance in the paint, Pulaski seemingly had this one well in hand, leading the Rockets 61-50 headed into the fourth quarter.

However, the Rock had one more run left in it, and almost sneaked out of Pulaski County with a big-time upset.

Rockcastle County got back to back, three-point plays from guard Devin Hasty, and when Jake Woodall scored on a putback off a Rocket miss, PC’s double digit lead had been trimmed down to a single point, 63-62, with 4:53 left in the contest.

Rock would never take the lead, but the Rockets would get back into a tie, when Derrick Thacker scored on a putback with 1:24 left in the game, tying things up at 67-67.

At that point, coach Flynn called a timeout, with his club’s season hanging very much in the balance.

“We were going to hold it, and maybe go for one, unless they were bringing hard pressure and throwing some double teams at us,” pointed out Flynn. “We designed a play, and we got what we wanted there at the end — John (Perkins) got a good look at it, but the shot just didn’t go.”

Indeed, John Perkins, who has hit so many big-time shots during an outstanding prep career at Pulaski County, drove down the lane, but his shot bounced off the rim, and Dixon was called for his fifth foul attempting to grab an offensive rebound.

Thanks to that foul, Hasty, who was 4 for 4 at that juncture from the charity stripe, went to the free throw line with a chance to give Rock its first lead of the game, since the midway point of the first quarter.

However, Hasty missed the front end of the bonus, and the Maroons Ty Perkins grabbed the rebound.

Perkins, looking upcourt, hit Rowe on the sideline, and the junior guard delivered big-time in the clutch, banking in a three-pointer with :3.2 left in the game.

Ballgame!

PC 70—Rockcastle County 67.

“Caleb played a pretty good game all night,” Flynn remarked. “He handled the ball really well, and he made a huge shot for us there at the end.”

“Shawn (Whitis) made some very nice plays, inside and out, and he defended well,” Flynn added.

John Perkins came into last night’s game averaging just over 25 points per game, yet he was held in check to only nine points in the victory, due to a great defensive effort by Rockcastle County.

So, with their best player held 16 points below his average, PC should have been beat, right?

Wrong!

Last night Flynn’s club displayed why the Maroons have solidified themselves as a regional contender, because PC got big-time contributions from everybody that played.

“John’s put up a lot of great numbers over the past few years, and everybody knows that Ty’s a talent, and they’re going to be defended hard because of that,” Flynn stated.

“We have to have five guys out there that can play,” continued the PC coach. “Corey Dixon came in there at the start of the third quarter and really springboarded us in the second half, and he made some real nice shots around the basket, and as a matter of fact, he just took over for us in the third quarter.”

With the win, Pulaski County advanced to play in the championship game of the tourney on Friday night at 7 p.m., where the Maroons will take on the winner of tonight’s other semi final contest between Casey County and Somerset, which will get underway this evening at 7 p.m. from the PC Gym.

Rockcastle County, which ended its season at 5-22, was led by Hasty’s 22 points, Tanner Perkins added 19 points, and Thacker chipped in with 12 points.

PC was paced by Dixon with 24 points, Whitis added 19, and Rowe, who wore the laurel of hero on the night for the Maroons with the game winner, finished with 10 points.

Regardless of the outcome of Friday’s game, Flynn says that for his club, the bottom line is they live to play another day, beginning next Wednesday night at Lincoln County, when the Boy’s 12th Regional Tournament will kick off.

“The pressure is off now, and we get to play for a district championship on Friday night, and then we get to go to Lincoln County next week and have some fun and see what we can do over there,” stated Flynn.

“We live to play another day,” Flynn stated.

Indeed you do coach.



RC 15 17 18 17 67

PC 27 12 22 9 70



Rockcastle Co.—Hasty 22, T. Perkins 19, Thacker 12, Woodall 8, Bullens 4, Baldwin 2

Pulaski Co.—Dixon 24, Whitis 19, Rowe 10, J. Perkins 9, T. Perkins 3, Webb 3, Muse 2