Maroons overcome slow start to down Bell County

By DOUG EADS, CJ Sports Writer
Commonwealth Journal

Somerset December 20, 2008 03:47 pm

— Fresh off a perfect, 15-0 season and a state football championship in Class 4A, the Bell County Bobcats rolled into PC Gymnasium on Friday night with its football players in basketball uniforms for the first time this season.
And, the Bobcats brought that football swagger and mentality into this affair, playing a very physical brand of basketball against the homestanding Maroons.
In the first half, that style of play worked to perfection for Bell County.
The Bobcats led PC from the outset, and limited Mark Flynn’s club to only one made field goal in the first half of play.
That’s right. PC shot an abysmal 7 percent from the floor in the opening half, connecting on only 1 of 14 field goal attempts from the field.
However, that all changed after the intermission.
PC made over 50 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half of play, which included all four of its three-point buckets in a decisive fourth period, that saw the Maroons outscore the Bobcats 22-11 over the game’s final eight minutes.
In all, it equaled an impressive, come from behind 49-42 victory for PC, leaving coach Flynn relatively pleased the resiliency his team displayed in the second half.
“We came out flat tonight, and after we missed a few shots early, we didn’t claw back very well in the first half,” stated Flynn, after watching his club even its mark on the young season to 2-2.
“They had a physical brand of defense, they were putting a lot of pressure on the ball and getting us off our spots, and we also missed some shots that we had been making,” continued the PC coach. “We didn’t defend in the first half — we really didn’t do anything well in the first half, but to our players credit, we came out in the second half and really defended well, moved the ball a little bit better, and got some good shots. And, of course when the shots go in, you tend to play with a little more energy.”
It’s a good thing the PC head coach was able to right the ship at halftime, because this one had the makings of a big-time Bell County blowout in the first half.
The Bobcats scored the first six points of the contest, while PC’s lone field goal of the first half came with only 1:22 left in the opening stanza, when reserve Austin Tarter made his only basket of the contest.
The Bobcats, thanks to PC’s slow start out of the gate, led the Maroons 8-3 after one period of play, and had stretched that margin out to 22-13 at the break.
What enabled Pulaski County to stay relatively close in this one however, was the Maroons ability to make Bell County pay from the free throw line for its physical brand of play.
With only one made basket in the first half, PC had to rely on good free throw shooting from the charity stripe, and the Maroons hit a respectable percentage to stay close, making 11 of 15 free throw attempts in the opening half of play.
“It’s something we emphasize, and a lot of times it’s forgotten about, and that’s the importance of foul shots,” stated Flynn.
“We try to shoot them every day in practice, and we talk about how free throws can win or lose you games,” added the Maroon coach. “I think that’s what helped us win tonight, because there were a lot of fouls going on out there. You have to be able to step up and make foul shots when you get a chance, and we were able to do that tonight.”
Pulaski County also had a zero on the stat sheet from behind the three-point arc through three periods of play, but in the final stanza, when the Maroons were finally able to get over the hump, it was the three ball that led the way back.
Adam Dixon, who paced the Maroons in the victory with 15 points, hit three straight treys in the fourth quarter, with his second one of the final frame tying the contest for the first time at 33-33.
After an Alex Abner layup gave PC its first lead of the night, 35-33, Dixon came back the next trip down the floor and nailed his third trifecta of the period, easing PC out to a 38-33 advantage.
A Winston Hines trey with 2:49 remaining in the contest sent the crowd into a frenzy, giving Pulaski County its biggest lead of the night at that juncture, at 42-35.
Despite shooting only 33.3 percent from the field for the contest, thanks to that woeful performance in the first half of play, it was PC’s ability to hit some key shots from downtown that led the Maroons back from the dead in the comeback over the Bobcats.
“Adam Dixon hit some huge three’s there late in the game that were instrumental in us getting the win,” pointed out Flynn. “I thought those three’s and the way we defended and rebounded as a unit propelled us to the win.”
“Tyler Jenkins played another great game this evening,” Flynn said. “That’s three straight double-doubles for him, and he continues to improve each day. We played the way we need to play in the second half tonight, because we had everybody on the floor with the same mindset. We win with defense, and if we have good ball movement, we’re going to have some success, because we’ve got plenty of guys that can score.”
Dixon led the way for the Maroons with a game-high 15 points, while Tyler Jenkins joined him in double figures with 11.
The comeback for PC was a crucial win for Flynn and crew, as Pulaski County took that 2-2 mark and some much needed momentum into the Arby’s/KFC Classic which kicked off yesterday from McCreary Central High School.
“This was a big win for us, because we’ve had a couple of games canceled and postponed, and we hadn’t played as many games as everybody else,” stated Flynn. “We always play a strong, early schedule, and we played really well last Saturday against Louisville Trinity, and we’ve already played McCreary, and we’ll be playing some strong teams this weekend at McCreary. Anytime early in the season that you can get some wins and get your team some confidence, it’s a big thing.”
The Maroons opened play in the Arby’s/KFC Classic at McCreary Central last night, and will return to action in the tourney today.

BC 8 14 9 11 — 42
PC 3 10 14 22 — 49

BC — Zackery 10, Robbins 7, Wilson 7, Madon 6, Chambers 4, Mayes 2, Lowe 2, Rain 2, Patterson 2.
PC — Dixon 15, Jenkins 11, Bray 8, Muse 6, Tarter 4, Hines 3, Abner 2.

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