SCOTT CO. REPEATS
Scott County junior Tamron Manning was named the tournament MVP after the Cardinals won the 25th Annual Cumberland Falls Invitational for the second straight year.
The Scott County Cardinals became the third time in 25 years to win the Cumberland Falls Invitational back-to-back. The Cardinals destroyed the Eagles of Evangel Christian in the championship game Thursday night, 95-51.
The Cardinals ran through the tournament for the second year in a row, rolling past Pontotoc (Miss), Lee (Ala) and Evangel in the finals. Tamron Manning was named the MVP of the tournament and teammates Trent Gilbert, Isaiah Ivey, Josh Harris and Quinn Richardson was named to the all-tournament team.
Alex McCoy, Trent Taylor and Benny Pineset of Evangel were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Others named to the 15-member all-tournament team were: Zach Farley, Hunter Grubb and Travis Smith of Corbin; Mike Greer, Bobby Strickland and Eric Robertson of Lee, Jared Barton of Williamsburg and Trei Freeman of Pontotoc.
Scott County’s Seth Crank won the 3-point Contest with Corbin’s Travis Smith the runner-up. Scott County’s Deonte Doss nosed out Corbin’s Victor Berezutchi in the Dunk Contest.
The Zeke Perkins Award went to Corbin senior Kyle West.
Lee (Ala) 74
Corbin 63
This game was much closer than the final score indicates as the Corbin Redhounds played one of their best games in the tournament. The Generals jumped out to a 14-2 lead only to see Corbin battle back in the final three minutes of the opening quarter and trailed 19-14 at the first stop.
The Redhounds played near flawless basketball in the second quarter withstanding the Lee full-court press to outscore the Generals 22-15 and take a 36-34 lead at the half.
Trevor Hill, an eighth-grader, led the Redhounds with eight points while Smith added five points.
A 10-3 run in the final two minutes saw the Generals begin to pull away. A three-point play by Smith had pulled the Redhounds within 49-48 with 2:18 left in the quarter, The run allowed the Generals to go into the fourth quarter with a 59-51 lead.
The Redhounds never got any closer than six points the rest of the way. Eric Robertson led the Generals with 23 points while Smith tossed in 19 points for Corbin.
Williamsburg 60
Jackson Co. 52
Two familiar teams met for fifth place as the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets defeated the Jackson County Generals, 60-52.
Senior Jared Barton led the Yellow Jackets with a game-high 20 points. Williamsburg led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter after Barton led his team on a 6-2 run in the final two minutes.
The Generals caught Williamsburg midway through the second quarter with a 9-0 run of their own. Jackson County led 26-21 when Justin Fox scored with 1:44 left in the period, but baskets by Corey Shelton cut the lead to 28-25 at the half.
There were seven lead changes in the third quarter with the last going to Williamsburg on a Cameron Smoak rebound to close out the fourth quarter. The Jackets went to the final period ahead, 40-39.
Back-to-back baskets by Dalton Sizemore and Barton pushed the Williamsburg lead to five (44-39) to start the final quarter. Jackson County pulled within three once, but the Jackets hit 6-of-11 free throws down the stretch to hold off the Generals.
Williamsburg 66
Pontotoc 56
Senior Jared Barton scored a team-high 21 points as the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets beat the Warriors of Pontotoc (Miss), 66-56.
The Warriors eased out to a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter then pushed the lead out to 17-13 before the Yellow Jackets scored four straight baskets to take a 21-17 lead with four minutes left in the second period.
The Warriors battled back within three before Barton and freshman Skylar Griffith scored the final 10 points of the quarter on three treys and a free throw. Williamsburg went to the dressing room with a 31-18 lead.
Barton continued to play sharp in the second half and scored seven of the Yellow Jackets 13 points in the third quarter ad Williamsburg pushed its lead to 44-29 at the end of the quarter.
The Warriors rallied in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to with an 11-6 run in the final three minutes. However, the Jackets hit eight-of-eight from the free thrown line in the final 1:44 to hold off Pontotoc.
Griffith added 17 points in the win while sophomore Dalton Sizemore tossed in 16 points.
Evangel 52
Corbin 48
In a defensive battle the Eagles of Evangel Christian (7-7) edged the Redhounds, 52-48. The Eagles jumped out to an 11-3 and was ahead 13-7 at the end of the first stanza. Benny Pineset and Trent Taylor led the Eagles to the six-point margin.
The Redhounds started the second quarter with an 8-2 run and tied the score 15-15 on a basket by Hunter Grubb.
But, Evangel’s Pineset scored three straight baskets to push the Eagles ahead, 21-15. Corbin’s Victor Berezutchi hit a shot at the buzzer and the Redhounds went to the dressing room down, 21-18 at the half.
With the score 23-18, the Redhounds went on a 10-1 run that saw the local team take a 28-24 lead on a Trevor Hill basket with five minutes left in the third quarter. However, Taylor got loose for a 3-pointer that sparked a 7-0 run and the Eagles were back on top, 31-28.
Corbin trailed 33-29 at the end of the quarter and was never able to regain the lead in the final eight minutes. Corbin pulled within one (45-44) with 1:40 left in the game on a three-pointer by Zack Farley, but the Eagles hit 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory.
Taylor led all scorers with 20 points while Farley led Corbin with 13 points.
3rd Place Game
Lee High 74, Corbin 63
Corbin (63) – Berezutchi 8, Smith 19, West 2, Grubb 7, Hill 10, Farley 9, Igo 9.
Lee (74) – Robertson 23, Johnson 9, Reynolds 11, Smith 5, Greer 2, Elliott 16, Strickland 6, Scissom 2.
5th Place Game
Williamsburg 60, Jackson Co. 52
Jackson Co. 12 16 11 13- 52
Williamsburg 14 11 15 20- 60
Jackson Co. (52) – Fox 11, Duncan 18, Lunsford 5, Bingham 7, Lawson 3, Horn 2, Akemon 6.
Williamsburg (60) – Lowrie 4, Barton 20, Sizemore 15, Smoak 12, Shelton 9.
Williamsburg 66, Pontotoc 56
Pontotoc 10 8 11 27- 56
Williamsburg 9 22 13 22- 66
Pontotoc (56) – Gary 3, Crayton 15, Freeman 21, Blansett 8, Warren 5, Barton 1, Walters 1, Norris 2.
Williamsburg (66) – Griffith 17, Barton 21, Sizemore 16, Smoak 6, Bowlin 2, Shelton 4.
Evangel 52, Corbin 48
Evangel 13 8 12 19- 52
Corbin 7 11 11 18- 48
Evangel (52) – Pinesett 15, Taylor 20, Thomas 4, McCoy 7, Adams 3, Francois 1, Warren 2.
Corbin (48) – Farley 13, Smith 11, Grubb 8, Igo 2, West 2, Hill 4, Berezutchi 7, Shelton 1.