Carlisle County 67 - Mayfield 65

Mayfield High School, Mayfield, Kentucky, 01-15-08

Several years ago, someone came into my office and asked about a place called "Carlizzle County." I had them point to it on the map, and they pointed to Carlisle County. By no stretch of the imagination am I proficient in "Snoop-speak," but I now call it "Carlizzle sizzle fo-shizzle." The Comets sizzled fo-shizzle in the "Pearl of the Purchase" on Tuesday night. Well, sizzling is a bit of stretch, but they did snatch a victory from the Cardinals in this First Region match up.

Mayfield entered the game with a 6-5 record in the First Region, but a 7-9 record overall. The Cardinals needed a victory to stay above .500 in the First, but Carlisle County came in with a 6-4 record in the region and 9-6 overall.

The Carlisle County team looked thin, and I only counted 8 or 9 players on the entire squad, so I was surprised to see them open up a three-quarter court, trapping press. Once in the half-court, they dropped back to no-frills 2-3 zone. Mayfield had a lot of trouble shooting over the zone in the first quarter, and they generally had trouble getting the ball in the basket. The Comets seemed to dare Mayfield to take outside jump shots, and it worked for them for awhile. Mayfield made a late charge in the quarter, but the Comets took a 17-14 lead to the break.

Mayfield picked up their defensive intensity, and it created some baskets for them. They needed to play transition basketball to keep Carlisle from setting up their 2-3 zone, which they kept packed tightly in the lane. Mayfield got the lead, but the Comets kept it close with the fantastic outside shooting. Carlisle's Ty Owens was a deadly shot along with teammate Rob Moran (I hope I have that right).

Kudos from the Pick and Roll for the pick and roll. Carlisle County ran a beautiful pick and roll play with the "roller" receiving a pass in the lane from the wing. They ran it several times and scored every time. I love to see that play, and if players execute it right, it works almost every time. They ran one that looked almost like the old "picket fence" play, and Mayfield got caught watching the paint dry.

Mayfield took a 29-28 lead to the locker room at the half.

I thought that Carlisle County was finished. Their players looked wheezy late in the second quarter, and Mayfield's pressure frustrated them.

In the third quarter Carlisle went back to the perimeter and Owens and Moran along with Luke Nichol punished Mayfield with some long three pointers. Mayfield could not get their transition game going again in the third and found themselves playing catch around the perimeter of the Comets' 2-3 zone.

There was some drama at the end of the third quarter. After a Mayfield basket, a Carlisle player step over the in-bounds line as he threw the ball in and turned it over to the Cardinals. Coach Chris Guhy for Mayfield pointed out that there should be more than 0.1 second left on the clock, so they put 0.7 on it. Mayfield threw the ball in, time ran out, and the horn sounded. The teams went to their benches, and the scorekeeper put 8:00 on the clock. The officials had a big confab out on the court with a lot pointing and talking, and, finally, they called both coaches onto the court.

The solution? They put 0.5 on the clock and let Mayfield run another inbounds play. The Carlisle County fans went crazy, screaming at the official. Mayfield missed the shot...again...and we went on with the fourth quarter with Carlisle leading 42-41.

I still thought Carlisle was going to run out of gas down the stretch, but they didn't. The game went back-and-forth throughout the quarter, and except for the Warren Central-Warren East game I attended in December, this was the most exciting game I've seen this season.

Mayfield let this one get away from them. They had plenty of opportunities to win.

First of all, Carlisle County couldn't hit a foul shot to save their lives through most of the game. I had been in Bardwell earlier in the day and snatched a couple of bricks as souvenirs from the wreckage of their courthouse, which was burned on December 26th. I should've brought the bricks with me and let the Comets use them to shoot freethrows. Heck, they shot enough bricks from the line to build their county a new courthouse.

At the very end of the game, when Mayfield had to foul to get possessions, the Carlisle County players sank every one of their free throws. Crazy. The Comets streaked into Mayfield and stole one from the Cardinals, 67-65.

OBSERVATIONS

I'm No Michael Vick: Or am I? I went to this game thinking I had no dog in the fight. The truth is that my father is a Mayfield alumnus, and my family has a long association with that school. I felt myself cheering for Mayfield throughout the game. I've been to several Mayfield football games, including their classic with Danville in the 1985 state championship game. I hadn't been to a Mayfield basketball game since they played in the Louisville Invitational Tournament in 1977 or 1978.

Up to Their Necks in Hock-ett: Mayfield's Tony Hockett is a heck of a ball player. He's got a good shot and can slash to the basket. I enjoyed watching him play. He hit a huge three point shot to keep Mayfield in the game at the very end. They should run more sets for that kid.

TWA?: Carlisle County has a player named Tony Wilson. The Hilltoppers had Tony "TWA" Wilson back in the 1980s. I can assure you, that the Comets' Tony Wilson will not threaten the former Topper as "Tony Wilson Airlines." Trust me.

What's That I Hear: Mayfield's cheerleaders actually cheer. They lead cheers, and I could hear them throughout the game. They didn't do any routines during the game or at halftime. Heck, if they had pom-poms, I would've thought I had entered a time warp.

The Dome: If anyone has seen Mayfield High School, they'd never forget the dome over the gymnasium. It is big and white and looks like a miniature Houston Astrodome. I remember when they were building it because my aunt lived on South First Street, which ended in the school's parking lot. I was a little kid, and the thing was a marvel to me.

They call it the Mayfield Sports Arena, and it really is an arena. I have to say that it is the best high school basketball facility I've been in. The court is well lighted, and the home team's side has comfortable chairback seats about halfway up the stands. Wooden bleachers fill the rest of the arena. They are close to the court and nothing obscures fans view of the court. It's fantastic. It's too bad. I give it the Pick and Roll "Three Thumbs Up Award." Former UofL forward Wiley Brown -- as always -- sponsors this award.

If any readers have an opportunity to see a game in this great facility, do not pass it up.

Toe-the-Line: Carlisle County's free throw shooters stepped over the foul stripe twice in Tuesday's game. I haven't seen that happen in years, and I saw it twice in the first half.