Elizabethtown 62 - Breckinridge County 54

Breckinridge County High School, Harned, Kentucky 01-19-08
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent

I first started playing basketball when I was in the fourth grade. It was in Homer Gray's Saturday Morning League. From that point on I knew I loved this game. It wasn't until a few years later, when my Aunt Kathy took me to my first Breck County game, I realized I wanted to be a Fighting Tiger.

Saturday night was Homecoming in Harned, and I wanted to see the Tigers and the Panthers scratch it out on the hardwood. Both teams are a little down this year (reflected by their records). E-town lost Kentucky's Mr. Basketball, Steffphon Pettigrew, who is playing for WKU this season, and I had yet to see the Panthers play. I reported on the Tigers over the holidays. Both schools have tons of tradition and some state tournament rings to flash.

Elizabethtown's James Haire is a veteran coach, but this year's team has really challenged him. Prior to Saturday's game, they sported an 8-7 record, having lost to Owensboro the night before. They have good size at every position, but I didn't know what to expect from them because they have won games over some worthy opponents. Plus, Breck has lost some tough games in the last couple of weeks.

E-town was already on the floor going through pre-game warm-ups when Breck took the floor. That's when the pep band struck up "Eye of the Tiger." To this day, and I guess forever, if a person was ever a Breckinridge County Fighting Tiger -- like I was -- that song just gets your blood a pumpin. I'm glad to see that the new band director hasn't shied away from tradition.

I'm really at a loss for words for this game. My buddy, Justin, who made the trip from Hodgenville with me, said that this game was "just blah." I admit that I was expecting a little better game. Maybe it's because I had witnessed two of the best games I've seen this year in the past seven days (I reported on them).

I told my buddy that maybe I should pass on this game, and he said, "well since you're here you should write something." Don't get me wrong; this game had some good moments.

Elizabethtown showed no effects from playing tough game on Friday night and ran off a few buckets. Breck missed some easy shots down low early in the first quarter. The thing that impressed me most in the first was how well Breck plays their man-to-man full court press. They have quick guards, and they get their hands on a lot of balls.

E-town was in control early, leading 17-12 after one period of play.

Breck is a young and players have had to grow up quick. They weren't going to back down to a team from the big city. To Coach Critchelow's dismay his Tigers looked a bit lost on offense, and E-town threw a tough 1-2-2 match up zone at them. I'm still a tiger at heart, but Breck made it easy for the Panthers in the first half. It bothers me to see a team that doesn't penetrate the zone and work for the three. These days teams are living and dying by the three point shot. Breck seemed to pass it around with no ball movement, letting E-town get set after every pass.

Heck, me, Pick and Roll, and three guys from Tules Creek could guard them. E-town outscored Breck in the second 13-7 to take the halftime lead 30-19.

Editor's Note: You and the three guys from Tules Creek would be working your butts off to pick up my slack. Plus, you'd need these things on the sidelines: a defibrillator, an emergency room doctor, an oxygen tank, a box of Girl Scout Tagalong cookies, and an ice cold Dr. Pepper before I'd even set foot on a basketball court. I'd have trouble keeping a fence post from going around me.

E-town started the third in a hurry to get this one over with and head back Highway 86. They ran an offensive play that would make Pick and Roll proud. They used the pick and roll. I had to look down at the E-town bench to see if Gene Hackman or James Haire was calling plays. I kept looking for the old "picket fence." E-town was too much for them in the third. They lead 44-30.

I guess the Panthers thought they had this game wrapped up because they seemed too laid back to start the last frame. Like I said, Breck was not intimidated. They were still playing hard and Coach Critchelow had made his point about moving the ball. E-town was up by 16 at this point. Breck had fought back to cut the lead to seven at one point but just couldn't get over the hump. E-town turned up pressure once again, and Breck was forced to foul and pray that the Panthers would miss from the charity stripe. E-town made the shots down the stretch and dodged a late bullet from the Tigers. They won 62-54.

OBSERVATIONS

No Stranger to the Mic: Breckinridge County's Huston DeHaven has been calling Tiger basketball since 1970, and his sidekick and stat man, Scotty Willoughby, has been with him since 1992. These voices of Breckenridge County have seen it all, and they won't shy away from telling listeners exactly what they think about officials, the crowd, and let people know if a player got away with a dirty play. By no means would they bash a player but tell listeners, "Well, he got away with that one.

I asked Mr. DeHaven what games stuck out in his mind other than Breck's state run in '95. He said, "well, a lot of them." He remembered every regional final that Breck was involved in: 1986 against Apollo and Rex Chapman; '93 against Grayson County where the Tigers had a seven point lead with 30 seconds to go and Grayson came back to win. Mr. DeHaven went on to tell me that he had once interviewed the legendary Cawood Ledford, Joe B. Hall, and Denny Crum. He is a fixture in Breck County sports, and I hope he has many more years behind the microphone.

He also had a day job for many years. He was the superintendent of Breck County Schools.

I Love Tradition: Regular readers of the Pick and Roll know that we love high school bands. Well, Breck has had good bands over the years, and Saturday night I was glad to see they still keep up with traditions. Like many games we all stand to honor our country with the playing of "The Star Spangled Banner," but Breck takes it a step further with playing "My Old Kentucky Home." During time outs and half time they play "Eye of the Tiger," which features a cow bell. You can never have enough COW BELL!!

A Hero There Made: Elizabethtown's Sean Bouthilette (pronounce booth-uh-let) was in the right places at the right times Saturday night. He led the Panthers with 19 points. He was a mismatch for Breck and E-town took full advantage of it. He is much quicker than he looked and is wide and strong. He grabbed a lot of loose balls and muscled his way to the basket. Somehow, I think the Panthers will be around come regional tournament time (just a gut feeling). They went nine deep tonight, and that means a lot playing night in and night out come tournament time. You can never count out a James Haire coached team.