Franklin-Simpson 70 - Logan County 37

Logan County High School, Russellville, Kentucky, 01-25-08

In horse racing sometimes one horse will be the only one to go to post. Even though it is a guarantee that the horse is going to win, they break him from the gate and walk the animal around the race track. Horsemen call it "a walkover."

That is an apt description of Friday night's match up between the Franklin-Simpson Wildcats and the Logan County Cougars.

Franklin-Simpson rolled into the contest with a Fourth Region leading 10-1 record with their only loss coming at the hands of Bowling Green on December 14th, and they were undefeated in the 13th District. Logan County, on the other hand, has not won a game in the region and they've come up Krispy-Kreme (doughnuts) in the 13th.

It was first versus worst.

The other day I was scrolling through some of the old posts on Pick and Roll and realized that I had not seen Franklin-Simpson play this season. I wanted to see them play Bowling Green in December, but an out-of-state trip thwarted that plan. I just haven't been able to cross paths with these cats, so, instead of taking in the Bowling Green-Warren Central tilt or the Warren East vs. Greenwood game, I decided to head out the broad four lanes of U.S. 68 and catch a cat fight in the suburbs of Russellville.

Yep it was a walkover. At first, I thought the Cougars were going to make it a game. Logan packed back in a shifty little zone and closed down Franklin's passing lanes. After falling behind 5-0, the Cougars answered with a 6-0 run of their own to take a lead late in the first. The Wildcats, however, took a one point lead into the first break, 12-11.

Logan County's Andrew Bunton, who wears #23, hit a big basket to put Logan County ahead in the second quarter. This kid has more spin moves than the Tilt-A-Whirl at Beech Bend, but shortly after spinning through Franklin's defense with a whirl that should've been measured with the Fujita Scale, he disappeared. I don't know if Bunton hurt himself or landed in Coach Brandon Fisher's dog house, but I didn't see him on the court the rest of the game.

Logan County had 17 points when he came out of the game in the second quarter, and that was their point total at halftime. The Wildcats exploded for 20 second quarter points and controlled the game 23-17 at the half. Courtney Dalcourt and Cedrick Adams led the way for Franklin-Simpson in the first half with superb ball movement and shooting.

I had heard a lot about Rayco "Baby Shaq" Bryant. He is a big guy -- 6'5" and a very large frame. The Franklin-Simpson fans call him "Baby Shaq," but he reminds me more of Charles Barkley. Pick and Roll is going to call him "Baby Bark" or "Sir Rayco." Bryant didn't have a great game tonight, but it's probably because Logan County did everything they could to keep the ball out of his hands. He's a good rebounder and gives up no ground on defense.

The second half belonged to Franklin-Simpson. Logan County played scared, and later they played as if they had pianos strapped to their backs. The Wildcats kept the score doubled-up on them throughout most of the third and fourth quarters.

My mind wandered over to Morgantown Road in Bowling Green thinking about how the Purples and Dragons were probably slugging it out in a track meet.

The real drama at Logan County on Friday night came in the fourth quarter. I'm not sure what happened, but I think the Cougars' Reuben Rawlings threw a punch at a Franklin player and received a technical foul. When he went to the bench, the F-S fans behind the bench started taunting him, and I think someone threw something at him. A Logan County coach started jawing with the fans and walked across the gym and dispatched two Logan County deputy sheriffs into the stands. They made the fan leave, and they took up a post right beside the fans.

Pick and Roll Pet Peeve: I can't stand when fans throw things onto the playing floor or at a player. It is dangerous and stupid. I will always alert law enforcement to that type of behavior; there is no place for it in sports.

Franklin Coach David Clark cleared his bench early and gave some bench players time in the game. Jerron Patterson, a 6'4" freshman caught my eye down the stretch. He played nearly six minutes and scored five points and grabbed four rebounds. Coach Clark has to be excited about this kid.

Franklin-Simpson won effortlessly 70-37. Logan County's quarter-by-quarter scoring went 11, 6, 9, and 11. Ouch!

Courtney Dalcourt led the way for the Wildcats with 20 points and Colby Clark added 13. Brett Sowell scored 16 for Logan, and Andrew Bunton scored seven, despite only playing 12 minutes.

OBSERVATIONS

Hey, Mr. Talley Man: Pick and Roll gives a tip of the hat to Aaron Talley, Franklin-Simpson's stat man. He supplied me with rosters for both teams and statistics for the entire game. He's also very knowledgeable about Fourth Region basketball. I think it's great that a statistician is named "Talley." I love it. Somebody cue up the Harry Belafonte eight tracks.

Peaking at the Right Time: Logan County's Brett Sowell's jump shot has no arch to it whatsoever. It peaks at 10 feet, but he hit his mark several times Friday night. He has nearly perfect form on his jump shots, too. If he squares his feet and shoulders to the basket, he's money.

Oyez! Oyez!: I have to point out that Franklin-Simpson's COURTney DalCOURT has "court" twice in his name. He was either going to be a basketball player or a lawyer or maybe both.

No Parking in the Red Zone: Pick and Roll is a traveler. I've been in a lot of airports, and once thought I was going to grow old and die in Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport. Logan County has a young lady doing the public address. All night I had flashbacks to my nightmarish day at Hartsfield, where p.a. announcements were always done with a woman's voice. I kept waiting for Logan's p.a. to announce that Southwest Flight 507 was boarding at Gate 22.

The Franklin Favorite: Gee, there's a good reason why the Wildcats are 11-1 in the Fourth Region. It's because they are a good basketball team. Could they be, should they be the favorite to win the region?