Sweet Sixteen: First Round; Session Four

Eight games in two days is killer. I dream about basketball at night. Maybe my addiction has finally led to an overdose. I'm no Gram Parsons, though, so I will be careful not to push too far.

Game One

Paducah Tilghman 77 - Greenwood 53

When Greenwood won the Fourth Region I wondered how a scrappy team like them would fare in the Sweet Sixteen. When Tilghman won the First Region, I wondered if Greenwood could handle their size. When Tilghman took the floor on Thursday night, I knew the Gators were going to end up as a buffet with everyone in Paducah saying, "Tastes like chicken."

The Tornado pounced on Greenwood as if they were a trailer park sitting in a treeless field in a super cell thunderstorm.

There's not very much to write about this game. Quick summary: the Gators shot terrible and Tilghman's Stefon Perry and Isaac McClure grabbed every rebound that came off the board. Perry had 11 rebounds and McClure had 13. They had a combined 18 defensive rebounds. Tilghman had 42 boards as a team, and 32 of those came off the defensive glass. They had one fewer defensive rebounds than Greenwood had total boards -- 33. The Gators shot a miserable 27.4% for the game.

Isaac McClure finished the game with 16 points and was 7 of 15 from the field with two three pointers.

Greenwood had no answer for Tilghman's dominance. They made a late run at them, but the Gators were over matched. In a way, Tilghman was a giant Steve Irwin Thursday night in Lexington. Tilghman advances to the quarterfinals with a 77-53 victory over Greenwood

Game Two

Mason County 66 - Elliott County 62

I could bore Pick and Roll readers with a thousand cliches about David and Goliath or with the movie "Hoosiers," which I have done in the past. By high school standards, Mason County has a big lineup starting two players who are 6'7" and they have several others well over six feet tall. Elliott County is smaller, but has more scrap than a junkyard.

The Elliott County Lions played their way into the hearts of the Rupp Arena crowd in Thursday's nightcap game.

Mason County seemed in control of the game in the first half, but Elliott stayed at their heels. The Royals had a precarious 35-30 lead at halftime.

The drama started in the third quarter when Elliott County started their bid to upset one of the teams I've heard a lot of people say is going to win the championship. They closed to within two, 43-41 at the end of the quarter.

Twenty seconds into the fourth, Elliott County's Tyler Maynard, one of only two seniors on the squad, made a statement by launching a three from the the wing to put the Lions ahead 44-43.

Earlier in the season my cohort Chris Gregory commented that a player started looking for his shot when he got off the bus. These guys from Elliott County started looking for their shots when they departed Sandy Hook. They are to shooting what Ricky Skaggs is to the mandolin.

A little later, Maynard shot a beautiful arching, rainmaking three pointer from the Rupp Arena logo that brought the house down. He put his Lions up 53-47, and they had the momentum.

The Royals did what great teams do to win ballgames. They didn't falter. Trevor Setty and Russ Middleton were like big game hunters late in the game. They hit back-to-back-to-back threes that gave Mason County a 62-59 lead with 1:40 left.

Elliott County made a challenge to a very good basketball team that beat them 90-61 earlier in the season. They received a rousing ovation from the crowd as they left the floor.

Mason County advances to meet Tilghman with a 66-62 win.

OBSERVATIONS

Magic Johnson?: Mason County's Darius Miller is 6'7" and often brings the ball up the court for the Royals. He handles the ball well and sees the court pretty good. There were times, though, when he needed to be under the basket to take advantage of his team's size advantage. He's a good player with a nice soft shot.

Some Love for Pick and Roll?: I noticed that Elliott County's Timmy Knipp had a "T" tattooed on one calf and a "K" on the other. Thanks, Timmy, but it's a bit much. Oh, wait, maybe those are HIS initials.

Toppahz in da House: The KHSAA honored former Hilltopper Terry Davis just before the Shelby County game in the afternoon, and they honored Hilltopper great Jim McDaniels in the evening. It's good to see Hilltoppers at the state tournament. The last time there were that many Hilltoppers on the Rupp Arena floor they handed the Wildcats a 64-52 loss.

I go to church with a guy who played against McDaniels in high school. He told me one time that he held Big Jim to below his season average in one ballgame. McDaniels averaged 44 points that season, and my friend held him to 42. Good work, Ralph.

Toppahz Not in da House: I'm glad to not see Darrin Horn and the WKU coaching staff skulking around the state tournament. That means they have work to do readying to play in the NCAA.