Lone Oak 61 - Allen County-Scottsville 57

Time Piece Roundball Classic, Graves County High School, Mayfield, Kentucky

J. Trace Kirkwood

I sometimes surprise even myself with the games I end up watching. Although I grew up in Miami and Louisville, I have deep roots and strong ties to Mayfield, Kentucky. It has been the base of my family for over a century, and my parents are living out there retirement in the "Pearl of the Purchase." After celebrating Christmas with my in-laws, we trucked out Mayfield to celebrate the holiday with my parents. I picked up the Mayfield Messenger and discovered that our own Allen County-Scottsville Patriots were slated to play the Lone Oak Purple Flash on Saturday night.

I know the Purchase ain't the Pennyrile, but, by golly, it's a close cousin.

Let's see. Allen County brought their coaches, players, some fans, busses, equipment, basketball, uniforms, shoes, socks, and probably a credit card from the school system. What could they have left behind. Oh yeah. Their game.

High school basketball keeps me in a perpetual state of "what the heck?" The Patriots looked good against Bowling Green the other night even though they lost the ballgame. They looked like they could challenge for the Fourth Region title, so I was delighted to get an opportunity to watch them play a game or two against teams from other regions.

Lone Oak, a high school and community just outside of Paducah, started the season 3-1 with victories over Hickman County, St. Mary, and the Reidland Greyhounds, but they dropped the next six game to teams including Apollo, Louisville Moore, and North Hardin. They're a hard team to read.

Allen County opened the game like they came to play -- at this point I did not know they lost to University Heights earlier in the day. The Pats opened up a quick lead and had good ball movement on offense. I did notice that they depended upon the perimeter to get baskets because Lone Oak sagged down on Phillip Hayes. When they did get the ball into the big man, Lone Oak had no answer.

Allen County had a 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Flash came alive in the second quarter. Their defense triggered their comeback, and they whittled into Allen County's lead. By the 4:54 mark, they led 18-16 with a 9-2 run. The Patriots looked tired while Lone Oak, who also played earlier in the day, was hitting their shots and playing active on both ends of the court.

Coach Scott Shelton benched Hayes for about the last three minutes of the half. I don't know if he was tired or if the coach was trying to get his attention. I do know that the Patriots needed him out there. Casey Napier, Joe Jeskie, and Anthony Graves are good perimeter players, but they need Hayes in the middle un-balancing the opponent's defense.

Lone Oak took a 26-22 lead to the locker room by outscoring the Pats 17-8 in the second frame.

Allen County continued to look out-of-synch in the third quarter. The Flash, led by Cameron Tillet, Jamrielle Brown, and Josh Byrd continued to fill the passing lanes and frustrate Allen County on the defensive end, and they hit big baskets, allowing Lone Oak to hold onto a seven point lead at the end of the third quarter.

Allen County's lackadaisacal play showed up again in the fourth quarter, giving every indication that they were tired. I know two games in one day is difficult, and maybe it is hard at this time of the year. Everyone knows that in order to win a Sweet Sixteen championship a team must be able to play and win two games on Saturday. I don't see Lone Oak making much of a challenge in the First Region, so if the Patriots are going to challenge in the Fourth, they have to be able to tangle with these types of teams even when they're tired. I know Coach Shelton knows that.

Lone Oak extended their lead to 12 at one point during the Fourth Quarter. With 3:30 left in the game, Coach Shelton called a timeout, grouped his team around him, and started giving them something other than Christmas greetings. He wasn't apologizing for being late with his Christmas cards. I don't know what he said to his team, but he needed more time. He called two more timeouts.

I've never seen a coach do that.

Phillip Hayes pushed over a chair during the "Mother of All Timeouts." Mr. Hayes found a cozy spot on the bench and stayed there for the rest of the contest.

Allen County made a gallant run late in the fourth, led by the active and athletic play of Kevin Bunton. With 9.1 seconds left the Pats cut the lead to three points and had a shot at winning the game. The Flash held them off and won 61-57.

OBSERVATIONS

Great Gymnasium: Graves County High School is a great place to watch a basketball game. The stands are steep and close to the floor and include plenty of chairbacks on the home side. The concessions are good. I hate to say it, but it outclasses all but one gym in the Fourth Region. Bowling Green's "arena" rivals "The Eagles Nest," but it lacks the endzone seating of Graves County's.

Careful For What You Wish: Last week I complained about the bitterly cold weather. Saturday in Mayfield featured 72 degree weather and some sunshine. At game time, a vicious line of storms pounded their way through the Jackson Purchase, and fans discovered how badly the entrances to the Eagles Nest leak. I enjoyed the balmy weather but not the monsoon.

The Pearl of the Purchase: That's an old nickname for Mayfield. I mentioned earlier that I have strong ties to the city. I used to spend a good portion of each summer between 1970 and 1980 either in Mayfield or on my grandmother's farm near Fancy Farm. It was/is a second home to me. I used to pedal an old bicycle all over that town and came to know a lot of its residents. I'll probably get e-mail about this, but Mayfield has fallen on hard times. It's just not the same place from my childhood. It sort of makes me sad.

There's some good places to eat in Mayfield. Carr's Barbecue Barn and Hill's Barbecue are both very good. If you have a place to go eat it, Larry, Darrel and Darrel's is also very good. When you get barbecue in Mayfield, don't be surprised if they smash it down to look like a hockey puck. Trust me. I work for the government. It's good! Ace's Pizza is good, especially their meatball sandwich. There's also a doughnut shop just north of the town on U.S. 45 that has fantastic doughnuts. If you go early in the morning the things are too hot to eat.

I'd write more about Graves County High School, but my family are all Mayfield alumni and they'll disown me.