18th District Semifinal, Green County High School, Greensburg, Kentucky 02-26-08
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent
High school basketball is a game of spurts, ups-and-downs and slumps. Over the past coupls of weeks Larue County has been in a slump, and to tap it all off, last Wednesday, one of their best players decided to leave the team. On Tuesday night, they faced a team they beat down twice this season, but I've always heard that it's hard to beat a team three times in one season. Also, the other two times that Larue played Hart, the Raiders had key players injured. Both times they were without 6'7" Ethan Moore, who could cause match-up problems for Larue.
Once again, I lucked out on a ride to Greensburg. My friend, Justin Craft, picked me up, and another Larue County great, Matt Clifford, was along for the ride. We talked hoops all the way there (Hey! It's Hoopsmas!). When we arrived at Green County's gym, I could tell there was a bigger crowd there than the night before. The girls game was still going on, and, man, it's hard for me to watch girls hoops. It seems there's a whistle every time down the floor. So, to kill time, I wandered around the crowd to talk to some fans. I cam across the parents of a player who told me they enjoyed the website. Thanks, Larue County fans.
We found a seat next to Larue County's locker room. Some players came out early to watch the girls' game. I kept a close eye on them to see if they were getting pumped up for the game. They were. The players were kind of loosey-goosey, and I think that was positive sign. They seemed relaxed. I also noticed that the referees were close to the Hawks' locker room, as well. One of them was Charles Jones, the same Charles Jones that played for UofL and the pride of Scooba, Mississippi. He has been a Fifth Region ref for many years, and I have seen him at many games this year. We are used to him now.
Both teams looked ready to play during warm-ups, and I was curious to see if anyone could step up in the absence of Tyler Hornback, the Larue player who left the team. When the teams made it to the jump circle, I noticed that Hart had the size advantage. Larue's biggest player is 6'3" and the Raiders' Moore is 6'7".
Hart controlled the tap. Hart played a fast pace but couldn't find the basket. On Monday night, I noticed that teams have trouble shooting in Green County's gym. I asked Matt Clifford about it because he played many games there. He told me it was the white walls that are behind the goals. It's hard to pick up the rim when all a shooter looks at is a big white wall and a clear backboard. He said that the rim looks like it's floating in air. Makes sense to me.
The first quarter was back and forth without a lot of scoring. Larue had the early lead, 10-9. Hart County ran subs in-and-out three at a time and were looking to keep the Hawks grounded.
I don't know what was up with the floor on Tuesday night. I think these teams set a record for the most walking calls in one half. We counted four straight trips down the floor that there was a whistle blown for traveling.
Larue County still hung to a small lead, but both teams really didn't shoot that well. Despite the cold shooting, Larue played better than they have the last couple of weeks. They held the lead, 18-15 at the half. It wasn't much of a first half with so many whistles and the cold shooting by both teams.
Again, tonight, no halftime entertainment, but I did hear something that made me chuckle. The PA announcer told the crowd that they were going to raffle off a rifle. Raffle a rifle at a high school game in Kentucky? What's next, try to catch a greased pig during football season. I know schools have trouble raising money these days, so I guess they'll do whatever it takes to get some money. Oh, by the way, I purchased a ticket on the rife.
For the second time this year -- that I've seen -- Coach Childress kept his team in the locker room for the entire halftime. When they came out, they only had 30 seconds to warm up. That's all they needed. They blistered the nets in the third or maybe Childress blistered their hind-ends at halftime. They outscored the Raiders 19-5 in the third and had pushed their lead to 17. I think Larue was coming out of their slump. It was too much for Hart.
Over the past couple of games, Larue had built leads only to panic and loose them. I hoped this wasn't going to happen Tuesday night. They were up 45-21 with 6:28 to go in the game, but Hart County just couldn't get it going tonight. To be honest, I didn't think they fed their big man enough. Larue played better than I had seen in awhile, and they lit up the scoreboard in the last frame for 31 points. They flew away with the victory, 68-36.
OBSERVATIONS
Players Not the Only Ones Stepping It up for the Tournaments: I hope people don't get tired of us writing about high school bands. Tuesday night, the Larue County band went "Old School." I had heard them earlier this season, but I think they were holding back in the regular season. They busted out "Play that Funk Music," "Celebrate, Good Times, C'mon," and "Sweet Home Alabama." SKYNYRD! (Pick and Roll is standing with his lighter aflame for an encore). I even noticed the Hart County band director bobbing his head to the songs. They were equipped with electric guitar, bass, and drum set. Way to step it up Band of Hawks.
Let the Light Shine On Us: I didn't know how Larue would react after losing one of their best players. I have to give it to them. Christian Seymour, Corey Salsman, and senior Alan "A Ray" Vass. Every player who played had good minutes, but these three were got it done with defense, scoring, and deflections. I hope it carries over to Friday night. They will have to play hard again against a good Green County team.
I'll be back at Green County on Friday night to catch the 18th District championship game. Green County has been a good host. The fans are friendly, and, besides, I have to see if I win the rifle.
Showing posts with label LaRue County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LaRue County. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Nelson County 43 - Larue County 42
Larue County High School, Hodgenville, Kentucky 02-12-08 (Abraham Lincoln's Birthday)
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent
Tuesday was a big day in Hodgenville. The whole town was celebrating the 199th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The First Lady, Laura Bush, was supposed to be here but canceled due to the bad weather, so we had to settle for newly elected Governor Steve Beshear. The icy weather made everything a big gamble, but the governor rolled the dice and and brought all his chips to Larue County. The town was buzzing.
School had been out for the last two days, so I wondered if any games would be played on Tuesday night. I made a few calls and sent a few e-mails and found out the games were on. Because the weather was a question mark, I decided to wager that the roads were slick and stayed close to home to watch the Hawks take on the Nelson County Cardinals.
Nelson County came into Tuesday's contest riding a big win against cross town rival Bardstown in an overtime contest on February 8th. Nelson brought a 12-10 record, which might have made the Hawks overlook feathered friends from the neighboring county. When I looked at Nelson County's roster, I realized they were loaded with seniors, seven to be exact. They were not that big, but they were a scrappy bunch.
Nelson came out looking like they were going to stuff the Hawks and put them over their mantel. They got it done on the both ends of the court and jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead. Coach Paul Childress called a timeout at the 5:10 mark. His Larue County squad responded and stepped it up big time by getting into every passing lane. In a sarcastic tone, Nelson County Coach Minor Harmon told his team to try to pass it to a player wearing a red jersey.
Larue Switched defenses every trip down the floor, and they were putting down the hammer. They went on a 10-2 run to close the first quarter. The Hawks led 14-10.
The 1-3-1 zone was working for Larue, and Nelson County went cold in the second quarter. The Hawks were patient on offense, more so than I had seen all year. Tyler Hornback was filling up the basket and was all over the floor. It seemed that Larue had put it on cruise control in the second. Coach Harmon called another timeout and really got into his team. I was close to their bench and could hear him say that if they were going to play like that, then just load up the bus and go home. That's all he said to them; end of timeout. Larue continued to claw the Cardinals and pushed their lead at the half to 28-16.
I have been all over the Fifth Region this year, and I have always watched the refs just to see how consistent they are. Tonight I saw the worst in the region. They must have just been called up from the JV ranks. These two guys were horrible. After the game something was pointed out to me. Someone told me that every time a team builds a lead the refs let the other team back into the game. Then, I got to thinking back to the games I've been to, and it seemed that way. Never was a hand check called, or a hold or anything like that. They only called the obvious ones.
Anyway, Nelson County was getting back into this game with the help of Larue County making some turnovers. Grease the pan and warm the oven because the Hawks were serving them up hot. Turnovers were killing Larue. Nelson County was hot from the field. Despite all of that, Larue still held a 38-28 lead at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was getting pretty wild in Hodgenville. Nelson County gave it all they had and were knocking on the Larue's door. Their full court press was hurting the Hawks, and not long into the quarter, the Cardinals had cut the lead from ten to four. Despite being out-of-control, Larue started their own press, but it did little good. Nelson County was determined and were not going to give up the game.
Forgive me because I didn't catch the kids name, but a non-starter for the Cardinals nailed a three pointer around the 2:00 mark that gave them the lead. The crowd was so loud that I could not hear the PA announcer. It was a good shot, and it was about 23 feet from the goal. Nelson had a 41-40 lead.
Larue started to foul. Nelson County had not shot many free throws. I guess the refs were worried about the weather and wanted to get the game over with. A Cardinal player missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Larue got a run out with 30.6 seconds left. Nelson fouled senior Alan Vass, who is also Larue County's quarterback, so pressure was no issue for him. He made both and regained the lead. With 19 seconds left, Nelson ran an offense looking for the best possible shot, and they got it with 19 seconds to go. Larue called a timeout.
Larue County lost on February 8th on a last second thirty footer, so I thought this my be a welcomed payback for them. They had to go the length of the floor, but I thought they had plenty of time.
While Larue tried to inbounds the ball to their senior point guard, Christian Seymour, Nelson County appeared to be holding him. The referee must've swallowed his whistle or was looking at the roof checking for leaks or something. Hey, refs! You're at Larue County. You've got to call that for the home crowd. It happened right in front of the Larue fans, and, man, they were hot. I'm sure the ref has a few burnt hairs on his neck, and he wouldn't turn around to face the crowd.
That's the fastest I've ever seen a ref run off the floor.
It was aces and eights for the Hawks. Nelson came in and stole one on Old Abe's birthday.
I think Larue is a better team than their last few games have shown. Maybe when the district tournament comes around they can get back to playing good ball.
Speaking of district tournaments -- or regionals for that matter -- things have gotten pretty interesting over the last few weeks. North Hardin has lost a couple that they shouldn't have. Bardstown has lost two of their last four, and Larue has lost four of five. So, all the tops teams, except for Adair, have lost some games down the stretch, and some of the middle of the pack teams have shocked and upset some of those top teams. The fifth is shaping up to be a good tilt. I can't wait.
This is the best time of the year for us basketball fans.
OBSERVATIONS
Bring Out Your Dead: Coach Minor Harmon looks like a mortician to me. I'm not making fun of the guy, I was just surprised to see him as coach. I had not seen him prior to this season. He is fun to watch, and I can tell he is always thinking. He will walk down to the end of the bench and then all of sudden turn around and call a play or think of a defensive move. It's really a treat to watch. The fans seem to really like him, and his team has put together back-to-back regional wins over some top teams. He has them believing they can play with anyone on any given night.
The Jumping Hawks: Halftime entertainment Friday night was a group of 4th through 6th graders that have formed a jump rope team. These kids were amazing. They do crazy things with jump ropes. They are led by two coaches, and they perform everywhere from parades to festivals to high schools around the state. Keep up the good works kids! It was a treat to watch the show, and it kept me from visiting the concession stand (they don't call me "pudge" for nothing).
Thank You, Mother Harper: I sat in amazement as I watched the refs. It was bad at both ends. I had never seen these guys before and after talking to some Larue County fans after the game, we probably will never see them again (editor's query: should I alert the sheriff? "Never see them again" has double meaning in some of the places I work). I guess some refs have off nights, and I know first hand that it is a hard job. But, I can't stand it when they miss call after call. I know this is not the norm for the Pick and Roll, but I can't help it tonight. I'm blowing off some steam because I'm a Larue County resident and a fan. If these guys were anywhere else tonight, and I was there watching, I would be as equally upset. Sorry, it was that bad.
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent
Tuesday was a big day in Hodgenville. The whole town was celebrating the 199th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The First Lady, Laura Bush, was supposed to be here but canceled due to the bad weather, so we had to settle for newly elected Governor Steve Beshear. The icy weather made everything a big gamble, but the governor rolled the dice and and brought all his chips to Larue County. The town was buzzing.
School had been out for the last two days, so I wondered if any games would be played on Tuesday night. I made a few calls and sent a few e-mails and found out the games were on. Because the weather was a question mark, I decided to wager that the roads were slick and stayed close to home to watch the Hawks take on the Nelson County Cardinals.
Nelson County came into Tuesday's contest riding a big win against cross town rival Bardstown in an overtime contest on February 8th. Nelson brought a 12-10 record, which might have made the Hawks overlook feathered friends from the neighboring county. When I looked at Nelson County's roster, I realized they were loaded with seniors, seven to be exact. They were not that big, but they were a scrappy bunch.
Nelson came out looking like they were going to stuff the Hawks and put them over their mantel. They got it done on the both ends of the court and jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead. Coach Paul Childress called a timeout at the 5:10 mark. His Larue County squad responded and stepped it up big time by getting into every passing lane. In a sarcastic tone, Nelson County Coach Minor Harmon told his team to try to pass it to a player wearing a red jersey.
Larue Switched defenses every trip down the floor, and they were putting down the hammer. They went on a 10-2 run to close the first quarter. The Hawks led 14-10.
The 1-3-1 zone was working for Larue, and Nelson County went cold in the second quarter. The Hawks were patient on offense, more so than I had seen all year. Tyler Hornback was filling up the basket and was all over the floor. It seemed that Larue had put it on cruise control in the second. Coach Harmon called another timeout and really got into his team. I was close to their bench and could hear him say that if they were going to play like that, then just load up the bus and go home. That's all he said to them; end of timeout. Larue continued to claw the Cardinals and pushed their lead at the half to 28-16.
I have been all over the Fifth Region this year, and I have always watched the refs just to see how consistent they are. Tonight I saw the worst in the region. They must have just been called up from the JV ranks. These two guys were horrible. After the game something was pointed out to me. Someone told me that every time a team builds a lead the refs let the other team back into the game. Then, I got to thinking back to the games I've been to, and it seemed that way. Never was a hand check called, or a hold or anything like that. They only called the obvious ones.
Anyway, Nelson County was getting back into this game with the help of Larue County making some turnovers. Grease the pan and warm the oven because the Hawks were serving them up hot. Turnovers were killing Larue. Nelson County was hot from the field. Despite all of that, Larue still held a 38-28 lead at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was getting pretty wild in Hodgenville. Nelson County gave it all they had and were knocking on the Larue's door. Their full court press was hurting the Hawks, and not long into the quarter, the Cardinals had cut the lead from ten to four. Despite being out-of-control, Larue started their own press, but it did little good. Nelson County was determined and were not going to give up the game.
Forgive me because I didn't catch the kids name, but a non-starter for the Cardinals nailed a three pointer around the 2:00 mark that gave them the lead. The crowd was so loud that I could not hear the PA announcer. It was a good shot, and it was about 23 feet from the goal. Nelson had a 41-40 lead.
Larue started to foul. Nelson County had not shot many free throws. I guess the refs were worried about the weather and wanted to get the game over with. A Cardinal player missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Larue got a run out with 30.6 seconds left. Nelson fouled senior Alan Vass, who is also Larue County's quarterback, so pressure was no issue for him. He made both and regained the lead. With 19 seconds left, Nelson ran an offense looking for the best possible shot, and they got it with 19 seconds to go. Larue called a timeout.
Larue County lost on February 8th on a last second thirty footer, so I thought this my be a welcomed payback for them. They had to go the length of the floor, but I thought they had plenty of time.
While Larue tried to inbounds the ball to their senior point guard, Christian Seymour, Nelson County appeared to be holding him. The referee must've swallowed his whistle or was looking at the roof checking for leaks or something. Hey, refs! You're at Larue County. You've got to call that for the home crowd. It happened right in front of the Larue fans, and, man, they were hot. I'm sure the ref has a few burnt hairs on his neck, and he wouldn't turn around to face the crowd.
That's the fastest I've ever seen a ref run off the floor.
It was aces and eights for the Hawks. Nelson came in and stole one on Old Abe's birthday.
I think Larue is a better team than their last few games have shown. Maybe when the district tournament comes around they can get back to playing good ball.
Speaking of district tournaments -- or regionals for that matter -- things have gotten pretty interesting over the last few weeks. North Hardin has lost a couple that they shouldn't have. Bardstown has lost two of their last four, and Larue has lost four of five. So, all the tops teams, except for Adair, have lost some games down the stretch, and some of the middle of the pack teams have shocked and upset some of those top teams. The fifth is shaping up to be a good tilt. I can't wait.
This is the best time of the year for us basketball fans.
OBSERVATIONS
Bring Out Your Dead: Coach Minor Harmon looks like a mortician to me. I'm not making fun of the guy, I was just surprised to see him as coach. I had not seen him prior to this season. He is fun to watch, and I can tell he is always thinking. He will walk down to the end of the bench and then all of sudden turn around and call a play or think of a defensive move. It's really a treat to watch. The fans seem to really like him, and his team has put together back-to-back regional wins over some top teams. He has them believing they can play with anyone on any given night.
The Jumping Hawks: Halftime entertainment Friday night was a group of 4th through 6th graders that have formed a jump rope team. These kids were amazing. They do crazy things with jump ropes. They are led by two coaches, and they perform everywhere from parades to festivals to high schools around the state. Keep up the good works kids! It was a treat to watch the show, and it kept me from visiting the concession stand (they don't call me "pudge" for nothing).
Thank You, Mother Harper: I sat in amazement as I watched the refs. It was bad at both ends. I had never seen these guys before and after talking to some Larue County fans after the game, we probably will never see them again (editor's query: should I alert the sheriff? "Never see them again" has double meaning in some of the places I work). I guess some refs have off nights, and I know first hand that it is a hard job. But, I can't stand it when they miss call after call. I know this is not the norm for the Pick and Roll, but I can't help it tonight. I'm blowing off some steam because I'm a Larue County resident and a fan. If these guys were anywhere else tonight, and I was there watching, I would be as equally upset. Sorry, it was that bad.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Larue County 59 - Spencer County 56
Larue County High School, Hodgenville, Kentucky, 01-15-08
By Chris Gregory
Larue is quietly making a name for themselves in the fifth region this year. Nobody is giving them a shot to win the region, but I feel like they can play with the top three or four temas in the region. This is a team that is loaded with blue collar players, they have no Scotty Hopson's or Darius Miller's or Jon Hood's on their team, just hard nosed kids that love to play the game. Spencer Co. is about the same way. This is the first time I ever watched any Spencer Co. team. They play hard and sometimes dirty.
A decent sized crowd was on hand, and Spencer Co. brought a rowdy bunch. I had a quick chat with Coach Paul Childress before the game and he said that he was a little worried about this game. After coming off a big district win he didn't know how his team would respond against a non regional opponent. He also said that this was a very good Spencer Co. team, better than there 8-8 record.
The game got under way and Larue controlled the tip, Spencer backed into a 1-2-2 zone. It seemed to confuse Larue at first but they had great ball movement and got a bucket and the Hawks looked like they were going to pick up right where they left off on Friday. Spencer looked a little tight and made some silly turnovers. The quarter was a good one for the Hawks, they were up 16-8 when Spencer Co. got a time-out with 2:19 to go in the quarter. The Bears came out of the time-out and that's when the fans showed up as well. They were on the refs as soon as they put the ball back in play. I have been all over the fifth region this year and I haven't seen these refs before, I'm sure they were legal, but they were not that consistent. The first quarter ended with a Larue Co. lead 19-10.
With the Spencer Co. fans still rowdy the second quarter began and Larue was still hot, with the help of Tyler Hornback, Larue Co's all purpose player, they started to stretch their lead. But the Bears started to claw back into this one. They were taking it to the Hawks and getting them into big time foul trouble. Hornback, who had been all over the court picked up his second foul with 5:58 to go in the half. they were forced to sit him and that's when Spencer Co's Craig Edwards took over. Edwards is a wide body and he had been frustrated the whole game, he was kind of a dirty player but I guess his frustration made him act a little dirty. He would complain about not getting any calls, but he never did anything wrong. With Larue Co. in foul trouble, (three starters with two fouls) the sub's was able to hold the lead and go in at the half up 31-23.
Both teams of course, headed to their locker rooms and we got to enjoy the Larue Co. cheerleaders do their floor routine, I guess they have some kind of competition coming up, oh well good luck to them. Now I don't know what Coach Jacob Barmore said to his team, but they were in and out of the locker room in no time. I guess they wanted to catch the cheerleaders as well. Whatever he said must have worked cause they came out looking like a different team. They ran off a flury of buckets and cut the lead to two points. Larue got a timeout, Coach Childress had to settle his team.
The third was a wild one both teams were very intense and it got a little ugly. The refs were still catching it from the fans as they were still inconsistent, the fans from Spencer were really upset, they saw there team get back into this game, but now they thought the refs were going to take them out of it. That's when they had seen enough from one particular fan, they stopped the game and escorted a fan out of the gym. Now my back was to the Spencer Co. crowd but I had heard them all night and I wasn't about to turn around to see who was getting tossed. It was ugly. Good thing they had a sherriff's deputy on hand. Funny thing is that fans across the gym said the ref tossed the wrong guy. After it was all said and done Spencer Co. had there first lead 40-39 to end the third.
This game was a rough one for both teams, I had to keep looking down at the Larue bench to see if football Coach Rodney Armes was passing out helmets and shoulder pads. It was really heating up. Both teams made silly fouls and some mistakes in the fourth, I don't know if that was from being tired or just frustrated from all the banging. It must have been frustration, a Spencer Co. player picked up a technical foul, and it kinda took the steam out of his team. Now Larue Co. struggled all night from the free throw line (11 for 25). but after the technical, they started to fall and that was the turning point IMO. That put Larue up 51-46. The Bears still had fight in them, after trading buckets and some Larue made FT's the lead was 55-50 with 38.5 tics on the clock. Spencer was forced to foul, which probably wasn't a bad idea cause Larue had shot so poorly through-out the game. But they made them down the stretch and Larue won a wild one in Hodgenville, 59-56 .
OBSERVATIONS
Brothers in Arms: Senior Shawn and Junior Christian Seymour, both smart on and off the ball court, tonight they made 4 of 6 free throws with less than forty seconds to go in the game. On a night that the free trows were not falling, they stepped it up and knocked some important shots down. That builds confidence for tournament time.
I Know You Are, But What Am I?: Craig Edwards for Spencer Co. is a bully, I mean that in a good way. He is wide and very strong kid and he gives opposing players fits. He's a good offensive player as well, he single handly brought Spencer Co. back in this game scoring 19 points and many rebounds. He fouled out with about 40 seconds to go, after that they had no one to go to. Hats off to the bully!
Silent but Deadly: Coach Paul Childress, for people that know him, knows that he pretty much is quiet most of the time, well until game time that is. Tonight you could tell he really wanted this game, not that he don't want every game, but he really worked the sidelines tonight, working the refs, getting after players, only to get the most out of them and that is why people like him, he gets the most out of what he has got. At times I thought he was going to blow a gasket but he just turned away and kept his cool.
Leader of the Pack: Larue Co's Tyler Hornback has put together back to back performances that Larue fans have been waiting for. He is starting to turn the corner and at a good time in the season. He started off the season a little slow, but now he may be ready to carry this team on his back. But then again there are many players on this team who can step it up on any given night. Region teams know about Hornback, he was a starter last year as a Soph. and he made some noise then, so he may get some heavy attention come tournament time. So look for Corey Salsman, The Seymour Bro's. or Byran Bault to step up and help out and lead a balanced team.
By Chris Gregory
It's been a week and a half since I have been to a game, (dang work schedule). So tonight I got back to it. I didn't have to travel far for the contest (about three miles)between Spencer Co. Bears and the Larue Co. Hawks. Both teams were on a six game winning streak. The Hawks won last Friday against district foe Green Co. which to date is probably the best overall game played by Larue. Spencer from the 8th region, has had some good wins against John Hardin, North Bullitt, and Louisville Western.
Larue is quietly making a name for themselves in the fifth region this year. Nobody is giving them a shot to win the region, but I feel like they can play with the top three or four temas in the region. This is a team that is loaded with blue collar players, they have no Scotty Hopson's or Darius Miller's or Jon Hood's on their team, just hard nosed kids that love to play the game. Spencer Co. is about the same way. This is the first time I ever watched any Spencer Co. team. They play hard and sometimes dirty.
A decent sized crowd was on hand, and Spencer Co. brought a rowdy bunch. I had a quick chat with Coach Paul Childress before the game and he said that he was a little worried about this game. After coming off a big district win he didn't know how his team would respond against a non regional opponent. He also said that this was a very good Spencer Co. team, better than there 8-8 record.
The game got under way and Larue controlled the tip, Spencer backed into a 1-2-2 zone. It seemed to confuse Larue at first but they had great ball movement and got a bucket and the Hawks looked like they were going to pick up right where they left off on Friday. Spencer looked a little tight and made some silly turnovers. The quarter was a good one for the Hawks, they were up 16-8 when Spencer Co. got a time-out with 2:19 to go in the quarter. The Bears came out of the time-out and that's when the fans showed up as well. They were on the refs as soon as they put the ball back in play. I have been all over the fifth region this year and I haven't seen these refs before, I'm sure they were legal, but they were not that consistent. The first quarter ended with a Larue Co. lead 19-10.
With the Spencer Co. fans still rowdy the second quarter began and Larue was still hot, with the help of Tyler Hornback, Larue Co's all purpose player, they started to stretch their lead. But the Bears started to claw back into this one. They were taking it to the Hawks and getting them into big time foul trouble. Hornback, who had been all over the court picked up his second foul with 5:58 to go in the half. they were forced to sit him and that's when Spencer Co's Craig Edwards took over. Edwards is a wide body and he had been frustrated the whole game, he was kind of a dirty player but I guess his frustration made him act a little dirty. He would complain about not getting any calls, but he never did anything wrong. With Larue Co. in foul trouble, (three starters with two fouls) the sub's was able to hold the lead and go in at the half up 31-23.
Both teams of course, headed to their locker rooms and we got to enjoy the Larue Co. cheerleaders do their floor routine, I guess they have some kind of competition coming up, oh well good luck to them. Now I don't know what Coach Jacob Barmore said to his team, but they were in and out of the locker room in no time. I guess they wanted to catch the cheerleaders as well. Whatever he said must have worked cause they came out looking like a different team. They ran off a flury of buckets and cut the lead to two points. Larue got a timeout, Coach Childress had to settle his team.
The third was a wild one both teams were very intense and it got a little ugly. The refs were still catching it from the fans as they were still inconsistent, the fans from Spencer were really upset, they saw there team get back into this game, but now they thought the refs were going to take them out of it. That's when they had seen enough from one particular fan, they stopped the game and escorted a fan out of the gym. Now my back was to the Spencer Co. crowd but I had heard them all night and I wasn't about to turn around to see who was getting tossed. It was ugly. Good thing they had a sherriff's deputy on hand. Funny thing is that fans across the gym said the ref tossed the wrong guy. After it was all said and done Spencer Co. had there first lead 40-39 to end the third.
This game was a rough one for both teams, I had to keep looking down at the Larue bench to see if football Coach Rodney Armes was passing out helmets and shoulder pads. It was really heating up. Both teams made silly fouls and some mistakes in the fourth, I don't know if that was from being tired or just frustrated from all the banging. It must have been frustration, a Spencer Co. player picked up a technical foul, and it kinda took the steam out of his team. Now Larue Co. struggled all night from the free throw line (11 for 25). but after the technical, they started to fall and that was the turning point IMO. That put Larue up 51-46. The Bears still had fight in them, after trading buckets and some Larue made FT's the lead was 55-50 with 38.5 tics on the clock. Spencer was forced to foul, which probably wasn't a bad idea cause Larue had shot so poorly through-out the game. But they made them down the stretch and Larue won a wild one in Hodgenville, 59-56 .
OBSERVATIONS
Comedians or Players?: This Larue Co. team should nickname this season "The Blue Collar Players Tour", they will not win any Mr. Basketball awards or probably not sign any Division 1 scholarships in basketball, but they work hard and listen to their coach and right now they are gettin er done, with their balanced attack. I hope they can keep up their good play when they get back into district play on Friday at Hart Co.
Brothers in Arms: Senior Shawn and Junior Christian Seymour, both smart on and off the ball court, tonight they made 4 of 6 free throws with less than forty seconds to go in the game. On a night that the free trows were not falling, they stepped it up and knocked some important shots down. That builds confidence for tournament time.
I Know You Are, But What Am I?: Craig Edwards for Spencer Co. is a bully, I mean that in a good way. He is wide and very strong kid and he gives opposing players fits. He's a good offensive player as well, he single handly brought Spencer Co. back in this game scoring 19 points and many rebounds. He fouled out with about 40 seconds to go, after that they had no one to go to. Hats off to the bully!
Silent but Deadly: Coach Paul Childress, for people that know him, knows that he pretty much is quiet most of the time, well until game time that is. Tonight you could tell he really wanted this game, not that he don't want every game, but he really worked the sidelines tonight, working the refs, getting after players, only to get the most out of them and that is why people like him, he gets the most out of what he has got. At times I thought he was going to blow a gasket but he just turned away and kept his cool.
Leader of the Pack: Larue Co's Tyler Hornback has put together back to back performances that Larue fans have been waiting for. He is starting to turn the corner and at a good time in the season. He started off the season a little slow, but now he may be ready to carry this team on his back. But then again there are many players on this team who can step it up on any given night. Region teams know about Hornback, he was a starter last year as a Soph. and he made some noise then, so he may get some heavy attention come tournament time. So look for Corey Salsman, The Seymour Bro's. or Byran Bault to step up and help out and lead a balanced team.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Hart County @ LaRue County 12-07-07
By Fifth Region Correspondent, Chris Gregory*
When I got out of my truck at LaRue County High School the gym was thumping with the sound of the pep band goin' at it. The crowd sounded electric. I was there to see Hart County's new coach, Casey Simpson, who played ball at Bowling Green and was an assistant coach for Tim Riley at Warren Central.
The crowd was huge, and the LaRue students were dawned with blue and white paint all over their bodies. It was LaRue's home opener against 18th District and long time rival Hart County.
The game started slow, and at the end of the first quarter, the visitors had an 11-7 lead. Hart County opened things up early in the second quarter, but the two teams squared off, going back and forth through the end of the third. The Hawks had a two point lead over the visiting Raiders at the start of the final frame.
LaRue County is a senior rich ball club, and their experience carried them in the fourth quarter. They opened it up and prevailed 56 to 39.
OBSERVATIONS
Casey at the Bat: Simspon is a good young coach and handles himself well on the sidelines. Hart County fans should be patient with their young coach.
Bault and Sold: LaRue County's Bryan Bault hasn't played organized ball since grade school. Now, he starts for the Hawks and scored in double digits and grabbed several boards.
*Chris Gregory brings a better perpsective to Pick and Roll because he actually knows something about basketball. He played for Breckinridge County High School and is a good student of the game. He and I have had some lengthy discussions about UK, UofL, WKU, and high school hoops. He is a fan of high school football and basketball. Because he went to Breckinridge County, I won't let him write about football, though.
When I got out of my truck at LaRue County High School the gym was thumping with the sound of the pep band goin' at it. The crowd sounded electric. I was there to see Hart County's new coach, Casey Simpson, who played ball at Bowling Green and was an assistant coach for Tim Riley at Warren Central.
The crowd was huge, and the LaRue students were dawned with blue and white paint all over their bodies. It was LaRue's home opener against 18th District and long time rival Hart County.
The game started slow, and at the end of the first quarter, the visitors had an 11-7 lead. Hart County opened things up early in the second quarter, but the two teams squared off, going back and forth through the end of the third. The Hawks had a two point lead over the visiting Raiders at the start of the final frame.
LaRue County is a senior rich ball club, and their experience carried them in the fourth quarter. They opened it up and prevailed 56 to 39.
OBSERVATIONS
Casey at the Bat: Simspon is a good young coach and handles himself well on the sidelines. Hart County fans should be patient with their young coach.
Bault and Sold: LaRue County's Bryan Bault hasn't played organized ball since grade school. Now, he starts for the Hawks and scored in double digits and grabbed several boards.
*Chris Gregory brings a better perpsective to Pick and Roll because he actually knows something about basketball. He played for Breckinridge County High School and is a good student of the game. He and I have had some lengthy discussions about UK, UofL, WKU, and high school hoops. He is a fan of high school football and basketball. Because he went to Breckinridge County, I won't let him write about football, though.
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