The Allen County-Scottsville Patriots were 1-1 during the week prior to Christmas break, recording a come-from-behind win at Warren East before dropping a District 15 game to Barren County Friday night, 61-46.
The week began with a slow start at Warren East on Tuesday, a slow start which was aided by the hot outside shooting of Warren East. Four consecutive 3-pointers enabled the Raiders to build a 12-0 lead by the 4:32 mark of the first quarter. A Michael Smith basket at the 4:12 mark of the first broke AC-S’s scoring drought. Still, the Raiders added two more 3-pointers to open a 20-11 lead after the first frame.
The Patriots charged back in the second
eight minutes. Jax Cooper opened the frame with a three-point play and add a
basket moments later. A three-point play by Mason Shirley and back-to-back
buckets from Smith pulled AC-S to within four, 28-24, at the 5:03 mark of the
second. East extended their lead to six before Smith scored again. A steal and
score by Jake Bow brought the Patriots to within two. Free throws provided
Warren East with a three-point lead
before Buckets from Cooper and Smith closed the gap to one. East added a pair
of late free throws to take a 39-36 lead at halftime. In the frame, AC-S made
10 of their 14 shots and five of seven free throws.
The strong second quarter was followed by a shooting struggle in the third quarter. As the fast-paced game slowed, so did the Patriots’ shooting. AC-S would miss nine shots in the period from the floor and three free throws in four attempts. Fortunately, East was struggling to score against the Patriot’s strong defensive effort. This enabled ASC-S to tie the game early on a 3-pointer from Charlie Calvert. Baskets from Kayden Whitney, Smith, and Cooper matched East the rest of the way.
The Patriots looked to take control in the
fourth. After falling behind by five points early in the fourth, the Patriots
were able to pull even at 54 on a Cooper shot at the 4:20 mark. Cooper added a
pair of buckets in the next minute to give the Patriots a 58-54 lead and
complete a 9-2 run.
East refused to fold. On their next
possession, raider freshman Isiah Andrews---the grandson of former Allen County
great Wayne Hanes---buried a 3-pointer from the corner and was fouled in the
process. He completed the four-point play to tie the game at 58 with 2:35
remaining. Smith broke the tie with a basket at the 2:21 mark but East
countered. One of two free throws from Shirley enabled AC-S to retake the lead
before Raider Ryan Carter sank a pair of free throws to give his team a 62-61
lead with 35 seconds left.
On their following possession, AC-S grabbed the lead back. Calvert found Shirley open following an inbounds play. Shirley’s bucket at the 16 second mark lifted AC-S to a 63-62 lead. The raiders called time out at midcourt but a walking call on the inbounds play following the time out gave the Patriots possession. A pair of Stamper free throws at the five second mark provided the final margin.
“With the game close at the end, we have players make big time plays,” AC-S coach Brad Bonds said. “We did a lot of that last year so our kids have learned how to do that.”
Despite a poor shooting third quarter, AC-S
finished with a 27-53 night from the floor (50.9%). At the line, AC-S was 10-14
(71.4%). East shot 19-48 from the field including 10-21 from three-point range.
The Raiders were 14-18 at the free throw stripe. On the glass, AC-S
outrebounded East, 34-25.
“Did I feel like we played our best basketball,: Coach bonds asked afterwards, “Absolutely not. But, I feel like we made some big time plays when it mattered. To me, moving forward, I’m very proud of them in the fact that they did make the plays. Free throw shooting was also a positive. We made plays and made free throws, and made defensive stops.”
Cooper led AC-S with a 21-point night. Smith
added a career-high 18 points and grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds to record
his first career double-double. Shirley added 13 points and dished out a career-high
11 assists, his second career double-double in points and assists.
“This is three or four games, Michael (Smith) had played really well,” Bonds said. “He is a warrior and we know that. He does all the intangibles. Out of nowhere he gets rebounds.”
The Patriots dropped their District 15
opener to a very solid Barren County squad on Friday.
“Our kids played hard,” Bonds said. “I’m not disappointed in that at all. We had a lot of turnovers and the turnovers came through Barren County’s physical play and we just didn’t really play through the physicality. A lot of credit to Barren County. They are playing well.”
The Trojans opened the game with a Aden Nyekan 8-4 run. The power forward scored Barren County’s first eight points in the game’s first five minutes. Baskets from Ryan Shirley, Jacob Shaw and Will Bandy lifted the Trojans to a 16-10 lead after the first eight minutes.
The play of Stamper, Tyler Ford, and Trace
McIntyre helped AC-S win the second period, 14-13 and pull to within five,
29-24, by halftime. However, an 11-2 Barren County run over the final 5:40 of
the third turned a five-point game into a 14-point game. Barren County led
42-28 after holding the Patriots to four points in the third---field goals from
Calvert and Cooper.
The Patriots looked to make a run in the
final eight minutes. Attacking the basket, AC-S began to make shots and get to
the foul line. Free throws from Cooper, McIntyre, and Bow resulted but the
Patriots could not gain ground. Barren answered each run and matched AC-S
point-for-point.
Shirley led the Patriots with 12 points,
eight rebounds, and six assists. Cooper added 10 points. Nyekan led all scorers
with 23 points.
AC-S (4-3) finished the game shooting 45.7%
from the floor (16-35) and 82.4% from the line (14-17). However, the Patriots
were 0-8 from 3-point range---snapping a streak of 64 consecutive games in
which Patriot players had made at least one 3-point shot. Barren County (5-2)
was 25-55 from the field (45.5%) and seven of 11 (63.6%) at the foul line. The
Patriots turned the ball over 20 times resulting in 24 Trojan points. ACS won
the boards, 27-26.
“We had a couple of long dry spells,” Bonds added. “We just have to work and get better. I like this team and our potential. We are going to get better. We have a lot of basketball left.”
The Allen County-Scottsville Patriots
captured third-place in the six-team Warren East Holiday Invitational on
December 21 and 23. AC-S dropped their first game to St. Xavier (74-37) before
bouncing back to down Cumberland County (69-30) and Warren East (74-58) to
finish 2-1 in the pool-play event. Friday, AC-S dropped a 68-60 decision at
Hancock County.
In the tournament at Warren East, the St. X
Tigers took command with a 24-8 first quarter and opened a 43-22 lead by
halftime. Making seven of 11 three-point shots in the first half, the Tigers
used their athleticism and length to establish domination against a Patriot
team that struggled to make shots after the first three minutes of the game.
Leading 8-5 at the 5:43 mark of the first,
the Tigers closed the period on a 16-3 run with the lone Patriot points coming
on a 3-point basket by Mason Shirley at the 2:17 point of the first quarter. AC-S
closed to within 14 at two points early in the second before St. X gradually
stretched their lead to 20-plus points midway through the second.
The long afternoon continued as the Patriots
could not mount any challenge in the second half. The Tiger defense held the
Patriots to six third period points---a free throws from Jax Cooper, a basket
by Wyatt Coffee, and a three-point play by Shirley. St. X closed the game with
a 17-9 fourth quarter to win the game by 37.
Shirley and Coffee paced the Patriots with
eight points. The pair were a combined six of eight from the floor---the high
points of the Patriot offense. Overall, AC-S finished the night 12 of 33 from
the floor (36.4%) and 11 of 17 (64.7%) at the foul line. St. X was 30-58 from
the field (51.7%) and five of seven at the foul line. The Tigers outrebounded
the Patriots 32-21, forced 19 AC-S turnovers, and scored 28 points off the
Patriot miscues.
Seldom does a team experience the losing
side of a running clock---as was the case with St. X----and follow with a
complete opposite. Such was the case Saturday night as AC-S easily handled
Cumberland County, 69-30, and playing the final nine minutes with the running
clock rule in effect. Ironically, the Panthers entered the game after a loss to
St. X as well but stayed with points of the Tigers.
AC-S raced to a 20-6 lead behind the
eight-point first quarter from senior Owen Stamper, six points by Shirley, and
five points from Cooper. Despite missing eight of their 14 shots in the second
frame, the Patriots outscored the Panthers 18-6 to build a 38-12 lead. By
halftime, Stamper had registered 16 points to pace the Lady Patriots.
Points by Cooper, Shirley, and Coffee
enabled AC-S to extend their lead to 30 points early in the third. The Panthers
answered before back-to-back three-pointers from Charlie Calvert and a bucket
from Shirley gave AC-S a 36-point lead late in the frame. A 12-7 AC-S fourth
quarter secured the win.
Stamper led AC-S in scoring (16) and
rebounds (8). Shirley added 15 points and dished out seen assists. Tyler Ford
played well down the stretch to finish with a career-high 10 points. Coffee
added a career-best seven rebounds.
AC-S was 28-55 from the floor (50.9%) and
six of 10 (60%) at the line. Cumberland County went 13-41 from the floor
(31.7%) and two of three (66.7%) at the foul line. The Patriots owned the glass
40-18.
Monday’s rematch with Warren East---a team
the Patriots downed 65-62 on December 17---featured a breakout night from
Michael Smith, a record-setting performance by Mason Shirley, and a
double-double game from Cooper. Smith made 10 of his 12 shots from the floor
and was four-for-four at the foul line to finish with a career-high 24 points.
The junior also grabbed five rebounds. Smith’s game would not have been
possible without the pinpoint passing of his teammates---Stamper, Cooper, and
Shirley. Nine of Smith’s 10 baskets were from direct passes (assists) from the
Stamper, Cooper, and Shirley trio. His four trips to the foul line also came
after his teammates found him open in the heart of the Raider defense.
While Smith was scoring at will, Shirley was
dazzling the crowd with a continued display of his court vision and quick
passing. The junior---who, based on available records, established the record
for most assists in a season last year---dished out what is believed to be the
record for assists in a game (14). The number is actual assists and does not
include the times when the pass was there, and a teammate could not knockdown
the shot.
Cooper added 12 points and grabbed a
career-high 12 rebounds to record his first career double-double.
The first eight minutes was very similar to
the game six days earlier. Six lead changes in the period highlighted the
quarter. At the first step, AC-S lead 14-13.
The Raiders (1-8) edged ahead 16-14 before
the Patriots began to pull away. Baskets from Smith, Cooper, Trace McIntyre,
and Shirley and free throws from Cooper and Coffee propelled ACS on a 10-0 run
and a 26-16 lead by the 4:03 mark of the period. East sliced the lead in half
before AC-S closed the first half on an 8-4 run to take a 34-25 lead to
halftime.
Cooper, Kayden Whitney, Stamper, Smith, and
Shirley helped the Patriots stay in control of the game with an 23-18 third
period. However, four three-point baskets by the Raiders enabled the hosts to
pull within nine points at one point. AC-S still led 57-43 with a period to
play. Smith’s 10 points in the final eight minutes sealed the win.
AC-S finished the game shooting an even 50%
from the floor (29-58) while holding East to 22-59 shooting (37.3%). At the
line, the Patriots were 13-20 compared to the Raiders’ 5-13 night. AC-S
outrebounded East 44-32.
After a break for Christmas, the Patriots
traveled to Hancock County Friday for a match-up with the Hornets in the host’s
one-day classic. The result was not what Patriot fans expected as Hancock
County (4-6) downed AC-S 68-60.
“It was by far the worst performance
defensively I’ve seen from my teams in a long time,” coach Brad Bonds said. “We
only had 10 defensive rebounds. Hancock County shot open shots the whole night.
It was extremely frustrating to coach. We will bounce back and play better. I
know this team and they will answer the challenge.”
Cooper led the way with 18 points. The
junior made seven field goals, a pair of three-pointers, and two free throws.
Stamper followed with 16 points.