Advertisement

AIT roundup: Cougars fly past Cardinals; Pioneers, Bears pick up wins

the daily independent, ashland, ky.
·4 min read

Dec. 30—ASHLAND — Morgan County has many long-range plans this season.

Preston Hoskins made a few of his own to close the Cougars' stay at the Ashland Invitational Tournament.

The junior made nine 3-pointers, including three consecutive triples to open the third quarter, to guide Morgan County to a 74-58 win over Martin County on Saturday in the fifth-place game.

The Cougars leave Anderson Gym with a pair of AIT victories and improve their record to 10-3.

Gatlin Griffith bookended a 9-0 run with buckets midway through the second quarter after the Cardinals took their final lead of the contest at 21-19.

Hoskins heated up after halftime. He came out firing to open the third quarter, hitting long, contested 3s to ignite a Morgan County run. Hoskins hit four in the frame.

Cameron Adams and Logan Spencer scored inside to begin the final eight minutes and Hoskins supplied three final distance daggers to give the Cougars a 20-point advantage. Morgan County eventually finished off the victory.

Hoskins led all scorers with 27 points. Gatlin Griffith netted 12, Spencer dropped in 10 and Eli Griffith added eight. Hoskins and Gatlin Griffith each hauled in eight rebounds.

Luke Hale was the only Martin County (6-7) player in double figures with 25 points. He hit six from long range. Brayden McKenzie added eight points and 10 rebounds.

MARTIN CO. 15 11 16 16 — 58

MORGAN CO. 14 19 19 22 — 74

Martin County (58)—Hale 25, McKenzie 8, Davis 7, Sturgell 2, D.Maynard 4, Mills 6, Estep, B. Maynard 2, Dials 4. 3-pt Fgs: 9 (Hale 6, Davis, Mills 2) FT: 11-17. Fouls: 11.

Morgan County (74)—E. Griffith 8, Hoskins 27, Adkins 7, Spencer 10, G. Griffith 12, Justice 6, Trusty, Salyer, Gamble 2, Hampton, Dagnan 2. 3-pt Fgs: 12 (Hoskins 9, Adkins, Spencer, G. Griffith) FT: 2-8. Fouls: 12.

Simon Kenton 62 Jeffersontown 60Simon Kenton coach Trent Steiner wanted to draw up one final play for his team.

With the game tied at 60-60 with 4.9 seconds left on the scoreboard, the Pioneers had the ball at the end of the third-place game on Saturday night.

A scramble ensued at the top of the key. Jay Bilton collected the ball and attempted a jumper from the free throw line. The shot fell through the net as the buzzer sounded to give Simon Kenton a win over Jeffersontown.

The Pioneers held a 55-47 lead midway through the final frame but the Chargers lived up to their name and kept charging forward. A Camron McDaniels triple cut the lead to two a minute later and another long-distance equalizer connected late in the game.

After Simon Kenton (5-8) regrouped in the huddle, Bilton delivered the winning bucket.

Bilton finished with 12 points. Travis Krohman led the Pioneers with 17 points and drained five 3-pointers. Brayden Polly contributed nine points and eight rebounds.

McDaniels led all scorers with 25 points for Jeffersontown (5-8). Damere Clark netted 18 points and Jaylen Ellis grabbed 10 boards.

J-TOWN 11 11 20 18 — 60

S. KENTON 21 11 16 14 — 62

Jeffersontown (60)—Cox, Clark 18, Nichols, Ellis 6, McDaniels 25, Jones 8, Sheard 4, Sloss. 3-pt Fgs: 6 (Clark, McDaniels 3, Jones 2) FT: 7-13. Fouls: 16

Simon Kenton (62)—Krohman 17, Polly 9, Bilton 12, Brown 6, Harris 7, Bach 3, Weaver, Taylor 6, Rover 2. 3-pt Fgs: 8 (Krohman 5, Brown, Harris, Bach) FT: 10-15. Fouls: 12.

Butler 61 Ohio County 47Butler's speed and full-court pressure fueled a 20-5 run between the first and second quarters. It provided the Bears early separation from Ohio County and they never gave it up on their way to a victory in the seventh-place game.

Dayton Williams was Butler's baron of bad news for the Eagles offense. He splashed a triple and finished off a steal with an emphatic dunk to open the sequence. Dontre Russell hit a triple and Nique Thompson scored in the lane to give the Bears a 28-13 lead midway through the second quarter.

Ohio County (7-5) attempted to make a comeback but it could never shrink the deficit under 10 after halftime.

The Bears held their largest advantage at 52-30 early in the fourth frame after a Jayden Perkins basket.

Williams led Butler (5-8) with 22 points and six rebounds. Russell added 13 points and Thompson supplied eight.

Carter Young and Elijah Decker each had 13 points for the Eagles.

OHIO CO. 11 9 14 13 — 47

BUTLER 18 14 14 15 — 61

Ohio County (47)—Young 13, Manning 3, Decker 13, Ward 5, Morse 6, Phelps, Durham 1, Abney. 3-Pt Fgs: 10 (Young 3, Manning, Decker 4, Ward, Durham) FT: 7-9. Fouls: 5.

Butler (61)—Russell 13, Williams 22, Carter, Perkins 7, Thompson 8, Anderson 3, Morris 3, Wells 3, Arop, Dozier, Trowell. 3-pt Fgs: 7 (Russell,l Williams 2, Perkins, Anderson, Morris, Wells) FT: 4-6. Fouls: 8.