Despite good offensive effort, Trojans lose to McCreary Central

By MELODIE PHELPS

News Editor

It was their best offensive outing of the season, Friday night as Monticello hosted

Senior Brian Tucker handled the basketball as he drove around defensive pressure from McCreary Central. Photo by Melodie Phelps

 McCreary Central. But despite shooting 41 percent from the field for the game, the Trojans dropped a 95-63 loss to the Raiders.

"That’s our highest field goal percentage in a while," said Monticello Coach Shane Blevins. "We hit some good shots Friday night, but our defense wasn’t so good. We were giving up too many easy baskets."

In the opening minutes of the game, the Trojans matched the Raiders basket for basket. But the the middle of the period, McCreary Central had taken the advantage. They broke a 4-4 tie and bolted out 10-4. Monticello would score only 7 more points in the stanza, while the Raiders scored 16 to hold a 26-11 at the stop.

Trojan forward Luke Bristow, who has become an offensive leader for the squad, picked up two early fouls and spent several minutes in the opening half on the bench.

Bristow, who finished with 16 points, saw limited action in the second quarter because of the foul problems.

Picking up the scoring slack for the Trojans was freshman guard Lance Garrett, who led the team with 17 points.

Above—Billy Inman rushes into defensive position, as McCreary Central attacks the basket. Below—Phillip Gregory comes down with the rebound during action Friday night. Photos by Melodie Phelps

"I thought Lance played pretty well offensively," said Blevins. "He will have to develop some defensive balance in his game."

The Raiders held a 50-30 lead at intermission, and Monticello never threatened in the final half of action.

"In this game, we saw some positive signs on offense," said Blevins. "But we did give up too many easy baskets."

Forward Brian Tucker also finished in double figures for Monticello with 15 points.

The Trojans struggled from the free throw line in Friday’s game. They were 8 of 16 from the charity stripe for 50 percent. "We need that to be at least around 70 percent," noted Blevins.

Now, Blevins and his team must remain focused, and that is difficult with young players who may be discouraged.

"We have to just keep working and improving each game...We have to look at it as a challenge," said Blevins. "We have to try and improve each time out."

Monticello faces another important week of district action. They hosted Wayne County Tuesday night. The Trojans will head to Russell County on Friday night.

Also ahead on the scheduled is the Class A 12th Region Tournament. Monticello will meet Danville in the opening round on January 31.

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