 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Monticello defeats McCreary Central in final game of Arbyıs/KFC Holiday Classic Greg Rankin Sports Writer Monticello played the McCreary Central Raiders Wednesday evening on the third night of the Arbyıs/KFC Holiday Classic. The Trojans had suffered two tough losses over the first two nights and were looking to bounce back with a win over the tournament host. Monticello had already played McCreary this season on December 10 in their only district game so far. In the first match up, the Trojans had a solid 13-point win over the Raiders. They hoped to improve on that margin in the second match up. The Trojans started out slow in the first quarter. Early turnovers and missed shots gave McCreary the opportunity to control the gameıs tempo. They did a good job taking care of the ball and making the most of their opportunities. Monticello was not able to press very effectively in the early going and allowed several easy baskets. As a result, the Raiders were able to get a small lead and maintain it throughout the first half. Monticello missed a last second shot at the end of the first half allowing McCreary Central to take a 2-point lead into the half. The Raiders led 24 to 22. In the second half, the Trojans picked up their intensity and played much better basketball. After having scored only 22 points in the first half, Monticello put 18 points on the board during the third quarter and created a 9-point lead for themselves going in to the last eight minutes. During the first few minutes of the fourth quarter the Trojans continued their hot streak and built their lead to 19 at one time. With a solid lead and time on their side, Monticello slowed the game down and ran their offense well. They were able to get open shots and control the final minutes of the game to keep McCreary from making a run late in the contest. The final score was Monticello 57 and McCreary Central 41. Balanced scoring was a key to the Trojansı success as nine different players scored in the game. Three players reached double digits. Justin Branscum and Michael Borden led the Trojans in scoring with 11 points each and Billy Inman added 10. ³Every night, different players score for us² said Coach Gary Abbott, ³Teams canıt focus on one or two players because everyone is a threat to score and do it in different ways on different nights. It was also good to bounce back and get a solid win after two tough nights. We played pretty well in the second half against McCreary.² The win put the Trojans record on the year at 8 wins and 2 losses. Their next two games will be at Danville on Tuesday, January 4 and they will host McCreary Central at home on Friday, January 7. The Friday game will be Monticelloıs second district game of the year. Add a comment |
|
|
@ 2005 The Wayne County Outlook For more information, see our online Privacy Policy. |