Magoffin County Swarms PCC to Make First Sweet 16 Quarterfinal in School History
The Magoffin County Hornets defeated the Perry County Central Commodores 54-47 in the opening game of the UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
The aptly named Hornets went to a swarming full-court press to earn a comeback victory in their first state tournament appearance in the school’s 100-year history. Trailing 34-27 with two minutes left in the third quarter, Magoffin County (24-10) switched to the pressure defense and finished the game on a 27-13 run.
Star player Aden Barnett, who ranks seventh in the state with 29.4 ppg, led the way with 24 points, three assists, and four steals. Walker Russell had 14 points and seven boards, while big man Zane Whitaker stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven boards, and three blocks.
“The first half we played Perry Central basketball,” said Magoffin County head coach Scott Castle about the slow pace in the half-court sets.
What changed in the final 10 minutes?
“We were going to come out and apply some pressure and speed up the game,” Castle said. “We have been a second-half team most of the year. These kids were used to the pressure. We trailed by nine points in the first round of the district and by fifteen again Martin County in the region finals.”
Barnett, who had 10 points in the fourth quarter including some steals that led to runouts, said the plan was to turn up the pressure in the fourth quarter.
“I told (my teammates during the timeout) that I’m going to help out off my man, and get easy fast break points,” Barnett said.
Trayten Woods and Carter Castle each had 14 points for Perry County Central (22-14). Kizer Slone added nine points and 11 boards. Perry County Central coach Shannon Hoskins said that Magoffin County’s pressure kept them from getting the ball down to Carter Castle in the last 10 minutes.
“Turnovers and not rebounding the basketball cost us the basketball game,” Hoskins said.
The Commodores, who beat Magoffin County 78-73 to open the year, surprised many by winning the 14th Region tournament to make their 10th trip to Rupp Arena in school history.
“It always feels great to make it to Rupp Arena,” Hoskins said. “To play in front of your fans and your community. There is nothing more special. This is a special bunch of guys that has clawed and scratched for their community and their team, I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Next Up
Magoffin County will play the winner of the No. 25 Spencer County and No. 1 Great Crossing game on Friday, March 22 at 11:00 AM right here at Rupp Arena.
“We are thankful to be playing Friday,” Scott Castle said. “We have nothing to lose. Nobody is going to take anything from these kids by being the first team to ever be in the state tournament. We are not afraid to play anybody.”
Game Recap
First Quarter
Both offenses came out a little sluggish for the 11 AM tipoff. Magoffin County led 9-6 at the first media timeout with 2:20 remaining. Both offenses picked up the tempo after the timeout, with the two teams knotted at 13 to end the quarter. Castle muscled inside for the first three Commodore buckets and added another at the first-quarter buzzer. Barnett led the Hornets with six points and one assist, while Zane Whitaker added a three-pointer and two free throws.
Score at End of 1st Quarter: Perry County Central 13 Magoffin County 13
Second Quarter
Castle and Woods scored within the first minute to give the Commodores a four-point lead. Barnett’s back-to-back baskets tied the score. Perry County Central went on an 8-2 run to end the half thanks to a Neace jumper, Woods driving layup, and a pair of free throws from both Slone and Castle. Their defense forced the Hornets to miss seven of their last eight field goal attempts, and they kept Magoffin County off the offensive glass. Castle and Barnett each had 12 first-half points.
Score at Halftime: Perry County Central 25 Magoffin County 19
Third Quarter
The teams traded baskets with the Commodores continuing to run their offense through Castle in the post. He had a nice assist and short jumper to make it 29-23 Commodores. Russell scored on back-to-back possessions for the Hornets, but a pretty spin-move layup by Wood and a tip-in by Slone pushed the Perry County Central lead to 34-27. Russell converted a pair of free throws and that’s when the Hornets decided to full-court press.
Russell came up with a steal that led to an easy layup. Slone countered with a driving layup but Whitaker powered inside for a Magoffin County bucket. Neace continued the Commodore’s hot free throw shooting by hitting a pair, but Whitaker scored at the buzzer to cut Perry County Central’s lead to 38-35. Russell (10) and Whitaker (6) combined for all of the Hornets’ third-quarter points.
Score at End of 3rd Quarter: Perry County Central 38 Magoffin County 35
Fourth Quarter
The Hornets’ pressure continued to pay dividends, with Barnett getting a steal and run-out slam to open the quarter. They finally claimed the lead with a Russell basket to make it 39-38.
Another Commodore turnover led to an Ethan Salyer bucket on a pretty backdoor cut to extend Magoffin County’s lead to 41-38.
A 3-pointer from Mason Sumner tied the game at 41, but a pair of Zane Whitaker free throws and two Barnett buckets gave the Hornets a 47-41 lead, their largest so far. Woods’ short jumper pulled Perry County Central within four, but Barnett’s two free throws and layup put the game out of reach. Neace’s three-pointer pulled the Commodores to within 52-47 with 30 seconds remaining, but Barnett added two free throws.
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