By JON WEBB
TOMPKINSVILLE — The Falcons had not played a game since Jan. 21. In that same time span, the Scotties played five. The difference showed.
Monroe County beat Glasgow 68-58 on Tuesday to grab sole possession of the 15th district number-one seed. Keaton Rich led the Falcons with 28 points, but head coach Steve Kirkpatrick credited the victory to a “team effort.”
“We played team ball and great team defense,” he said. “I’m tickled to death with the way we played.”
Jeff Hall wasn’t quite as tickled.
The Glasgow head coach said the Scotties’ disappointment after their loss in the semifinals of the state All “A” Classic at Eastern Kentucky University carried over into the Monroe game to detrimental results.
“The difference tonight was I told (the team) to leave everything that happened in Richmond in Richmond,” coach Hall said. “I told them Monroe would come at us as hard as they possibly could. (Monroe) knows what it means to have a number-one seed in the district tournament. Apparently my team doesn’t.
“We certainly didn’t show any toughness tonight.”
Rich and Cameron Hall showed some early.
The guards combined for 17 of the 24 points scored by both teams in the first quarter. Hall outscored Rich by one, but a 7-0 Monroe run in the middle of the stanza helped propel the Falcons to a 13-11 lead.
That lead grew in the second. A quick 4-0 run by Hall and Kerrington Bradley put the Scotties on top 18-17 with 3:46 to go in the period. but the Falcons outscored Glasgow 8-2 in the remaining minutes to build a 25-20 advantage going into the half. Monroe’s defense held Hall to just two points in the stanza and the Glasgow team to only three field goals.
But offense would rule the third.
The Scotties more than doubled their offensive output in the third quarter thanks to 11 points from Hall and four Michael Bradley. Despite the offensive explosion, Glasgow couldn’t overtake the Falcons, and trailed throughout the quarter until a Hunter Bowles field goal at the buzzer tied the game at 42-42.
Glasgow grabbed the lead at the onset of the fourth thanks a Hall three-pointer. Four points from Parker Cash helped the Scotties maintain their advantage early, but a Rich three-point play pulled the Falcons within one at 49-48 with 5:46 remaining.
The Falcons nearly blew a chance to regain the lead on a subsequent possession. Their missed shot somehow ricochetted off a Glasgow player and pinball-ed off several nearby Falcons and Scotties before landing in the hands of Caleb Sheffield, who laid it in to provide Monroe a 50-49 lead with just less than five minutes to play.
Although Hall would tie the game with a free throw seconds later, Monroe never trailed again. The Falcons followed the Hall free throw with 12 unanswered points — coming mostly from free throws — and held the Scotties scoreless for more than four minutes. Late scores from Hall and Andrew Wade gave Glasgow a chance, but the 12-0 run was ultimately too much to overcome.
Hall was the only Scottie player in double figures with 31 points. Cash and Dean Glass both added five, while Kerrington Bradley, Michael Bradley and Bowles all pitched in four.
Sheffield and Chad Wilson chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, to go with Rich’s 28.
A victory in Friday’s game against Allen County-Scottsville would secure the Falcons as the district’s No. 1 seed. If Monroe loses and Glasgow falls in its final district matchup against Barren County, the Scotties, Falcons and Patriots would all possess 3-3 15th District records.
Scoring
Scotties
Cameron Hall 31
Parker Cash 5
Dean Glass 5
Hunter Bowles 4
Michael Bradley 4
Kerrington Bradley 4
Falcons
Keaton Rich 28
Caleb Sheffield 13
Chad Wilson 12
Tanner Kendall 7
Cody Sheffield 6
Chip Anderson 2
