By JON WEBB
GLASGOW — Jeff Hall said Glasgow made only one quality defensive stand against Campbellsville Tuesday night. Luckily for the Scotties, it occurred on the game’s final play.
After Cameron Hall sank a contested jump shot to give Glasgow a 74-73 lead with nine seconds left, the Scotties squelched a Bryton Taylor shot attempt with barely more than a second remaining to move on to the championship game of the T.J. Samson Hospital Christmas Classic.
Coach Hall said Glasgow’s final shot was what he hoped for. The time remaining was a different story.
“If you had to pick, you wouldn’t want nine seconds on the clock,” he said. “But the one defensive stop we made all night was on the last possession.”
Even after the stop, the game wasn’t over.
Taylor’s miss fell into the hands of Michael Bradley, who was fouled and missed two subsequent free-throws to give Campbellsville time for a last-chance desperation heave.
Taylor sank a similar shot at the close of the first half, so coach Hall didn’t breathe easy until the ball fell unsuccessfully to the court.
“It was like deja vu all over again,” he said.
It was scoring that repeated itself early in the game.
Glasgow and Campbellsville combined for 45 points in the first quarter, with 14 of those coming courtesy of Cameron Hall. After Campbellsville’s Thomas Downs opened the game with a layup, Hall responded with a three-point play at 6:47 to give the Scotties their first lead of the night.
A three and two-twos from Hall and field goals from Michael and Kerrington Bradley helped the Scotties build a 14-6 advantage with just more than four minutes remaining in the quarter.
Another Hall three opened the second frame and provided Glasgow with its first double-digit lead. Two treys from Dean Glass and scores by Parker Cash and Andrew Wade extended to the lead to 13 late in the half.
A bucket from Downs and the aforementioned Taylor heave cut the Glasgow advantage to just eight at the close of the first 16 minutes. The Eagles continued to talon-at the lead in the third and reduced it to just six by the end of the period.
Hunter Bowles’ layup at the 2:39 mark returned the margin to double digits, but just over a minute later the lead was only three. And a minute after that, it vanished.
Campbellsville’s Jordan Percell tied the game at 72-72 with 36 seconds to go in the game and a Aaron Schwoebel free throw eight ticks later gave the Eagles their first lead since the 6:26 mark of the first quarter.
The lead didn’t last long, though, as Hall’s jump shot on the next possession proved to be the game winner.
Hall matched a season-high 34 points to lead Glasgow. Glass and Michael Bradley were the only other Scotties to put up double figures, scoring 11 and 10, respectively.
Campbellsville’s Taylor scored a game-high 36.
Despite the win, coach Hall said he was disappointed with his team’s defensive effort over the final three minutes.
“The main thing I didn’t like was our body language and composure in the last three minutes. We came undone and didn’t take care of the ball,” he said. “As good of free-throws shooters as we have, you just have to get the ball in bounds and let (the other team) foul you. We were a little hesitant, and I’m not sure of the reasons why.”
Coach Hall partly blamed fatigue, but said Glasgow would need to be able to bounce back if they hoped to win the tournament - or the similarly-structured district tournament at the end of the year.
He said the team would have to improve its defensive effort in tonight’s tournament championship game against Grayson County.
“(Grayson) is the type of team that when they spread it out at the end to go for one shot, they’ll be able to execute,” coach Hall said. “Tomorrow, we’ve got to be here mentally on the defensive end.”
