FINAL: Scott County 66, Belfry 54. Jillnell J.J. Bevins outstanding with 24 points.

Violation……free throw taken away….SC 63, BHS 54.

Time running out on Lady Pirates…SC 63, BHS 55…1 minute left.

SC 60, Belfry 53.  3 minutes to play.

Jackelyn Stack nails third trey of quarter. SC 54, BHS 51, 6 minutes.

Here comes Belfry……6:33 to go…….SC 54, Belfry 48.

Third Quarter

Third quarter ends. SC 52, Belfry 40…J.J. Bevins leading the Lady Pirates with 23 points.

Lady Cardinals getting back on track……6-0 run to now lead by 10 at 42-32 with just over 2 minutes to play in quarter.

5:05 to go….MO in Belfry’ favor. SC 36, BHS 32 timeout on the floor.

Second Quarter

SC 34, BHS 26 at the half…. Belfry rallies. Trailed by as many as 15 in the first half.

:31 Amy McCoy basket… SC 32, Scott 26… Lady Bucs making a run

4:10 SC 30, BHS 17

First Quarter

SC 22-13 after one… JJ Bevins 9, Staten and Howard 2 apiece.

2:48 SC 16, Belfry 7… Scott County shooting 86 percent from the floor. Wow! JJ Bevins scores all of Belfry’s points.

Scott County races out to a 6-0 lead.

10:00 to tipoff…. Phelps High School assistant coach Marty Casey is working as a ball boy during the girls’ Sweet Sixteen at E.A. Diddle Arena. Casey will also work the boys’ Sweet Sixteen at Rupp Arena next week.

See ya at the games…

JOSH

I have watched Holly Harris and Hannah Thompson grow up on the basketball floor.

It is hard to believe that it has been six years since I first met these two Pike County Central athletes.

Holly and Hannah were sixth-graders at Johns Creek Middle School when they joined the Lady Hawks on the 2004 state tournament team.

Six years later, the two little girls on the end of the bench had moved to the front of the program, leading the Lady Hawks into the 15th Region tournament finals.

Both played a big part in Pike Central’s 2007 run to the Final Four in the Girls’ Sweet Sixteen Tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena on the campus of Western Kentucky University.

Holly and Hannah have been blessed with success. Most girls never get the opportunity to play for one state championship, let alone two. Both girls even came within seconds of playing for a third.

Throughout the season, Pike Central flew under the radar. Not many people gave the school much of a chance at winning a berth in the regional finals.

Holly and Hannah made it happen. These girls have turned heads, thanks to the support cast of Reagan Clark, Taylor Murphy, Mia Coleman, Savannah Fields, and others.

Coach Gary Fields may have done his best coaching job ever. He prepared this team to make a run.

It started with a strong regular-season schedule. It ended with a heart-breaking loss to Belfry (40-39) in a game that appeared to be well in hand for the Lady Hawks.

The 15th Region championship game came down to the final seconds. Holly Harris and Hannah Thompson both missed free-throw chances in the closing seconds that could have sealed a victory.

Both were devastated by the missed free throws, and both deserved better.

“I would not have wanted it to play out any other way,” Fields said. “They (Holly and Hannah) were the main reason we had a chance to win a regional title.”
Indeed, they were.

Six years of hard work came down to the final seconds for two of the county’s most lovable and respectable players.

It will take some time for the hurt to go away. But these two ladies will be known for the success they brought this program and the everlasting memories they leave with their fans.

GIRLS NIGHT OUT: Attendance for the girls’ 15th Region tournament was at an all-time high, and fans were treated to two buzzer-beater games. Belfry’s last-second shot and win over Pike Central gave the Lady Pirates their sixth regional crown. Earlier, Shelby Valley’s Brittany Swindell converted a three-point play with no time left to beat favored Betsy Layne.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Letcher Central standout Brittany Sexton, who led the Lady Cougars to a 25-5 season, was named 14th Region Player of the Year by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches.  She will be recognized at a reception given by the KABC on March 12 at Western Kentucky University. She averaged 13 points this season and scored more than 1,300 points in her career.

See ya at the games…

— Teddy Paynter can be reached at (606) 218-4932 or by e-mail at [teddy.paynter@pikevillehospital.org].

coach-b

Shelby Valley’s Ashley Hatfield

hatfield

Shelby Valley’s Elisha Justice

justice

Betsy Layne coach Junior Newsome

newsome

(15th Region Championship)

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

SV (28-4)…19  20  11  19 — 69

BL (20-7)..13  13  19  16 — 61

Scoring:

SV (69) — Elisha Justice 5(1) 5-7 18; Ashley Hatfield 3(1) 0-0 9; Taylor Newsome 5 1-2 11; Cody Varney 1(1) 6-8 11; Tyler Newsome 6 1-1 13; Zach Ramey 1(1) 0-0 5; and Trey Roberts 1 0-1 2. Totals: 22(4) 13-19 69.

BL (61) — Nathan Martin 3(3) 2-2 17; Derek Tackett 4 0-0 8; Bryce Adkins 1(2) 2-2 10; Jordan Newman 8 2-3 18; Adam Howell 0 2-2 2; Steven Johnson 0(1) 1-2 4; and Andrew Roberts 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17(6) 9-11 61.

MVP: Elisha Justice

All-Tournament: Cody Varney, East Ridge; Trent Maynard, Phelps; Tyler Lafferty, Sheldon Clark; Michael Burchett, Prestonsburg; Wade Skaggs and Lucas Frasher, Lawrence COunty; Joey Pinson and Jordan Hairston, Belfry; Jordan Newman, Bryce Adkins and Casey Adkins, Betsy Layne; Cody Varney, Tyler Newsome, Taylor Newsome and Ashley Hatfield, Shelby Valley.

Next up: Shelby Valley (28-4) vs. Region 1 winner, TBA, Thursday, opening round of Sweet Sixteen.

Fourth Quarter

SV 69, BL 61 Final

5:41 Tyler Newsome…. SV 53, BL 47

6:35 Ashley Hatfield fourth foul…. out of game

7:11 Ashley Hatfield 3-pointer… SV 53, BL 47

7:26 Taylor Newman layup… SV 50, BL 47

7:45 Taylor Newsome charge… fourth foul… out of game

Third Quarter

SV 50, BL 45 after 3

:34.8 Elisha Justice 1 free throw…. SV 50, BL 45

:58 Derek Tackett jumper…. SV 49, BL 45

1:38 Taylor Newsome shot…. SV 49, BL 43

1:50 Bryce Adkins 3…. SV 47, BL 43

2:15 Elisha Justice 2 free throws… SV 47, BL 40

3:11 Jordan Newman 3-point play… SV 45, BL 40

4:36 Nathan Martin 3… SV 43, BL 35

5:28 Jordan Newman score… SV 43, BL 32

5:44 Elisha Justice jumper…. SV 43, BL 30

6:09 Jordan Newman jumper…SV 43, BL 30

6:48 Elisha Justice layup… SV 41, BL 28

7:34 Derek Tackett jumper…. SV 39, BL 28

HALFTIME NOTES: Pikeville College honored scholarship winners at the half.

Tournament officials honored the 1984-85 Paintsville High School 15th Region team. The team, which featured former Kentucky standout and current Arkansas head men’s basketball coach John Pelphrey, put “basketball back on the map in Paintsville,” according to former Paintsville head coach Bill Mike Runyon.

Second Quarter

SV 39, BL 26 at half

at buzzer Andrew Roberts 3-pointer…. SV 39, BL 26

:36.2 Trey Roberts basket and missed free throw…. SV 39, BL 24

1:56 Steven Johnson free throw… SV 37, BL 24

1:56 Ashley Hatfield picks up third foul

2:28 Cody Varney free throw…. SV 37, BL 23

2:48 Derek Tackett basket…. SV 36, BL 23

3:00 Zach Ramey 3-pointer…. SV 35, BL 21

3:32 Cody Varney free throws…. SV 33, BL 21

3:36 Adam Howell free throws… SV 31, BL 21

4:33 Jordan Newman free throw…. SV 31, BL 19

4:41 Cody Varney 3-pointer…. SV 31, BL 18

5:00  Derek Tackett layup….. SV 28, BL 18

5:23 Taylor Newsome…. SV 28, BL 16

5:34 Ashley Hatfield jumper…. SV 26, BL 16

5:59 Steven Johnson 3-pointer… SV 24, BL 16

6:10 Justice picks up second foul…. Taken out of the game

6:11 Tyler Newsome 3-point play….. SV 24, BL 13

6:35Tyler Newsome post move…. SV 21, BL 13

First Quarter

SV 19, BL 13 after 1

:47 Nathan Martin layup…. SV 19, BL 13

1:05 Zach Ramey basket…. SV 19, BL 11

1:17 Jordan Newman basket…. SV 17, BL 11

Timeout BL…. Taylor Newsome has 11 of SV’s 17 points

1:39 Taylor Newsome off turnover… SV 17, BL 9 10-2 SV run

1:48 SV’s Taylor Newsome putback…. SV 15, BL 9

2:18 Jordan Newman layup SV 13, BL 9

2:18 Jordan Newman layup SV 13, BL 9

2:33 Elisha Justice jumper SV 13, BL 7

BL hanging on early… SV 11, BL 7 3:00

There’s no question that defending 15^th region champion Shelby Valley is the favorite when the two teams collide tonight with a berth to the Sweet Sixteen on the line.

After all, the Wildcats (27-4) has made easy work of their regional opponents this season, posting an unblemished 15-0 mark. The only team in the 15^th Region to come close to even competing with Shelby Valley was Johnson Central, a team that failed to even get out of its district (57^th).

The result? A 20-point win (89-69) in January.

The Bobcats and SV met earlier this season.

The result? Much of the same domination. Valley cruised to a 76-53 win at Betsy Layne on December 23, 2009.

Betsy Layne (20-6) is playing in its first regional title game since 1988 and a win would earn the school’s first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since 1980 (the year I was born).

The common theme in all of this is Bobcat head coach Junior Newsome. The veteran coach led the Bobcats to the regional title in 1980 and was on the sidelines in 1988. He returned to Betsy Layne two years ago and has rebuilt the program in a hurry, instilling his old-school basketball habits of discipline, stifling defense and transition baskets.

Betsy Layne, which won the 58^th District title two weeks ago, is led by led senior Bryce Adkins (15 ppg.), junior Nathan Martin (14 ppg.) and senior Jordan Newman (10 ppg.).

The Bobcats earned a spot in the championship game by ousting last year’s regional runner-up, Lawrence County, 64-58. Newman and Casey Adkins led three BL players in double figures with 16 points. Newman also hit 5-of-6 attempts from the free-throw line. Bryce Adkins finished with 10.

Regardless of tonight’s outcome, it will be the last hoorah for a group of Shelby Valley seniors that have wowed crowds and brought national attention to the tiny community of Robinson Creek and surrounding areas.

Senior Elisha Justice could perhaps land the state’s most coveted honor as Mr. Basketball, but this team is much more than Elisha Justice. It is a group of seven seniors, including Ashley Hatfield, who by many accounts is the front runner for the tournament’s Most Valuable Player honor coming into tonight’s matchup, Taylor Newsome, Cody Varney, Tanner Tackett, Tyler Newsome and Dillon Tackett.

Over the past four years, this group has compiled an impressive 111-16 record, including two regional championships (2009 and 2007). This group was a part of 53 consecutive home wins/ The streak was snapped on January 22 by Christian County, 69-66.

Averaging 90 points per game in their two regional tournament wins, it will be hard for Betsy Layne to slow down what many fans see as something destined to happen.

But that’s why you play the games.

We are hours from tipoff.

Enjoy!

See ya at the game…

booher

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

BHS (16-9)…..6  14  25  30 — 65

SV (27-4)…..17  34  33  16 — 100

Scoring:

BHS (65) — Jordan Varney 1(2) 2-2 10; Morgan Bentley 7 5-6 19; Thomas Varney 1(1) 0-0 5; Joey Pinson 8 5-6 21; and Jordan Hairston 3 4-5 10. Totals: 20(3) 16-19 65.

SV (100) — Elisha Justice 4 6-6 14; Ashley Hatfield 5(3) 5-7 24; Taylor Newsome 1(2) 0-0 8; Cody Varney 4(1) 1-4 12; Tyler Newsome 6 2-4 14; Jacob Robinson 2 0-0 4; Logan Lucas 1 0-0 2; Zach Ramey 3(2) 0-0 12; Colton Damron 1 0-0 2; Rusty Roberts 1 0-0 2; Tanner Tackett 1 0-1 2; and Dillon Tackett 2 0-0 4. Totals: 31(8) 14-22 100.

Next up: Shelby Valley (27-4) vs. Betsy Layne, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, 15th Region championship.

Fourth Quarter

SV 100, Belfry 65 Final

Third Quarter

SV 84, Belfry 45 after 3

Second Quarter

SV ahead 51-20 at the half

5:41 Joey Pinson putback ends bleeding for Belfry, 25-8.

5:38 Cody Varney free throw extends SV lead to 25-6. Valley starts quarter 8-0 run.

5:58 Tyler Newsome basket puts it at 25-6.

First Quarter

Valley leads 17-6 after one. Valley ended quarter with 13-2 run.

2:31 Ashley Hatfield dunk puts SV ahead 8-4. Hatfield has 6 of Valley’s first eight points.

3:45 Thomas Varney layup…. Belfry up 6-4

15th Region Semifinals

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

BL (20-6)…10  11  19  24 — 64

LC (21-7)..18   7  13  20 — 58

Scoring:

BL (64) — Nathan Martin 1(1) 2-2 7; Bryce Adkins 2(1) 3-4 10; Casey Adkins 7 2-3 16; Jordan Newman 5 6-7 16; Adam Howell 0(2) 1-2 7; Steven Johnson 1 2-2 4; and Colt Stumbo 1 2-3 4. Totals: 17(4) 18-23 64.

LC (58) — Wade Skaggs 2(5) 5-6 24; Joel Baldwin 08-10 8; Blake Bradley 2 2-6 6; Lucas Frasher 5 1-2 11; Michael Adkins 1 1-2 3; Larry West 1 1-2 3; and Matt Marcum 0(1) 0-0 3. Totals: 11(6) 18-28 58.

Next up: Betsy Layne (20-6) vs. Shelby Valley/Belfry winner, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 15th Region championship.

Fourth Quarter

BL 64, LC 58 Final!

Game is on ice… Betsy Layne in the regional finals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:15.7 Bryce Adkins hits a free throw 62-58.

:24.1 Wade Skaggs’ 3-pointer puts it to within three at 61-58

:36 Nathan Martin 2 free throws extends BL’s lead to 60-55

1:41 LC 2 free throws 58-55

1:48 Casey Adkins basket extends BL’s lead to five at 58-53

2:12 BL Adam Howell 3-pointer 56-53… Interesting note: On the prior play, BLHS head coach Junior Newsome tried to take Howell out of the game. The official did not let it hapen because the ball was already in play.

2:28 Wade Skaggs drives to the basket,… ties the game at 53. LC 7-0 run

3:22 Licas Frasher off BL turnover cuts it to two 53-51

3:47 Wade Skaggs’ 3-pointer makes it a four-point game…. BL 53, LC 49

4:10 Colt Stumbo’s 2 free throws puts BL ahead 53-46

4:22 LC’s Lucas Fraser hits a free throw…. BL 51, LC 46….  LC has hit one field goal this quarter

4:29 Joel Baldwin’s 2 free throws trims LC’s margin to six at 51-45

4:50 Steven Johnson jumper gives BL a 49-42 lead

6:25 Jordan Newman hit four straight free throws to give BL its biggest lead of the game at 46-40.

Third Quarter

BL 40, LC 38 after 3

4:20 BL 33, LC 30

Second Quarter

LC 25, BL 21 at half

4:42 Dunk by Betsy Layne’s Jordan Newman. Bringing Betsy Layne to their first lead of the game 21-20

6:44 Lawrence County 20- Betsy Layne 15 after two missed FTs by LC’s Bradley.

First Quarter

Buzzer BL’s Nathan Martin hits shot at buzzer to cut margin to eight at 18-10.

2:32 Casey Adkins 3-point play ends drought… shrinks BL’s margin to 6 at 13-7.

3:02 Lucas Frasher putbak puts LC up 13-4. 7-0 LC run.

4:00 Wade Skagg’s 3 puts LC ahead 11-4

The two teams did not meet in the regular season.

Lawrence County (21-6), the defending two-time 57th District champions, will look to earn a spot in the regional championship for the second consecutive year. The Bulldogs are led by junior Wade Skaggs (17 ppg.) and senior Lucas Frasher (14 ppg.).

Lawrence Oounty has the edge in this game. The Bulldogs’ speed leads to many transition baskets and allows them to create many turnovers. Betsy Layne must contain the pressure and avoid falling into the trap of running with the Bulldogs.

Stay tuned… The field of four will be two by the end of the night.