Chad Burgett had been hoping to see a little more grit from his team after consecutive disappointing losses to Dawson Springs and Union County over the weekend. The Trigg County coach liked what he saw Monday as the Wildcats rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat Crittenden County 72-67 in overtime at Wildcat Gym.
The Rockets came out hitting seven of their first eight shots from the field in the opening quarter, including 5-of-5 from behind the arc, to take a 19-10 lead.
They extended the lead to 31-16 as Preston Turley scored eight points during a 10-2 run. Trigg managed to get to within 33-22 at halftime.
As Turley for the Rockets in the second quarter, Jordan Miles attempted to take the game over for Trigg in the third frame. The eighth grader scored the Wildcats’ first six points of the second half and had 12 in the quarter as Trigg trimmed the deficit to 44-39 after three quarters.
Trigg began the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer by Miles and a jumper by Kendric Adams to tie the game at 44. After the teams exchanged buckets, the course of the game changed in the next 30 seconds. Turley was called for his fifth foul with 5:39 left. A half-minute later, Braxton Winders was called for his fifth foul and then assessed a technical foul leaving the floor. Trigg hit two free throws and a bucket by Adams on the next possession to take a 50-46 lead.
With the game tied at 55 with over a minute left, Crittenden’s Preston Morgeson and Trigg’s Miles exchanged 3-pointers on consecutive possessions. Trigg missed an open layup with 12 seconds left, and Crittenden missed a contested 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Trigg County hit 3-of-4 shots in the extra period to build a 67-60 lead and hit just enough free throws to seal the win.
The Wildcats hit 50-percent of their shots from the field for one of the few times this year. However, they also shot 50-percent at the free throw line, including 15-of-28 in the second half and overtime.
After shooting 70-percent from the field in the first half, Crittenden cooled to 38-percent in the second half but still managed to shoot 51-percent. The Rockets were 11-of-22 behind the arc. Like Trigg, they struggled at the line in hitting 12-of-23.
Miles led Trigg County with a career-high 30 points. Kendric Adams added 13 points and seven rebounds, and Khyran Vaughn had 10 points and 10 boards.
Gabe Mott scored 16 of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Preston Morgeson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.
Trigg County has won four straight overtime games and seven of the last eight they have played.
Trigg County improved to 10-12 overall and 4-1 in district play. If they win at Lyon County (4-1) Tuesday, the Wildcats will be the No. 1 seed in the district tournament. If Lyon wins, Trigg and Crittenden will meet again in the first round of the tourney.
Crittenden County falls to 9-11 overall and 2-3 in the district.
Crittenden County 19 14 11 14 9—67
Trigg County 10 12 17 19 14—72
Crittenden County (9-11) – Mott 22, Morgeson 17, O’Leary 12, Turley 12, Carlson 4
Trigg County (10-12) – Miles 30, Adams 13, J. Vaughn 11, K. Vaughn 10, Bridges 8
