Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Lady Rockets tripped up in 4th quarter at region

Lady Rocket senior Kiana Nesbitt looks for an outlet pass.
For 25 wins and three quarters, Crittenden County’s girls’ basketball team rode a wave of unparalleled success.

Then, everything unraveled.

A disasterous fourth quarter Tuesday night allowed 12th-ranked Henderson County to pull off a 64-38 win in the Second Region Girls’ Basketball Tournament at Morton’s Gap.

The game was much closer than than the final score. In fact, the record-setting Lady Rockets (25-8) matched Henderson County (25-5) bucket for bucket for the first 16 minutes. Crittenden led five times in the first half then settled for a four-point deficit to start the final period. The game was tied at 27 before Henderson took the lead for good.

Cassidy Moss, the Lady Rocket senior who bested the girls’ scoring record Jan. 30, surpassed Tim Hill’s 12-year-old boys’ scoring mark during her final game. She finishes a storied career with 1,825 points, the best in school history.

See this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press for more from the regional tournament. 

SECOND REGION TOURNAMENT
Henderson 64, Crittenden 38
Henderson Co. 15 25 35 64
Crittenden Co. 15 24 31 38
HENDERSON - Carter, Rideout, Cooper, Dickson 12, Lander 18, Daniel, Chester 8, Morgan, Hope 6, Lyon 4, Owens 16. FG 30. 3-pointers 2 (Lander). FT 2-6. Fouls 11.
CRITTENDEN - Moss 11, Lynch 16, Collins 5, Champion 4, Nesbitt 2, Evans, Woodward, Summers, Ch.Moss, Long, Woodward. FG 17. 3-pointers 1 (Lynch). FT 3-5. Fouls 9.




Thursday, February 23, 2017

Lady Rockets capture 5th District crown

After her girls cut down the nets at Cadiz Thursday night, Lady Rocket coach Shannon Hodge was clutching the Fifth District championship trophy like it was a puppy that might get away.

The title means a great deal to Hodge. It was just her second in 24 years as the team’s coach.

“I am just so proud of these girls,” Hodge said. “They have wanted this for a long time, since they were in middle school.”

Crittenden had finished runner-up the last two years to Lyon.

The tournament championship may be the most cherished prize at this point, but when history judges this Lady Rocket basketball team, it will most likely be its school-record 25 wins that stand the test of time.

Crittenden County (25-7) beat Lyon County 36-30 to capture the crown and advance to next week’s Second Region Tournament.

The Lady Rockets will play Henderson County in next week's 2nd Region Tournament CLICK HERE FOR BRACKETS.

Cassidy Moss scored 14 points against Lyon to lead the Rocket charge. She had a dozen in the first half. Madison Champion scored 12, including seven points during a 9-0 third-quarter run that effectively won the game.

Crittenden 36, Lyon 30
Crittenden 8 21 30 36
Lyon County 8 19 23 30
Moss 14, Collins 2, Lynch 4, Champion 12, Nesbitt 4, Evans. FG 13-26. 3-pointers 2-5 (Moss). FT 8-14. Fouls 5. Assists 8 (Collins 4). Rebounds 20 (Moss 7). 
LYON - Holloman 10, Murphy 8, Johnson 5, Ellis 2, White 3, Matthews 2, Doom. FG 13-38. 3-pointers 3-13 (Holloman 2, White). FT 1-2. Fouls 14. Assists 7. Rebounds 20 (Johnson 6).

Monday, February 20, 2017

Two of region's best featured in 5th District tango

Crittenden County's Cassidy Moss and Livingston Central's Tabby Padon are among the top three scorers in the region and tonight they lead their respective teams into a post-season showdown with the winner advancing to the Fifth District championship and the Second Region Tournament, and loser goes home to stay.

Scoring Leaders 2nd Region
20.0 Alisha Owens, Henderson County
17.4 Tabby Padon, Livingston Central
17.0 Cassidy Moss, Crittenden County
16.8 Emma Lander, Henderson County
16.6 Anshanique Leavell, University Heights

See these links for More on Regional Statistics
SECOND REGION GIRLS STAT LEADERS

BOYS 2ND REGION STAT LEADERS

Friday, February 17, 2017

Myers inducted into sports hall of fame

Kyle Myers in 1998 Press photo.
It’s an unpleasant truth that Crittenden County is able to count on just one finger the number of basketball championships its boys have won in the last 60 years.

It is a reality that Kyle Myers has trouble wrapping his mind around. What’s even more incredible, he says, are memories of the 1998 Rocket basketball team on which he was the most valuable player.

Myers, now 36, still sees every shot, every second in his mind. He replays some of them over and over, hoping perhaps for a little better outcome.

Myers was a star on the Rocket basketball and baseball teams in the mid to late 1990s. He was also a talented golfer and played baseball and ran track a few seasons. On Feb. 10, 2017, Myers was inducted into the Farmers Bank Marion-Crittenden County Athletics Hall of Fame.

Recognized largely for his contributions to the 1998 Fifth District basketball championship team – the last Rocket squad to win the title – Myers was a gifted athlete who excelled on a variety of stages.

In 1998, he led the Rockets in scoring with more than 17 points a game and five assists. A shooting guard, Myers was also an incredible ball handler, able to score off the dribble and was deadly accurate from long range, averaging 36 percent from behind the three-point arc. He played a fearless style of basketball that translated into success for himself and others.

“His competitive instinct was his greatest asset,” said Allie Turley, a high school teammate, about Myers. “He was the kind of guy that wasn’t going to back down from anything.”

The Rockets were 19-8 that season and Myers still laments a few of those losses, especially one to eventual regional champion Union County late in the regular season and falling to Madisonville in the opening round of the Second Region Tournament.

“I know this is a bold statement, but we should have won the region,” Myers recalls. “We could have really done something and that bothers me to this day. We were as good as anyone in the region.”

Testimony to that was Crittenden’s two-point loss to Union two weeks before the end of the season on a pair of foul shots with one second on the clock. Myers is still stinging from the foul that put Union’s Darren Price at the line to win it.

“I was called for a foul at half court. I no more than stuck out my hand like this,” he says, walking through and reliving the final seconds of that game almost 20 years ago.

“We should have beat Madisonville. It was a really close game, but I had some foul troubles,” he said.

Crittenden lost 65-57 to the Maroons, but it was a three-point game with less than two minutes to go.
“We had a great team. I got the MVP award, but there were a lot of other players on that team who were just as deserving,” Myers said. “We were deep. There were six or eight guys who could have led us in scoring any given night.”

Indeed, behind Myers in the scoring column were seven others who averaged right at a half dozen or more points a game.

“In that season, the whole team really believed we could do something special,” Myers said.

As history has proven, it did.

Not only was it the last team to win a district championship, but the 1998 boys reeled off a 13-game winning streak that hasn’t been duplicated.

“Everywhere we went the stands were full and I will never forget the support we received,” Myers remembers. “Our crowd never sat down, they were always on their feet and it felt good.”

Myers was a record-setting receiver and defensive back for the Rocket football team, but only played one year – his senior season. He says not playing football all four years is one of his greatest regrets. He only played as a 12th-grader because of the encouragement from head coach Al Starnes, who Myers said is like a second father to him.

Myers still holds the single-game record for most receiving yards – 174 against McLean County. He is among the top 12 all-time in single-season receiving yards with 479, is tied for the school record for interceptions in a game (3) and among the school leaders with six interceptions in a season.

On the track team, Myers ran the 400 and 1600 meters and was on relay teams. He averaged close to par as a junior and senior on the Rocket golf team and narrowly missed earning a state tournament bid both years with finishes of 78 and 75, respectively, in regional tournament.

Earning a spot in the hall of fame has great meaning for Myers, who credits his coaches, family and community for believing in him through thick and thin.

“I am just glad to have been able to play sports as a Rocket. I am proud to be from this community and it has been very good to me,” he said.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Crittenden boys and girls gets Livingston in 5th District Tournament

FIFTH DISTRICT GIRLS TOURNAMENT
MONDAY
Lyon County vs Trigg County, 6pm
Crittenden County vs Livingston Central, 7:30pm

THURSDAY
Championship, 7pm

FIFTH DISTRICT BOYS TOURNAMENT
TUESDAY
Lyon County vs Trigg County, 6pm
Crittenden County vs Livingston Central, 7:30pm

FRIDAY
Championship, 7pm

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Tough losses for boys and girls

Crittenden County's basketball teams lost by a combined there points on Saturday at different locations.

In Union County, the Lady Rockets were upset by the Bravettes in a game that Crittenden led until the last 5 seconds when Kiara Campbell knocked down two foul shots to break a tie game. The Lady Rockets were up by 8 in the first half. Cassidy Moss had 15 for Crittenden and Campbell 15 for Union.

The Lady Rockets could have set a new girls' school record with a win there, but found that the 22nd victory of the season remains a bit elusive.

At Marion, the Rockets lost by one in overtime to Livingston Central in a Fifth District makeup game. Both teams' point guards were key down the stretch. Livingston sophomore Cameron Head hit four threes and scored 15 points in the third period as the Cardinals came from six back to take the lead. Rocket senior Bobby Stephens scored a dozen in the fourth period, including a three with six seconds left in regulation to send the game into an extra period.

There was a bit of controversy surrounding the score in the fourth quarter. After an appeal by the Rockets, the scoreboard was changed to add one point, but several fans, including some from Livingston County, believed two points should have been added not just one. In that case, Crittenden would have won in regulation. Some confusion at the scorer's table had apparently led to the matter.

Stephens finished with 23 and Head 21.



Rockets break losing skid, girls get 21st win

Towery at the basket.
Sawyer Towery had a career game Friday night to lead the Rockets to a much-needed victory.

Crittenden (7-20) beat St. Mary (12-14) 59-45 in front a large homecoming crowd. The seats were packed even more than usual because it was also Hall of Fame Induction Night and there was a ceremony to honor Lady Rocket 1,000-Point Club members and new all-time scorer Cassidy Moss. Former Rocket stars Brad Hart (2005 graduate) and Kyle Myers (1998 graduate) went into the Hall of Fame.

The girls beat St. Mary handily for their 21st win, tying a school record. Moss scored a game-high 22 and was named homecoming queen. Rocket guard Bobby Stephens was the king.

Towery, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, netted 27 and was a catalyst in the victory, scoring most of his points during the middle quarters when Crittenden made its move. The Rockets trailed out of the chute but took their first lead when Gavin Dickerson scored on a driving basket with just under two minutes to go in the first period. From there, it was a closely contest matchup until the third period when CCHS began to pull away. The lead was stretched to double digits down the stretch as play became very physical.

The win was Crittenden's first in 11 games. The last victory before this one came on Jan. 13 against Trigg County.

On Saturday, Crittenden's boys host Livingston Central (15-11) in a makeup Fifth District game starting with a JV contest at 6pm. The Lady Rockets (21-6) are on the road at Union County (7-18) for a makeup matinee event with the JV contest starting at 4pm.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Rockets host Livingston on Saturday

Crittenden's Hunter Boone defends inside
against Todd Central last weekend.
The Rockets host Livingston Central Saturday night in the final Fifth District matchup of the season. This game was postponed from January.

The JV-Varsity event starts at 6pm.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Girls can tie wins record; boys still struggling

Cassidy Moss will be honored Friday
night with a ceremony and reception
to dedicate her becoming the girls'
all-time leading scorer
Hopkinsville is a team Crittenden County's girls could see again in the regional tournament. The Lady Tigers' quickness and seniors Janiya Davis and Jaliyah Grubbs – who combined for 41 points and 14 rebounds Tuesday – will be the Lady Rockets' toughest challenges if the two squads meet again.

The Lady Rockets lost 68-57 at Hopkinsville. It was just their sixth loss of the season and with 20 wins piled up, Crittenden can tie the girls' record for most wins in a season on Friday at home against St. Mary.

Meanwhile, the Rocket boys played Caldwell County to a tie late in the game, but some costly turnovers down the stretch allowed the Tigers to slip away from Rocket Arena with a win. Crittenden's boys have lost 10 straight.