Crittenden sweeps 5District doubleheader at Livingston

Crittenden County swept a Fifth District doubleheader Friday at Livingston Central and the Lady Rockets captured a share of the Fifth District regular-season title.

The boys game was a one-point contest to open the fourth period, but Crittenden County pulled away thanks to a couple of three pointers by freshman Preston Morgeson and some excellent foul shooting. 

The Rockets were perfect at line, going 12-for-12 at the stripe, including eight points there in the final seconds as Livingston was fouling, trying to close a 10-point deficit late in the game.

The Lady Rockets got some balanced scoring from Taylor Guess, Nahla Woodward and Jaelyn Duncan. Guess, Crittenden's leading scorer, was held without a fielder in the first half as Woodward and Duncan combined for 21 points in the opening two periods to head off a valiant effort from the Lady Cardinals.

Guess found her shot in the second and finished with a team-high 19. Duncan and Woodward had 14 apiece. Lauren Wring scored 23 for Livingston.

The win ties CCHS with Trigg for the district crown. A coin toss will determine which team gets the No. 1 seed for post-season play.

BOYS GAME
Crittenden 56, Livingston 45
Crittenden 13 29 36 56
Livingston 9 22 33 45
CRITTENDEN - Morgeson 13, O’Leary 16, Mott 17, Winders, Champion, Dobyns, M.Carlson 4, McGowan, Turley 6, Adamson. FG 19. 3-pointers 6 (Morgeson 3, O’Leary 2, Mott). FT 12-12.
LIVINGSTON - Downey 12, J.Barnes 9, Cossey 2, Wring 10, Ramage 5, Garrett 1, Zaim 6, Goodaker, Johnson. FG 14. 3-pointers 2 (Barnes). FT 12-20.

GIRLS GAME
Crittenden 62, Livingston 46
Crittenden 12 31 49 62
Livingston 13 26 36 46
CRITTENDEN - Guess 19, Boone 7, Moss, Duncan 14, Woodward 14, Easley, Perryman, Long 2, Conyer 2, Smith 5. FG 22. 3-pointers 1 (Boone). FT 19-24.
LIVINGSTON - Downey 3, Davidson 8, Salazar 2, Wring 23, Quertermous, M.Downey 4, Ramage 4, Jennings, Dropeza 2, Tramble, Holman, Jennings. FG 18. 3-pointers 1 (G.Downey). FT 9-16.

Mott joins Classmate Turley, 9 others in 1K Club

Never before had Rocket classmates entered the illustrious 1,000 Points Club in the same season, let alone within five days of one another.

On Tuesday at Union County, junior point guard Gabe Mott became the 11th player to ever score 1,000 or more points as a Rocket. His teammate Preston Turley got his 1,000th career point on Friday against Fort Campbell.

Crittenden lost 71-66 at Union County Tuesday as Mott scored 17. He got most of them in the fourth period. Mott went into the game needing 11 to get to 1K, and had just two points at the half. Fittingly, Mott's 1,000th came at the foul line where he's been remarkable his entire career.

The Rockets will be on the road Friday to play its final district game of the season at Livingston Central, which won for the first time this season on Monday against Fort Campbell.

Watch below as Mott gets his coveted 1,000th point and read more in this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press.

Guess 3 puts Lady Rockets in First

Taylor Guess

Crittenden County freshman point guard Taylor Guess knocked down a three-point shot in the closing seconds Thursday at Trigg County to lift the Lady Rockets into a first-place in the Fifth District standings with the Lady Wildcats.

CCHS beat Trigg 48-45.

Trigg (15-5) and Crittenden (11-6) have split their regular-season matchups. Each team has one district game remaining. The Lady Rockets play at Livingston Central Jan. 31 on and Trigg plays at Lyon on Tuesday to close out regular-season league play.

Thursday night's game at Trigg was a makeup contest that was rescheduled because Trigg was playing in the 2A Tournament a couple of weeks ago when it was originally set.

1K Points Club: Who gets in next?

Crittenden County has a couple of Rocket basketball players on the cusp of entry into the prestigious 1,000-Points Club.

If you get The Crittenden Press printed edition then this doesn't come as news to you. This week's traditional edition of the newspaper has everything you need to know in order to catch up on local sports, including who might get into the 1K Club as early as Friday night.

Don't ever miss out on what's making news in Marion and Crittenden County. Sure, there's a whole lot of information on the internet, but in many cases it's not what's really making news around town.

The Crittenden Press is your primary source of news and information for this community. We’re proud to serve our community and we take great pride in bringing you real news, sports reporting and other information that helps you know what’s going on in town and across the county. Help ensure that real reporting continues in this community by subscribing today. You can subscribe online to the full version of the newspaper for only $2.95 a month. Click here to subscribe.

Copyright 2020

The Crittenden Press

Lady Rockets fall in All A semifinal

Jaelyn Duncan scored 15 to lead the Lady Rockets.

Crittenden County’s bid for a seventh All A Classic Second Region championship came up a bit short Thursday at Dawson Springs. The Lady Rockets lost 49-46 in a closely-contested finish against Caldwell County.

The Lady Rockets fell behind by 16 points early, but chiseled their way back and led by one point twice in the final minutes of the fourth period.

However, missed opportunities down the stretch, some at the foul line, allowed the Lady Tigers to scratch out a win in the final seconds. Crittenden was 14-for-21 at the free throw line, including a couple of late misses that could have helped close the gap.

Junior Jaelyn Duncan led the Lady Rockets with 15 points. Point guard Taylor Guess, who had just two points at the half, finished with 14 and junior center Nahla Woodward had 11.

Caldwell 49, Crittenden 46
Crittenden Co. 4 16 31 46
Caldwell Co. 13 23 33 49
CRITTENDEN - Guess 14, Boone, Driskill 2, Duncan 15, Woodward 11, Moss 4, Long. FG 16. 3-pointers none. FT 14-21.
CALDWELL - Walker 1, Hollowell 3, Goffinet 2, M.Hollowell 9, McDaniel, McConnell 18, Boyd 10, Park 6, Gray. FG 15. 3-pointers 3 (Boyd, McConnell, M.Hollowell). FT 16-27.

Rockets eliminated in All A Classic opener

Rocket junior Braxton Winders works to keep the ball
from UHA's KJ Crump in the All A Classic.

University Heights blasted the Rockets from liftoff until splashdown in their All A Classic opening-round matchup Tuesday at Rocket Arena.

The Blazers jumped out to a 20-point lead in a flash and won the game 72-31.

UHA’s quickness and full-court zone press helped the 8-8 Blazers pull ahead early and stay there. Crittenden fell to 7-9 on the season.

Junior point guard Gabe Mott led the Rocket with 10 points.

UHA 72, Crittenden 31

University Heights 29 39 67 72

Crittenden Co. 9 20 28 31

UHA – Crump 10, Quarles 17, Bryan 18, McGee 20, Wood, Shouse, Hall 2, Duncan, Thomas 2, Jackson 1, Braxton 2, Northington, Brown. FG 29. 3-pointers 4 (Crump, Quarles, McGee 2). FT 10-11.

CRITTENDEN – Morgeson 5, O’Leary 4, Winders, Mott 10, Guess, Davidson, Dobyns, M.Carlson 1, Adamson, J.Carlson, Turley 9, McGowan 2. FG 11. 3-pointers 1 (Morgeson). FT 8-12.

Rocket girls open All A with win

Crittenden beat Livingston
behind balanced scoring. Chandler
Moss had eight for CCHS.

With her team steadily improving, Lady Rocket coach Shannon Hodge knows her girls could be on the cusp of challenging what is left of the Second Region field for a seventh All A Classic regional championship later this week.

Crittenden County dispatched Livingston Central 46-35 Monday in the opening round of the small-school tournament in a game played at Rocket Arena. The semifinals and title game will be played Thursday and Saturday, respectively, at Dawson Springs.

The first hurdle will be Caldwell County in a 6 p.m., start on Thursday. The Lady Tigers beat Crittenden by 29 when they met in Marion early in December, but Coach Hodge is quite confident that her team... read more in this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press.

Crittenden 46, Livingston 35
Livingston Central 10 22 26 35
Crittenden County 11 25 35 46
LIVINGSTON – Downey 4, Davidson 12, Sallazar, Wring 13, Quertermous, Joiner 6, M.Downey. FG 15. FT 5-8
CRITTENDEN – Guess 21, Boone, Driskill 2, Duncan 2, Woodward 10, Moss 8, Long 2, Easley, Hatfield. FG 16. 3-pointers 1 (Guess). FT 13-18.

All A Classic Hoops begins Monday

GIRLS’ OPENING ROUND
MONDAY, 7pm various sites
Livingston at Crittenden
UHA at Caldwell
Ft. Campbell at Lyon
Dawson Springs, bye

SEMIFINALS THURSDAY, JAN. 16
at Dawson Springs
Upper bracket 6pm
Lower bracket, 7:30pm

FINAL SATURDAY, JAN. 18
At Dawson Springs, 4pm



BOYS’ OPENING ROUND
TUESDAY, 7pm various sites
Dawson at Lyon
UHA at Crittenden
Caldwell at Livingston
Ft. Campbell, bye

SEMIFINALS FRIDAY, JAN. 17 
at Livingston Central
Upper bracket 6pm
Lower bracket, 7:30pm

FINAL SATURDAY, JAN. 18
At Smithland, 7pm

No CCHS basketball Friday at Trigg

Due to a scheduling conflict, the Rockets' and Lady Rockets' basketball games set for Friday at Trigg County have been postponed.

A makeup date has yet to be determined.

The reasoning behind the postponement is that Trigg is participating in the Class 2A Tournament, which is a new event similar to the All A Classic,  but for slightly larger schools.

Trigg and Crittenden are in the same district in KHSAA's alignment.

Rockets, Lady Rockets split on the road

DIXON, Ky. – Junior center Preston Turley scored 17 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth period Tuesday at Webster County, but the Rockets couldn’t overcome an early deficit and fell 78-70.

The Rockets fell behind by 10 in the first period then played the Trojans – the second best team in the Second Region according to an area media poll – even the rest of the way.

Junior point guard Gabe Mott scored 20 and senior forward Erik O’Leary added 15. The top three CCHS scorers accounted for all but six of the team’s points. Freshman Preston Morgeson added six.

Tyler Caplin had 26 for Webster, now 13-1.

The Rockets are now 7-8 and will be one the road Friday to face Trigg County, a district foe it lost to by 18 at Marion in the first week of the season.

Webster 78, Crittenden 70
Crittenden Co. 7 30 49 70
Webster County 17 37 54 78
CRITTENDEN – Morgeson 6, O’Leary 15, Mott 20, M.Carlson, Adamson, J.Carlson, Turley 29. FG 28. 3-pointers 5 (Mott 2, O’Leary 2, Morgeson). FT 9-15.
WEBSTER – Harmon 9, Caplin 26, Geary 5, Warren, Nelson, McNaughton 11, Winn 10, Allen 14, Coy 2. FG 27. 3-pointers 6 (Winn 2, Allen, McNaughton, Caplin, Harmon). FT 18-29.

LADY ROCKTS WIN AT DAWSON SPRINGS
DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. - After a closely contested start, Crittenden County turned on the offensive jets and beat Dawson Springs 61-46 quite handily on the road Tuesday.

Freshman point guard Taylor Guess scored 21 and her backcourt mate and classmate Natalie Boone struck with a couple of three pointers and finished with 10 points. Center Nahla Woodward scored a dozen and five other CCHS girls scored in the contest.

Crittenden is now 8-4 after winning eight of its last nine games. The Lady Rockets will play a key Fifth District game on Friday at Trigg County. The Lady Wildcats beat Crittenden at Marion in early December and currently 13-2 and have won nine a row. Trigg is 4-0 in league play and Crittenden is 3-1.

Crittenden 61, Dawson 46
Crittenden County 13 31 50 61
Dawson Springs 13 19 33 46
CRITTENDEN – Guess 21, Boone 10, Driskill 2, Duncan 7, Woodward 12, Moss 7, Long 1, Easley 1, Perryman, Conyer, Hatfield, Smith. FG 25. 3-pointers 2 (Boone). FT 9-15.
DAWSON - Oldham, Clark 18, Harper 5, Randolph 12, Ward 7, Hooper 4. FG 18. 3-pointers 4 (Randolph 3, Harper). FT 6-10.

Rockets, Lady Rockets both win on road

DIXON, Ky. – Junior center Preston Turley scored 17 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth period Tuesday at Webster County, but the Rockets couldn’t overcome an early deficit and fell 78-70.

The Rockets fell behind by 10 in the first period then played the Trojans – the second best team in the Second Region according to an area media poll – even the rest of the way.

Junior point guard Gabe Mott scored 20 and senior forward Erik O’Leary added 15. The top three CCHS scorers accounted for all but six of the team’s points. Freshman Preston Morgeson added six.

Tyler Caplin had 26 for Webster, now 13-1. 

The Rockets are now 7-8 and will be one the road Friday to face Trigg County, a district foe it lost to by 18 at Marion in the first week of the season.

Webster 78, Crittenden 70

Crittenden Co. 7 30 49 70

Webster County 17 37 54 78

CRITTENDEN – Morgeson 6, O’Leary 15, Mott 20, M.Carlson, Adamson, J.Carlson, Turley 29. FG 28. 3-pointers 5 (Mott 2, O’Leary 2, Morgeson). FT 9-15.

WEBSTER – Harmon 9, Caplin 26, Geary 5, Warren, Nelson, McNaughton 11, Winn 10, Allen 14, Coy 2. FG 27. 3-pointers 6 (Winn 2, Allen, McNaughton, Caplin, Harmon). FT 18-29.

LADY ROCKTS WIN AT DAWSON SPRINGS

DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. - After a closely contested start, Crittenden County turned on the offensive jets and beat Dawson Springs 61-46 quite handily on the road Tuesday.

Freshman point guard Taylor Guess scored 21 and her backcourt mate and classmate Natalie Boone struck with a couple of three pointers and finished with 10 points. Center Nahla Woodward scored a dozen and five other CCHS girls scored in the contest.

Crittenden is now 8-4 after winning eight of its last nine games. The Lady Rockets will play a key Fifth District game on Friday at Trigg County. The Lady Wildcats beat Crittenden at Marion in early December and currently 13-2 and have won nine a row. Trigg is 4-0 in league play and Crittenden is 3-1.

Crittenden 61, Dawson 46

Crittenden County 13 31 50 61

Dawson Springs 13 19 33 46

CRITTENDEN – Guess 21, Boone 10, Driskill 2, Duncan 7, Woodward 12, Moss 7, Long 1, Easley 1, Perryman, Conyer, Hatfield, Smith. FG 25. 3-pointers 2 (Boone). FT 9-15.

DAWSON - Oldham, Clark 18, Harper 5, Randolph 12, Ward 7, Hooper 4. FG 18. 3-pointers 4 (Randolph 3, Harper). FT 6-10.

Lady Rockets beat Lyon in closing seconds

Nahla Woodward had her best
offensive game of the season.

MARION, Ky. – The Lady Rockets went on a 7-2 run in the final seconds to beat Lyon County 52-48 in a key Fifth-District matchup Friday at Marion.

The win gives Crittenden’s girls a great opportunity to finish no worse than second in the regular-season district standings, and they could very well see Lyon again in the opening round of the post-season tournament.

Junior center Nahla Woodward scored 16, her best offensive performance of the season, and freshman guard Natalie Boone had four three-pointers en route to 15 points.

The game was close the entire way and Lyon led for much of it.

However, Boone scored seven – including a pair of threes – and Woodward added six in the final frame as Crittenden raced ahead. Sophomore forward Grace Driskill also scored a key putback in the closing seconds to put the game out of reach.

CCHS coach Shannon Hodge said it was a great team effort and illustrated that her team is becoming more diversified offensively. Point guard Taylor Guess was held to just nine points – 11 below her average – but she draws so much attention from the opposing defense that it gives others opportunities to score, the coach said.

“We’re starting to see our roles and beginning to know each other much better on floor,” Hodge said.

Crittenden has won seven of its last eight games and are 3-1 in district play.

Crittenden 52, Lyon 48
Lyon County 12 18 33 48
Crittenden Co. 9 19 32 52
LYON – Brown 9, Butler 1, Matthews 8, Smith 17, Wynn 2, Collins 3, Defew 8, Holland. FG 19. 3-pointers none. FT 10-18.
CRITTENDEN – Guess 9, Boone 15, Driskill 4, Duncan 3, Woodward 16, Moss 3, Long 2. FG 18. 3-pointers 5 (Boone 4, Guess). FT 11-23.

Rockets stun Lyon with major margin

Erik O'Leary led the Rockets with 23 points.

MARION, Ky. - Crittenden County shot better than 70 percent in the first half and pulled away from Lyon County early en route to a 73-45 running-clock victory Friday night at Rocket Arena for a huge Fifth District mark.

The Rockets shot incredibly well as they built nearly a 40-point lead at one point in the third period. Senior Erik O’Leary scored a team-high 23 for Crittenden and junior point guard Gabe Mott had 20. Junior center Preston Turley scored 13.

Lyon eighth-grader Travis Perry had 26 points, accounting for more than half of his team’s offense. The Lyons were unable to get anything going around the basket as its bigmen had just six points.

“Sometimes you’re the bug, and sometimes you’re the windshield,” coach Denis Hodge said following the win, and making a reference to his team’s losing by 33 the previous night at McCracken County.

Crittenden improves to 2-2 in district play while Lyon suffered its first league loss in four games.

Crittenden 73, Lyon 45

Lyon County 6 18 31 45

Crittenden Co. 18 46 65 73

LYON – Whalin 2, Reddick 2, Hawkins, Perry 26, Bingham 7, Blackburn, Gilbert, B.Shoulders 2, J.Shoulders 4, Cissell 2, Crawford. FG 20. 3-pointers 3 (Perry 2, Bingham). FT 2-10.

CRITTENDEN – Morgeson 9, O’Leary 23, Mott 20, Winders, Guess, Davidson, Champion, Dobyns, M.Carlson 4, Adamson 2, J.Carlson 2, Cooksey, Turley 13, McGowan. FG 27. 3-pointers 6 (Morgeson 3, Mott 2, O’Leary). FT 13-14.

PREGAME

POSTGAME