Champion scores 36, Downey 45
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| Chase Conyer (22) posts up against Livingston's Logan Wring in Friday's game. |
Point guard Travis Champion scored 36 points for the winning Rockets and Max Downey posted 45 points for his Cardinals. Those were career highs for both players, Champion a sophomore and Downey a fifth-year senior. Downey’s 45 is potentially the most points scored in a regular-season game in Livingston's basketball history. Don Ringstaff scored 46 in the 1959 Sweet 16.
The rest of the game and its characters were but a side show to the main attraction, but interesting indeed was the undercard. The rest of the production had its moments of great entertainment and intrigue. In the ring there were three technical fouls and a Rocket lineman turned pivotman, Dylan Yates, who at one point had about four or five steals in a series where Livingston turned the ball over six times in nine trips down the floor. Livingston’s eighth-grade diaper dandy, 6-foot-4 Logan Wring, had his ankle tightly tethered with a brace, limiting his input in the affair and the Cardinals’ other bigman, 6-3 senior Tyler Calendar was unavailable because of a bum ankle.
In a pivotal run early in the fourth period, Downey scored seven straight points to bring his team to within one after Crittenden had led by as many as eight or nine a good part of the way up to that point. With Downey providing Max’s moments, Champion answered the call scoring four straight and six of eight as CCHS held off the fury and eventually pulled further ahead.
“It felt like an old fashioned Crittenden-Livingston game,” said Rocket coach Denis Hodge, pointing to a big, vocal crowd for both sides.
Livingston coach Chris Green lamented his team’s ability to match the Rocket defensive pressure and a less-than-desirable job on the boards. The Cardinals are now 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the district.
To handle the Rockets in their next meeting way down the road on Jan. 21 at Marion, Green said his team will need to limit Champion to fewer than 20 and box out better.
As for Hodge, he was pleased for the most part with the way his team defended the Cardinals despite Downey’s big numbers. The Rockets are 1-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Livingston Central 19 24 42 65
CRITTENDEN - Preston Morgeson 17, Travis Champion 36, Tanner Beverly 7, Luke Crider 1, Tristan Davidson 2, Chase Conyer 2, Trace Derrington, Dylan Yates 2, Holden Cooksey 7. FG 29. 3-pointers 4 (Morgeson 2, Champion, Beverly). FT 12-20.
LIVINGSTON - Max Downey 45, Jason Rains 2, Logan Wring 3, Gavin Crass 8, Casen Render 4, Jack Thomas, Drew Hosick 3. FG 22. 3-pointers 4 (Downey 3, Hosick). FT 17-25.
Girls' offense hits on all cylinders
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| Elliot Evans guards Maggie Downey. |
Livingston concentrated much of its defensive effort on stopping Crittenden scoring stalwart Taylor Guess, but the rest of the CCHS crew picked up the offense. Guess still scored 16, just a couple of baskets below her average. Eighth-graders Elliot Evans and Anna Boone added nine and eight, respectively.
Crittenden jumped out early 24-6, but Livingston reeled off a 14-0 run to close within four points just before the half. Crittenden, which led from the jump, got eight points from Natalie Boone in the third period as the Lady Rockets pulled ahead comfortably and cruised to their second win of the season.
“It’s a huge win, our first district win of the season,” said Lady Rocket coach Shannon Hodge. “Any time you can go to Livingston and come home with a 20-point win it’s a good trip.”
Hodge thought Livingston was the more physical team.
“They had us on our heels at times out there,” she said.
But Natalie Boone was a calming force, Hodge explained, when things got tough.
“We challenged her last year when she was out with the injury to watch and think like a coach,” the skipper said. “She did that and brings a whole lot higher basketball IQ to the floor.”
Livingston and Crittenden are each loaded with young players. The Lady Cardinals don’t have a starter beyond ninth grade, although a couple are pandemic do-over freshmen. When the game started, there were four middle schoolers on the floor, two for each team.
Victoria Joiner led Livingston with 10 points. She was the only Lady Cardinal in double figures, and got eight of those in the second half. It was LCHS’s second loss in as many games, and first in district action.
Crittenden Co. 18 26 41 56
Livingston Central 6 20 29 36
CRITTENDEN - Guess 16, N.Boone 19, A.Boone 8, Evans 9, Hatfield 3, McDaniel 1, Driskill, Hunt. FG 22. 3-pointers (N.Boone 2, Evans). FT 9-15
LIVINGSTON - Joiner 10, Leahy 7, Downey 3, Holeman 7, Hargrove 3, Ramage 6. FG 11. 3-pointers 2 (Downey, Hargrove). FT 10-17.
