Rockets 3rd at holiday tournament in LaRue

Landon Young got an Army backpack for making the
all-tournament team. And, his little brother pulled
a photo bomb in the background. He's as proud as we are!

HODGENVILLE, Ky. – Crittenden County (9-1) closed out its holiday tournament action with a 16-point win

over Carroll County (6-5) Wednesday in the National Guard Holiday Classic at LaRue County.

Landon Young scored 23 points, including 11 in the fourth period as Crittenden won going away and capture third place in the eight-team tournament. Young was named to all-tournament team and won game MVP honors twice, including the final contest against Carroll County.

Crittenden's defense was especially strong in the second period as the Rockets allowed just one point and pulled ahead 22-15 after trailing most of the first period. See complete game scoring summary.

Boys winning streak comes to an end

LaRue County, the team hosting the National Guard Holiday Classic, beat Crittenden County 57-47 Tuesday, ending the Rockets' eight-game winning streak.

CCHS had started the season with more wins that any other team since consolidation of the city and county schools back in the 1950s.

Landon Young led the Rockets with 17 against LaRue and Colby Watson had 13. For more on the tournament, see this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press.

Crittenden faces the Eight Region's Carroll County (6-4) at 1:30 Wednesday in a consolation game.

Lady Rockets win 2 of 3 at Classic; now 8-2 overall

Coach Hodge makes a point with less than 2 minutes to play in
the Lady Rockets' win over Livingston Central at Russellville.

Chelsea Oliver averaged 19 points over three games at the FSNB Christmas Classic at Russellville as the Lady
Rockets won 2 of 3 games there, including the fifth-place matchup against Livingston Central Tuesday afternoon.

Crittenden beat Livingston by nine thanks to some late heroics at the foul line. Livingston had trailed by a dozen, but closed to within 2 with less than a minute to play.

The Lady Rockets are now 8-2 overall and Livingston is 5-5. See Tuesday's game scoring summary.

See this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press for coach Shannon Hodge's take on the girls' play at the Christmas tournament.

Young nets 26, earns Guard's Player of Game

Tournament official awarding Landon Young
Player of Game honors as coach Hodge stands by.

HODGENVILLE, Ky. – Landon Young scored 26 points and was named National Guard Player of the Game at
the LaRue County Christmas Tournament Monday.

The Rockets were in control of the game from start to finish, leading by double figures most of the way. The Rockets up almost 20 in the second half and everyone on the bench got in on the action. See complete game summary.

Colby Watson added 15 points for the Rockets, who remain undefeated and will play the National Guard Holiday Classic host team LaRue County at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday.

Oliver's milestone puts Lady Rockets on winning course

Coach Hodge and Chelsea Oliver.
Oliver's brother Casey also scored
more than 1,000 as a Rocket.

RUSSELLVILLE, Ky. – Chelsea Oliver's 1,000th career point couldn't have come at a more opportune moment. When she scored a putback with 2:21 left in the second period, Central Hardin was ahead by eight.

However, the pause in the action to present Oliver with the game ball – which she duly took into the stands for her mom and dad, Cathy and Joey Oliver, to keep – helped change the momentum. From there, Crittenden went on a 19-3 run and never looked back. See complete linescore.

The Lady Rockets beat Central Hardin 52-45 and earn a trip to the consolation bracket finals on Tuesday afternoon against a familiar foe – Livingston Central.

Lady Rockets drop opener at Russellville

Crittenden County's Lady Rockets dropped their opening matchup 57-48 against the host team at the Russellville Holiday Tournament.

The game was tied at the half before Russellville dropped out of its zone defense and frustrated the Lady Rockets with tight man-to-man pressure. The change frustrated Crittenden's halfcourt offense and Russellville held CCHS to just five points in the third period.

Foul trouble and poor shooting also plagued the Lady Rockets. Chelsea Oliver and Mallory McDowell worked the second half in foul trouble. Both played limited minutes, but McDowell was the only casualty to fouls. She left the game with just under three minutes to go.

Oliver finished with 19 points, leaving her needing just six to reach the 1,000-point milestone for her career. See complete linescore from game.

Russellville's left-handed forward Loreal Cheaney, just a sophomore, was her team's offensive catalyst. She scored 27, which is nine above her average.

The Lady Rockets play Central Hardin at 6:15 tonight in the consolation bracket. They will also play tomorrow.

Crittenden's boys play tonight at 8 pm in the LaRue County Tournament. See bracket.

Rockets, Lady Rockets making history with wins at LCHS

Crittenden's Dakota Watson and Dylan Hicks
contest a shot by LCHS's Colton Ramage.
See More Photos

It may very well be the best start in school history. For certain, the Rockets' 7-0 record out of the chute is the best December beginning in more than 50 years… and perhaps for the first time ever, the Crittenden County boys and girls are simultaneously 3-0 in the Fifth District and leading the standings outright.

Both CCHS teams won at Livingston Central Friday night.

The Rockets fended off a young, but pesky Livingston Central squad Friday night with offensive catalyst Landon Young in foul trouble most of the game. Crittenden won 59-41 as Noah Hadfield came off the bench to lead the way with 15 points.
(SEE GAME BOX SCORE)

Crittenden's girls (6-1) won a nail-biter, closing out Livingston in the final seconds to win 42-40 thanks to a couple of late foul shots and some good defense down the stretch.

In the boys' game, Hadfield was on fire at times. He scored 10 points in the second period alone, knocking down a couple of threes and helping extend Crittenden's early lead to 13 points.

Livingston paid particular attention to trying to stop Young's hot-handed scoring. The senior went into the bout average 24 points, but the Cardinals' box-and-one defense kept a defender in his face the entire game. The extra attention frustrated Young a bit and he stayed in foul trouble, eventually leaving with just under five minutes to play with five personals.

Colby Watson, the team's second leading scorer, struggled from the floor, too. He finished with eight points and Young had just five. With those two posting sub-par nights offensively, Hadfield, Dylan Hicks and Noah Dickerson stepped up their games. Hicks hit some timely foul shots late and a first-half three that sparked a crucial run. He finished with 11 and Dickerson had nine.

Crittenden scored 17 of its 23 fourth-quarter points at the line to finish off the victory.

Mallory McDowell, who was in the hospital with flu-like symptoms just two days earlier, was the inspiration for the Lady

Mallory McDowell (3) puts pressure on the ball as Livingston's
Hailey Stafford drives down court. See More Photos

Rocket victory at Smithland. She had two key threes in the game and finished with 11 points. Cassidy Moss led the scoring with a dozen and Chelsea Oliver had 10.
(SEE GAME BOX SCORE)

Crittenden led early by eight but Livingston's zone defense frustrated the CCHS girls as the Lady Cardinals clawed their way back behind Kalynn Campbell's long-range shooting in the second period. LCHS took its first lead in the second period and led by as many as six in the third quarter before Crittenden closed the gap in the final two mintues. 

McDowell stole the ball off Livingston's point and went the distance for a layup to tie the contest at 40 with just under a minute to go. Crittenden took its first lead of the second half with 10 seconds left when Oliver dropped in the front end of a two-shot chance at the charity stripe. She missed the second one and Livingston rebounded, but turned the ball over once the Cardinal girls had pushed the ball into their front court. There were just three seconds left at that juncture and a last-ditched foul let Crittenden score another point at the line just before time expired.