After having a scheduled game fall through earlier, the McCracken County Mustangs were back on the hardwood at the Marshall County Hoopfest on Saturday afternoon, looking for their second win of the season when they took on Fairdale. After taking a loss to the Bulldogs in the preseason, the Mustangs got their win back in an impressive outing, pulling away late for the 78-58 victory.
“I’m happy with the way we were able to stick to a game plan and take something away from a tough, state-caliber team.” said McCracken County head coach Dustin Roberts, speaking post-game. “I was curious to see how we’d handle their talent. I know we’ve got some great offensive talent, we’re solid defensively, but the biggest question was our ability to stick to our game, and we did really well.”
Looking at the Mustangs’ aforementioned offensive talent, it was on full display on the afternoon, with four players racking up double digit points. Leading the way, Miles Woodfork and Aaron Adams each notched 20 points, followed up by Garrett Miller with 14. Jackson Klope would round out the Mustangs’ double figure scorers with 10, while Jay Martin also played a key role on the day, finishing with eight points.
“This is one of the best offensive teams I’ve ever coached, and they’ve got the ability to do anything as long as they can continue to share the ball how they are, and play together as a team.” Roberts continued “We’ve got several guys that are efficient and can get you double figures on any given night, and they showed that today.”
Immediately from tip-off, the Mustangs pushed a fast pace of play, finding open lanes and finishing at the basket early and often to establish a lead. Opening with a 10-2 run, the success for McCracken through the first started with their work down low. Taking good care of both their offensive and defensive glass, the Mustangs limited second chance scoring opportunities for Fairdale, and made the easy points in transition count as they took a 24-17 lead out of the opening frame.
"I thought we were strong on the boards, Jackson [Klope] did a great job of controlling the glass tonight. He brought down just about every rebound he could, and we really didn't give them a lot of second chances." said Roberts, on the Mustangs’ effort in the paint. "That was a big emphasis for us today. We felt like if we could take those chances away from them and get out in transition, they'd have a tough time slowing us down."
Through the second quarter, the Mustang offense kept on ticking, staying well ahead on the scoreboard with a combined 15 points from Miller and Adams. While Fairdale would keep things from getting too far out of hand, thanks in part to a six-point quarter for Jarel Butler, the Mustangs headed into the break with some breathing room, leading 43-31.
While the Bulldogs would make their move to rally early on in the third, cutting the lead back down to single digits with four more points out of Butler, the Mustangs quickly made the necessary adjustments on defense. Slowing down Fairdale’s scoring, the Mustangs widened the gap back to 13 come the end of the quarter, taking a 64-51 advantage into the final eight minutes.
“Defensively, I thought we were solid overall today.” said Roberts, looking back on the Mustangs’ defensive efforts. McCracken would allow only two Bulldogs into double figures on the day, with Butler’s 19 being the highest. “Butler, he’s one of the best shooters in the state of Kentucky, I thought we made things pretty tough on him, and I’m happy with holding him to what we did.”
All the way through to the buzzer, momentum stayed with the Mustangs, as they pulled further away to a 20-point deficit in the fourth, collecting the 78-58 victory.
"Today was a good win for us, we want to keep building up that confidence. Fairdale's a good team, we played them this summer and lost." Roberts concluded. "To be able to bounce back, and get an emphatic win, that's great for our club. It gives us some confidence and lets us know that we're on the right track, so we just need to keep on getting better, because there's a lot of room for growth."
Looking ahead for the Mustangs, they’ll be back to action in a huge game this coming Thursday night, as they’re right back at Reed Conder Gymnasium for a matchup with Marshall County. Tip-off between the Mustangs and Marshals is set for 7:30 PM, with a girl’s varsity game making up the other half of a doubleheader at 6.