Just a day removed from their dramatic win over Marshall County, the McCracken County Mustangs kept things moving in the right direction with another win, pulling away from Calloway County in the second quarter of their eventual 75-58 victory, their seventh in a row.
“This was always going to be a tough one, Calloway’s an excellent basketball team with a great staff, and coming off an emotional game last night, I was curious how we’d respond,” said McCracken County head coach Dustin Roberts. “They came out and played well, while we were kind of rusty to start. But, we really got it going after a little while, and played well down the stretch.'“
Across the night, the Mustang offense was headed up by another 20+ point effort from Miles Woodfork, who shot a perfect 9-for-9 on two-point field goals in a 23 point night. Two other Mustangs would crack double digits as well, with Jackson Klope shooting 6-for-7 for 12 points, while Aaron Adams made an impact with 10.
For the Lakers, Luke Armstrong would drop 33 points in defeat, shooting 11-for-19 from the field and sinking eight of eight free throws. Behind him, the Lakers combined for nine made three-point shots, with Jackson Ames sinking three for each of his nine points.
Before the Mustangs carved out their lead across the second, they had to navigate a back-and-forth opening frame, which was fought largely behind the three-point line. After Miller would fittingly open the scoring for McCracken from three the night after his game-winner, six different players across the two teams would strike from range, as the Mustangs and Lakers traded baskets. While five unanswered points for Armstrong would capitalize on a shaky start for the Mustangs, briefly giving the Lakers the edge, a 10-point first from Woodfork would give McCracken the narrow 19-17 lead through one.
However, after exchanging scoring opportunities to start the second quarter, the Mustangs would string together the run that ultimately separated them for the night. From the five minute mark of the quarter onwards, McCracken would allow just one further basket, stretching their advantage past ten points with a 13-2 run down the stretch, taking a 35-25 lead into halftime.
“We have to play certain ways against certain teams, against them we knew we wanted to pressure them a bit more in the second quarter,” said Roberts, on the Mustangs’ defense through the second. “We amped up that pressure a lot after the first, that allowed us to force some turnovers and get out in transition…They’re a really good shooting team, they made their shots and it kept it close for a while, but once we turned that tempo up, that’s when we really made our hay.”
While the Lakers came out of the locker room hot, knocking down back-to-back threes through Armstrong and Ames as they sought to rally, the Mustang offense would be there to match them every step of the way. Only able to cut the deficit down to six, McCracken would take over across the back half of the third, with Woodfork, Miller and Klope combining for a 17-3 run, pushing the lead past 20 points heading into the fourth quarter.
Across the final frame, while the Lakers did outscore the Mustangs, the threat of an improbable rally was never on the table. McCracken’s substitutes were able to see things out through the fourth, with Carter Hawes tacking five points onto an eight point effort to seal up the 75-58 victory.
“This is a tough team to beat, and a tough place to play,” Roberts continued. “We knew they’d be tough, and run a tough zone defense that we’d have to figure out, and credit to them, they were the reason for our slow start. But, our guys responded, got out on our runs and created some separation.
With seven straight wins and a busy stretch of schedule behind them, Roberts and the Mustangs may have a much-needed break in front of them before their next scheduled game this Tuesday against St. Mary.
“We’re probably going to get a break here with the weather, and it’s probably a pretty good time for a little bit of rest,” Roberts concluded. “Hopefully we’re not off for too long, we don’t want to get out of shape, out of rhythm or anything. We’ve got big district games coming up on our floor, we still need to be ready to take care of business in those games.”