After their first meeting of the year was decided by just seven points, McCracken County used an electrifying start to their district matchup against Paducah Tilghman to propel them to the 78-40 victory on Friday night.
“I thought this was the best 32 minutes we’ve put together,” Mustangs head coach Dustin Roberts said following the win. “Our guys were focused. We got a good break. I think the snow came at the right time for us, and our guys just came out focused. Like I said, that was probably the most consistent 32 minutes we’ve played all year.”
Aaron Adams delivered a huge spark for McCracken right out of the gate. He slammed home two fierce dunks and nailed a three at the top of the key to account for the first seven McCracken points.
“That’s always a momentum shifter for us,” Coach Roberts said. “If we can get defensive stops, we can get out in transition, and that’s where we really strive a lot of the time.”
Up 10-9 in the early going, McCracken made it clear they were not trying to keep this game close, and went on an 11-0 run to end the first quarter.
The Mustangs improved upon their lead going into the half, but a third quarter consisting of 14 points from Miles Woodfork and seven from Jackson Klope opened up the floodgates, extending their lead to 40 at one point.
Up by over 30 points with a running clock, the Mustangs subbed in every player on the roster, 11 of which scored, but more importantly giving them valuable varsity minutes in a district game late in the season. Coach Roberts is always grateful for those bench players for putting in the work with the team, and was happy he had to opportunity to sub them in the game.
“It’s awesome for everybody to be able to get into the game. Those guys come to practice and work real hard, so it’s awesome to see them get out there and be able to compete and get a chance to get out on the varsity floor in a big district game.”
Woodfork led the way in scoring with a game-high 22 points. Klope finished behind him with 13, Garrett Miller and Aaron Adams each tallying 11. Senior Jemarion Purdiman led Tilghman with 11, Warren Carruthers, Alijah Dabney, and Tyson Arthur all collecting six.
Now with just six games left in the season and a region’s best record of 18-3, the Mustangs are feeling rejuvenated after their break from the floor, and have now captured wins in their past eight games. Their next contest will be on Tuesday when they travel to face Mount Vernon (IL) at 6:30 p.m. Coach Roberts feels like this team is not at their peak yet, with some adjustments to fine tune before attempting to make a deep postseason run.
“We’ve still got things we’ve got to be better at,” Roberts said. “We’re not a finished product. I hope this game kind of springboards us to ascend into where we’re going to peak here in the next three weeks, and lead us into the postseason.”
Paducah Tilghman takes the weekend off before trying to snap their six-game losing streak in a road game against Hopkins County Central on Monday. That game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.