02-04-2012, 01:38 PM
If Friday nightâs game was any indication, the boysâ 52nd District Tournament is going to be a wild one.
In a match-up of potential first round foes, the Bell County Bobcats needed a late 9-2 spurt to break open a tight game and went on to a 45-35 win at Middlesboro.
Defense was the name of the game on both ends. Bell held the Jackets to 13-of-46 shooting (28.3 percent) while the Bobcats didnât fare much better as they connected on 16 of 53 shots (30.2 percent) in the game. High intensity man defense from both teams was the primary reason.
âWe really practiced hard this week on guarding people. Weâve had a couple of games where weâve not give much effort,â Bobcat coach Lewis Morris said. âI told them I didnât care what happened as long as they gave their best effort and I thought they played really hard tonight.â
Senior guard Kyle Lee had a game-high 16 points and was at his best in crunch time.
The Bobcats led by as many as 14 in the first half, but Middlesboro came all the way back to take a 27-25 lead early in the the fourth quarter.
Lee answered with Bellâs first made 3-pointer of the night. Cameron Rancher, who led the Jackets with 12 points, scored with 6:34 to play and the game was tied at 29. Lee and Ryan Cox both fought hard to pull down offensive rebounds on the following possession and Lee knocked down another 3 off an inbounds play. That shot sparked a 9-2 spurt that put Bell County back in control.
Lee scored 11 of his points in the final period as Bell went on to win by 10.
âKyle stepped up in the fourth quarter. Heâs been with me for four years and played in big games. He hit some shots and was being aggressive,â Morris said of his senior.
The Jackets fought hard to get themselves back in the game, but were undone by poor shooting coupled with Bellâs 14-7 rebounding edge in the fourth quarter.
âI donât fault our effort. Weâve still got more room to improve than any team in the region, and I told my kids that,â said Jacket coach Russell Thompson. âOur defense has really improved and when our effort is there weâre pretty decent defensively.
âWeâve got to find people to step up and make big shots and control the basketball for us in order to compete with some of the better teams in the region. Thatâs the next step.â
Bell County stifled the Jackets in the early going and held them to 2-of-1o shooting in the first quarter. The Bobcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a basket by Tyler Potter and two from Ryan Cox.
Derek Smith got Middlesboro on the board at the 5:00 mark and Zack Riddle scored a transition basket. But Cox and Potter scored again for Bell and Tanner Lefevers drove in for two as the Bobcats led 12-5 after one quarter.
The second period saw the Jackets tighten things up on the defensive end, but they still struggled to score points. Two free throws each by Jesse Greene and Cox pushed the Bell lead to 20-6 with 3:31 to play in the first half.
âWe were looking really good in the first half until foul trouble hit us. That kind of got us out of rhythm,â Morris said.
Read more: The Middlesboro Daily News - Bobcats get past Jackets 45 35
In a match-up of potential first round foes, the Bell County Bobcats needed a late 9-2 spurt to break open a tight game and went on to a 45-35 win at Middlesboro.
Defense was the name of the game on both ends. Bell held the Jackets to 13-of-46 shooting (28.3 percent) while the Bobcats didnât fare much better as they connected on 16 of 53 shots (30.2 percent) in the game. High intensity man defense from both teams was the primary reason.
âWe really practiced hard this week on guarding people. Weâve had a couple of games where weâve not give much effort,â Bobcat coach Lewis Morris said. âI told them I didnât care what happened as long as they gave their best effort and I thought they played really hard tonight.â
Senior guard Kyle Lee had a game-high 16 points and was at his best in crunch time.
The Bobcats led by as many as 14 in the first half, but Middlesboro came all the way back to take a 27-25 lead early in the the fourth quarter.
Lee answered with Bellâs first made 3-pointer of the night. Cameron Rancher, who led the Jackets with 12 points, scored with 6:34 to play and the game was tied at 29. Lee and Ryan Cox both fought hard to pull down offensive rebounds on the following possession and Lee knocked down another 3 off an inbounds play. That shot sparked a 9-2 spurt that put Bell County back in control.
Lee scored 11 of his points in the final period as Bell went on to win by 10.
âKyle stepped up in the fourth quarter. Heâs been with me for four years and played in big games. He hit some shots and was being aggressive,â Morris said of his senior.
The Jackets fought hard to get themselves back in the game, but were undone by poor shooting coupled with Bellâs 14-7 rebounding edge in the fourth quarter.
âI donât fault our effort. Weâve still got more room to improve than any team in the region, and I told my kids that,â said Jacket coach Russell Thompson. âOur defense has really improved and when our effort is there weâre pretty decent defensively.
âWeâve got to find people to step up and make big shots and control the basketball for us in order to compete with some of the better teams in the region. Thatâs the next step.â
Bell County stifled the Jackets in the early going and held them to 2-of-1o shooting in the first quarter. The Bobcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a basket by Tyler Potter and two from Ryan Cox.
Derek Smith got Middlesboro on the board at the 5:00 mark and Zack Riddle scored a transition basket. But Cox and Potter scored again for Bell and Tanner Lefevers drove in for two as the Bobcats led 12-5 after one quarter.
The second period saw the Jackets tighten things up on the defensive end, but they still struggled to score points. Two free throws each by Jesse Greene and Cox pushed the Bell lead to 20-6 with 3:31 to play in the first half.
âWe were looking really good in the first half until foul trouble hit us. That kind of got us out of rhythm,â Morris said.
Read more: The Middlesboro Daily News - Bobcats get past Jackets 45 35