[Pulp Fiction]

After a long and not-so-restful night, just a few closing thoughts about this game.... and yes, this one still hurts.


At the end of the 1st qtr., JC led 24-17. Everything looked to be going JC's way.

At the 4:59 mark in the 2nd qtr., JC led 38-20. At this point, if somebody would have told me JC would loose by 11 points, I would have laughed them out of the Expo. Their deadly 3 point shooting attack was dialed in and they were playing like a championship team on both sides of the ball.

Halftime, JC led 43-35. JC was hitting the shots they had hit all season. JC caused Pikeville to turn the ball over several times in the 1st half and was playing some of their best basketball of the entire season. Pikeville was having a tough time with JC's press and putting points on the board.


Oh but the 3rd qtr. changed the game.... Pikeville went on a 27-12 run in the 3rd qtr. and never looked back. Pikeville led 62-55 at the end of the 3rd qtr. Pikeville was patient with the ball, hit some big shots, rebounded and played like a different team from the 1st half.

The 4th qtr. was hard to watch... JC just couldn't get any rhythm. With 1:54 left, Pikeville led 84-80. Normally, in a situation like this Crace and Blair would fire up some 3's... and normally, those shots would fall or JC would be able to rebound and get another shot attempt. But not tonight, Pikeville's #2 and #12 would come down with the rebound.... kill some clock and take a high quality shots. With 1:23 left, Pikeville led 88-82. The game didn't feel out of reach yet. As they did the entire 2nd half, Pikeville made some big plays on offense and defense. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the entire JC crowd couldn't believe what they had just saw. As joyous as the Pikeville fans were, the JC fans were just as stunned.

The final score of 95-84, IMO, is a good indication of how this game played out. Like I said earlier can't blame the refs or anybody else. JC played like the better team in the first 16 minutes of play but Pikeville was better in the last 16 minutes.

This game was a true high school regional championship game. The two best teams playing for a chance to go to the State Tournament. It was tough to see the JC seniors go out this way, a few bad minutes of play and a few mistakes changed the game and Pikeville was able to capitalize.


JC will be back, just need to re-assemble the pieces and take care of business when it counts. The past six seasons will be looked at as the Glory Days of Johnson Central boys basketball, but it's far from over. Four straight regional championships with one Elite 8 appearance and two straight regional runners-up is a feat the JC faithful would always be proud of. Names like Shane Hall, Kyle Gullett, Dalton Adkins, Braxton Blair, Slade McPeek, Josh Hitchcock, Tyler Pack, Patrick Rice, Truman Salyer, Mason Blair, Cole Crace & Austin Davis will always be looked at as some of the best talent to ever wear the Black & Gold. The senior class ended their career with a 96-37 record, winning the 57th District three times and the 15th Region twice.


Now Pikeville, go to Rupp and represent the 15th region. If you guys play like you did in the 2nd half at the Sweet 16, who knows what can happen. As much as I was looking forward to using a Sick Day next Wednesday, I'll just keep it on the books and save it for next time.