[jammin' jamey]

This game came down to the final shot. Congrats Pikeville.

A couple of obsevations. Neither team is very good. Pikeville can't shoot worth anything and Prestonsburg just fouls everybody. If not for Burchett, Tackett, and Tincher, Prestonsburg wouldn't win a game. I don't know if it's because of football just ending, but these football players, with the exception of Burchett, just seemed to get in the way of Prestonsburg tonight. And you would think, with Seth Setser and Austin Gearheart in the paint, that Prestonsburg would own the boards. Well, that wasn't the case. Prestonsburg got out rebounded all night long. Other than the 3 above that I mentioned, there is no one on this team to score. If I had to say so myself, this is probably the least athletic team Prestonsburg has had in quite some time. But, it is early in the year, and I'm sure Pack will have these guys playing better.

Complaint number 2. It has been about 3 years since I have watched a high school basketball game. Haven't really had the time to make it out and watch anyone play. But, it seems to me that the officiating has gotten 10X worse than it was when I played from 00-03; and that is saying something because the officials then were horrible. Neither team was able to get anything going offensively or defensively thanks to the officiating. What would be a foul at one point in the game, all of a sudden was no longer a foul. What was a walk at one point in the game, was no longer a walk. There was no consistency whatsoever from this group of officials. And I'm not complaining from Prestonsburg's side either. It was equally as bad for Pikeville as well. Prestonsburg had 2 or 3 people foul out and same went for Pikeville. Prestonsburg had around 4 or 5 with 4 fouls in the 3rd quarter. With their lack of depth, they can't continue to put themselves in this situation towards the end of games.

All in all, it was a pretty good game and I hope to catch more this year if time permits.

From our count, the rebounding was pretty even with Prestonsburg having an edge for most the night. Michael Burchett was a board shy of a double/double but in no way would I say our numbers are "official".

I would agree with the officiating comments. It was rough both ways. Yet this the "1st" week of the season so I would give them a pass, along with players and announcers trying to get into the groove again.

Pburg shot the ball well early. One thing that has always blown my mind about Jack Pack is that his team can be making a run (get a bucket, a turnover and convert another quick bucket - the crowd into it) and then call a timeout, which allows his reeling opponent to gather themselves. I've never understood that, but maybe that's why I'm not coaching.

Hopefully Steven Patrick can learn to control his enthusiasm throughout the season. Just a little over-reactive getting into foul trouble with a couple calls that he could've avoided, but that will come with more experience. He looks to be a special player. Pburg is right in hunt for a wide-open 58th district this season without a doubt.

Pikeville was impressive just in the fact that they played hard and hung in all night despite missing Evans, Baker and Clark. I was impressed with Rowe in the paint - he didn't over play his position, just simply got the job done and picked up some garbage points. Clevenger carried the team despite not shooting the best, but he hit his free throws. Burchett gave a gutty effort. And if this team is going to have any kind of success, more guys like Burchett, Rowe, Ratliff, Keene have to step up and knock down some shots. And keep the game uptempo. The scoring is still down and Pikeville needs a transition game to pick up easy buckets, gets their confidence going on the offensive side.

Great to see Taylor Ratliff come off the bench, give quality minutes and then knock down the GW bucket.

Good luck to both teams!!