Last Tuesday night McCreary Central faced yet another challenge from one of the top teams in the state as neighboring Corbin paid a visit fresh off of a win over Lynn Camp that ran their record to 20-2 and also extended their winning streak to sixteen games.

McCreary Central rose to the challenge though and lead for a majority of the game to take a 78-71 victory from the Redhounds.

Aaron Watts scored 28 points to lead the Raider attack that placed three other players in double figures.

The offensive output from the Raiders included ten three pointers which helped to offset the 29 points from Corbin’s Madison Johnson and 23 by Isaac Wilson.

Tyler Perry opened the game for McCreary with a three pointer but a three by Johnson tied the game at 5-5. The Redhounds went on to take a 10-7 lead on a three pointer by Wilson at the 5:05 mark but Central regained the lead as Watts hit from three point range and then posted up inside for an easy two.

A three point play by Corbin’s Travis Smith with 3:24 left in the quarter gave him his only points of the contest and gave the Redhounds back the lead 13-12.

McCreary gained the lead back for good just over a minute later as Watts drove the lane and dished to freshman Tyson Williams for an easy lay in. Williams scored from fourteen feet out and then Watts put back a miss by Ben Wright with twelve seconds left to put the Raiders up 18-13.

Johnson drew a foul trying to put back a miss as the horn sounded for Corbin and went to the line to cut the lead back to three, 18-15 heading into the second.

After Johnson added another free throw early in the second to make it 18-16 Central ran out to a 25-16 lead as Zack Roark and Sean Privett scored and Jacob Dixon knocked down a three pointer in between them.

McCreary’s lead would grow to as much as ten points midway through the period as Wright scored with a left handed lay up after a beautiful drive through the Redhound defense and Watts followed with his third three pointer from near the top of the key to make the score 30-20.

Corbin would twice cut the lead to five on Wilson three pointers but a pair of free throws by Watts in the final minute pushed the Raider lead to 35-28 at the half.

The Raiders pushed the lead back to ten with a Jacob Dixon three pointer only fifteen seconds into the second half but a pair of back-to-back three point plays by Johnson and Aaron Manns led an 8-0 Corbin run that pulled the Hounds to within 38-36 at the five minute mark.

After several missed opportunities by Corbin to tie the game or take the lead Central finally opened a bit of breathing room with baskets by Watts and Williams.

Corbin was able to pull back to within three points on several different occasions throughout the rest of the quarter but the tremendous play of Ben Wright gave the Raiders an answer each time. The senior point guard sliced through the Corbin defense and dished to Tyler Perry twice for easy baskets and once to Williams allowing the Raiders to maintain their lead.

After a basket by Manns in the final minute pulled Corbin back to within three Watts answered with a huge basket for Central at the end of the third quarter.

With McCreary looking to take the last shot of the period the clock ticked down under ten seconds. Perry saw an opening to the basket from the perimeter and drove to the hoop only to see his attempt roll off the front of the rim. Corbin grabbed the rebound but a pass up court was deflected between the three point line and half court. With the ball rolling loose toward the sideline opposite of the Raider bench Watts gave chase while checking the clock on the opposite end of the floor in the process. Picking up the ball directly in front of the Wazoo Network broadcast table he turned and took a dribble toward the goal and then launched a shot from about twenty-four feet that found the bottom of the net as the horn sounded. The basket gave the Raiders a 51-45 lead and gave the Raider crowd an opportunity to roar like it was postseason play.

Despite what could have been a backbreaker for the Redhounds they continued to threaten the lead throughout most of the final period of play pulling to as close as a single point midway through the quarter.

Johnson and Wilson scored the first twenty points of the quarter for the Hounds and would end up scoring 24 of Corbin’s 26 points in the period but the Raiders used a balanced attack as they had the entire game to hold off the threat. Five different players scored for McCreary in the fourth quarter with Watts tallying seven, Dixon and Wright six points each, Roark with five and Williams three.

A three point play by Wilson opened the final quarter and cut McCreary’s lead back to three. McCreary was able to push the lead back to 56-49 following a three pointer by Dixon but Johnson answered with a three of his own and then stole the inbounds pass and got fouled which resulted in a pair of successful free throws to cut the lead to 56-54.

The Raiders once again answered as Zack Roark knocked down an open three to push the lead back to five.

After a nearly a minute of play with no scoring Corbin dynamic duo struck again as Wilson score followed by Johnson to cut the Raider lead to 59-58 with 4:08 to play.

The Raiders again responded though as Watts went high to pull down a missed three point attempt by Roark, circled back out in front of the McCreary bench and knocked down a three pointer. The Raiders added to the lead on their next possession after a pass to Dixon streaking toward the basket was deflected. The junior forward was still able to gain control of the pass and lay the ball in on the opposite side of the goal pushing the lead back to six.

Corbin would cut the lead to three points three more times in the final three and a half minutes of the game but each time McCreary would answer to push the lead back to more than a single possession. Overall in the second half Corbin closed to within three points or closer on nine different occasions but could never keep McCreary from scoring long enough to tie the game or take a lead.

The Raiders offered opportunities to the Redhounds as they hit only six on ten free throws in the final two minutes but Corbin could not get the ball to fall going scoreless after a basket by Wilson with 1:28 to go which was their only field goal of the final three minutes.

The win gave Central their third win of the season against teams that are currently rated in the Lexington Herald’s “Rating the State” high school basketball ratings. Those three wins are against Louisville Seneca, Louisville Male and Corbin. The Raiders also have wins over West Jessamine and Anderson County who have been among the top 25 at some point during the season.

In addition to Watts’ 28 points Dixon finished with 12, Wright and Williams with 11 each. Roark and Perry finished with 7 each and Privett with 2.



McCreary 63

Somerset 53

After a big win over Corbin on Tuesday the Raiders returned to action on their home floor against a Somerset squad that entered the game with a 4-18 record.

Defensively McCreary was not in top form as Somerset took a first quarter lead of 7-5 and trailed only 14-13 with 2:38 to go in the period before Aaron Watts hit from three point range and Zack Roark delivered a nice feed to Tyson Williams for a lay up.

Somerset ended the quarter with two free throws by D.J. Townsend that would be the beginning of a 7-0 run that would give the Jumpers a 20-19 lead a minute into the second quarter.

The 7-0 run was all from the hands of Townsend who had scored Somerset’s previous four points giving him eleven straight Somerset points.

Three pointers by Dixon and Watts put McCreary back into the lead for good and started off a 16-2 run by the Raiders. Dixon added another three, Roark completed a traditional three point play and Williams scored twice to complete the string with McCreary leading 35-22. A Somerset basket by Clayton Stringer ended the half and trimmed the Raider lead to 35-24.

McCreary extended their lead to 42-27 early in the second half and appeared to be cruising to thier 20th win of the season but a 12-2 run put the Jumpers back within striking distance. The visitors scored nine straight to cut the lead to 42-36 before a jumper by Sean Privett from 18 feet out stopped the run. They would go on to add three more points to further trim the lead to 44-39 before Watts scored just before the horn to give Central a seven point lead going to the fourth quarter.

Somerset was able to cut the lead to as little as four points at 48-44 early in the final frame and only trailed 54-48 with three and a half minutes to play. From that point though Somerset could manage only two baskets by Townsend in the final minute and a free throw by Stringer.

In addition to holding the ball for nearly a minute of the final 2:06 Ben Wright hit a trey and Perry fed Roark for an easy basket. Dixon finished off the game with a lay up off of a Roark pass to give the Raiders the 63-53 margin and their 20th win of the season.

Zack Roark led the Raiders with 18 points while Tyson Williams scored 14, Aaron Watts 13 and Jacob Dixon 11. Sean Privett added 4 and Ben Wright 3.