FLEMINGSBURG — In one of the most anticipated 10th Region games of the year, Montgomery County manhandled Mason County, beating them 82-42 in the Lake Kelly Classic at Fleming County on Saturday.  It marked the Royals’ worst loss since Highlands beat them 95-47 in the 1997-98 season.  Derek Smith and Jared Lorenzen, both KHSAA Hall of Famers for their football and basketball skills, led that team to the 9th Region title that year. 

Game Photos: https://photos.10thregion.com/bbk-montgomerycounty82-masoncounty52-012525

This game was so sought after because it marked the return of top 10th Region guard Cayden Reed, who had not seen the floor in a varsity basketball game in a calendar year.  By happenstance, Reed’s first game back was against his former team, Mason County.  He last played for the Royals on January 23rd, 2024, vs. East Jessamine before being dismissed from the team that weekend.

Cayden Reed scored 9 points with 4 rebounds and 6 assists in the game.  While able to light it up in the scoring column, Reed is better known for rebounding, passing, and defensive abilities.  His addition to Montgomery County’s existing talent propels the Indians to the second-best team in the region behind George Rogers Clark and makes them a contender to win the regional championship. 

Mason County came into the game struggling.  They lost to Fleming County by 21 points at home and narrowly beat Bourbon County and Bracken County.  Montgomery County was hot, having beat Paris and Campbell County on the road the game before.  

The crowd cheered loudly when Cayden Reed was announced in Montgomery County’s starting lineup. The Indians started the game in dramatic fashion when Reed threw a backdoor alley-oop dunk from the top of the key to Tyce Jarvis against Mason County’s 2-3 zone.  

Several plays later, Tyce Jarvis would get a one-handed putback dunk to put the Indians up 10 to nothing.

The Indians started the game on a 16-0 run.  They held Mason County scoreless until Braeden Myrick’s two free throws with 1:21 left in the first quarter.  At the end of the first eight minutes, MoCo led 22-4.

Horch, averaging 14 points per game, scored 9 points. The Royals’ big man had two fouls in the first two minutes.  Because of Montgomery County’s size, coach Brian Kirk gambled by leaving Horch in.  The risk backfired, as Horch received his third foul at 5:37 in the first quarter when Montgomery led 3-0.

The Indians started the second quarter with back-to-back threes from Dawson Gentry and Andrew Terry.  The Royals offense, still stagnant, got two putback field goals from Cole Horch to make it 28-8 at 5:14 in the second quarter. 

At halftime it was Indians 40, Royals 16.  Montgomery was 6/12 from three in the first half, while Mason was 0/6.  Mason County was outscored 18-12 in the second frame.  

The struggles continued for Mason County in the third quarter.  Braeden Myrick, who came into the game shooting 43% from three, shot an uncharacteristic 1 for 6 from beyond the arc.  Mason County was 1 of 14 from three in the contest, while Montgomery County was 13 of 30.  

A running clock was in effect at 4:29 in the third quarter when the score was 54-18.  The Royals threw in the towel in the fourth quarter as both teams played their reserves for the remainder of the game.

Tyce Jarvis scored 15 points with 9 rebounds and 8 assists.  Luke Fawns led with 19 points and 2 rebounds.  

Montgomery County improves to 10-8 while Mason County drops to 9-8.

The Indians will face rival GRC again this Friday in Mt. Sterling.  The two could also meet again in the district and regional tournaments. Montgomery lost to Clark 73-47 on January 16th.  Does Reed’s presence make a 27-point difference?  We will find out on Friday.

GAME STATS:

By Quarter:
Mon: 22-18-27-15—82
Mas: 4-12-14-12—42

Scoring:
Mon: Fawns 19, Jarvis 15, Gentry 13, Reed 9, Rowlett 8, Dunn 7, Terry 5, Klute 4, Hatton 2.  Mas: Horch 9, Myrick 9, McClain 6,  Metts 4, Lang 3, Routt 2, Merz 2, B. Malone 2, Anderson 2, Foy 2, Garrison 1.

Field Goals:
Mon: 29/59 (49.2%). Mas: 18/24 (38.5%).

Threes:
Mon: 13/30 (43.3%). Mas: 1/14 (7.1%).

Free Throws:
Mon: 11/15 (73.3%). Mas: 5/13 (38.5%).

Rebounds:
Mon: 34 (13 off). Mas: 27 (7 off).

Assists:
Mon: 19.  Mas: 6.

Turnovers:
Mon: 6.  Mas: 19.

Longest Run:
Mon: 19-2.  Mas: 6-0.