Bracken County went into the weekend 5-1 after cruising to a 38 point win over Pendleton County on Tuesday.
They then faced 16th Region favorites Ashland on Friday and district rival Augusta on Saturday. They beat both Ashland and Augusta by over 20 points.
Bracken County 90, Ashland 69
The Tomcats came in with a record of 3-2. On Tuesday, they beat Boyd County 77-68 in the state of Kentucky’s most interesting basketball story line.
It was a slow start and Bracken County led 8-4 over four minutes into the game. But, Ashland led at the end of one 18-15.
Going into halftime, Ashland led 34-32. But, this game would be the tail of two halves.
With 4:57 left the 3rd quarter, Ashland still held onto a 43-40 lead. Bracken County would close out the quarter on an 18-9 run and end the third with a 58-51 lead.
The fourth quarter is where the Polar bears would run away with their biggest win of the season. Halfway through the fourth quarter it was still a 7 point game. But Bracken County would end on a 30-9 run, outscoring Ashland 32-18 in the quarter and winning the game 90-69.
Chase Archibald had a career-high 25 points with 6 threes.
Box Score:
Polar Bears (90) — B. Reed 28, Archibald 25 (6 threes), C. Reed 20, Jefferson 6, Buchanan 5, Norton 4, Combess 2.
Tomcats (69) — Carter 27, Adkins 16, Deboard 13, Davis 4, Freize 4, Conway 3.
B: 15-17-27-32—90
A: 18-16-17-18—69
Field Goal: Bracken 60%, Ashland 38.2%
2FG: Bracken 24/39, Ashland 22/41
3FG: Bracken 9/16, Ashland 4/27
FT: Bracken 15/20, Ashland 13/15
Points off Turnovers: Bracken 2, Ashland 9
2nd Chance Points: Bracken 9, Ashland 17
Points in the Paint: Bracken 44, Ashland 42
Offensive Rebounds: Bracken 5, Ashland 12
Defensive Rebounds: Bracken 30, Ashland 20
Assists: Bracken 20, Ashland 8
Steals: Bracken 2, Ashland 5
Blocks: Bracken 0, Ashland 3
Turnovers: Bracken 7, Ashland 6
Fouls: Bracken 13, Ashland 20
Bracken County 96, Augusta 70
Photos by John Collins:
After program defining win over Ashland, Bracken County had to turnaround and take on district rival Augusta less than 24 hours later.
Bracken County picked up right where they left off, starting out the first quarter leading 21-11. At halftime, Bracken County still led 43-29.
Augusta would start the half on a 14-2 run, making it a 45-44 game midway through the third quarter. Then came Blake Reed.
Bracken County would pull away to lead 63-51 at the end of three, thanks to four threes in the quarter by Reed and 18 points.
The near 3,000-point scoring junior wasn’t done yet, even after scoring 46 points through three quarters.
Blake Reed would score 16 more points in the game and hit four more threes, giving 59 points for the game while making 10 threes.
The junior is now just 119 away from 3,000 career points and is averaging 32.1 ppg.
Bracken County would win the game 96-70 after being up by 30 points.
Polar Bears (96) — B. Reed 59 (10 threes), C. Reed 19, Archibald 13, Krift 4, Combess 1.
Panthers (70) — Snapp 27, Bach 15, LJ Conner 11, Hinson 8, Kelsch 7, Conner 2.
B: 21-22-20-33—96
A: 11-17-23-19—70
Field Goal: Bracken 51.5%, Augusta 40.9$
2FG: Bracken 21/38, Augusta 23/41
3FG: Bracken 14/30, Augusta 4/25
FT: Bracken 12/14, Augusta 12/17
Points off Turnovers: Bracken 10, Augusta 4
2nd Chance Points: Bracken 8, Augusta 14
Points in the Paint: Bracken 40, Augusta 44
Offensive Rebounds: Bracken 10, Augusta 12
Defensive Rebounds: Bracken 29, Augusta 22
Assists: Bracken 21, Augusta 12
Steals: Bracken 6, Augusta 1
Blocks: Bracken 1, Augusta 3
Turnovers: Bracken 6, Augusta 11
Fouls: Bracken 17, Augusta 12
