Commonwealth Journal

Local Sports

December 9, 2009

Pulaski struggling out of the gates after 75-48 loss to McCreary Central

Somerset — Pulaski County High School first-year coach Al Gover has not had a pleasant return back to the world of coaching high school basketball.

On Tuesday night the Maroons suffered their second double-digit loss of the season after they were downed by McCreary Central 75-48 at Pulaski County High School.

“It has been great coming back to coach and I have enjoyed it tremendously,” Gover said. “I am thankful to be given the opportunity to coach again. I know we have a whole lot of work ahead of us and we are going to continue to get better. We are going to take it game by game.”

From the start, Gover has had to work his way past three big obstacles — youth, football and injuries.

For most of the night, the Maroons had at least three freshman players on the floor.

Secondly, Gover just got back some of his key players — Alex Abner and Zach Eastham — from the football team. Abner showed flashes of strong play, but is far from being adjusted from football to basketball play. Eastham is still nursing an ankle injury he sustained in the state semifinal football game.

And lastly, Pulaski big man Tyler Jenkins is still out with an injury and will not return until the next calender year.

“I think when we get Abner back into the flow of the basketball game, and we get Eastham and Jenkins back from injuries, we will have a much better look and we will have much more depth,” Gover explained.

But the Maroons biggest obstacle on Tuesday night was the 12th Region top-ranked McCreary Raiders, who controlled the game from the outside and the inside.

The Raiders hit 7-of-11 from behind the arc in the opening half to jump out to an early 34-22 halftime lead. However, the maroons put together several offensive spurts in the first half to keep the game from getting out of hand.

“There is no doubt about it, McCreary is a tough team,” Gover commented. “Aaron Watts hit two or three three-pointers early in the game. Our plan was to have a hand in his face, not let him beat you to the basket and contest his shot. For the most part, we did okay against him. We lost him 3 or 4 times, but a player like that you can’t lose.”

After falling behind 17-4 in opening six minutes of play, Pulaski finished the quarter out strong to cut the Raiders’ lead to six points. Luke Elmore drained a trey from the right corner, and Tyler Goins scored off a putback and hit a jumper from the top of the key to close out the first quarter with McCreary leading 17-11.

In the opening minutes of the second quarter, Goins sank two free throws, Alex Abner scored on a layup after he stole the ball at midcourt and Abner drained a 12-footer to close the McCreary lead to 22-17. However, McCreary's Arron Watts and Zack Roark combined for 13 points in a stretch of only four minutes to stretch the Raiders’ lead to 32-17.

After Watts and Roark both drained three-pointers in the third quarter, McCreary coach Robert Jones instructed his players to go inside where they reeled off nine unanswered points and opened up a 52-31 lead.

Freshman Kody Johnson scored six of his 11 points in the final quarter, but the Raiders were too much for the young and inexperienced Maroons.

Out of the 48 Pulaski points, 33 points were scored by freshman players. Freshman players Goins led the Maroons with 14 points, Johnson had 11 points, Taylor Gover had 5 points and Matthew Smith had 3 points.

“McCreary hit a lot of shots. but we hung in there with them in the first half,” Gover said. “But I think the physicality of the game wore on us late in the game. At one time we had four freshman on the floor and McCreary just wore us down, because it is hard to ask a freshman to play a whole ball game.”

Juniors Luke Elmore scored 8 points and Alex Abner had 4 points.

For the game, McCreary outrebounded Pulaski 28 to 13. Also, the Raiders were 63 percent from the field and 10-of-16 from three-point land. while Pulaski was only 38 percent from the field and 5-of-15 from the three-point arc.

Pulaski (0-2) will be back in action on Friday, Dec. 11, when they take on Casey County in a district match-up in Liberty, Ky.



MC 17 17 18 23 — 75

PC 11 11 11 15 — 48



MCCREARY — Watts 25, Roark 18, Williams 9, Wright 8, Privett 7.

PULASKI — Goins 14, Johnson 11, Elmore 8, Gover 5, Abner 4, Matthew Smith 3, Bales 2, Mounce 1.

Text Only
Local Sports
  • Preview Putting best foot forward

    As arch-rivals go, Somerset and Southwestern rarely share a whole lot of things in common, but coming into the final week of the regular season, both the Briar Jumpers and Warriors share a common thread — they are each yearning for a win.
     

    February 12, 2012 1 Photo

  • Thriller Pulaski nips Warriors in 2OT

    Earlier in the week, when talking about his club’s upcoming game in a much-anticipated rematch against arch-rival Southwestern, Pulaski County head coach Al Gover said he expected the game to go right down to the wire.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • Brooks Somerset comes back to down Pulaski

    Somerset always likes to make things interesting.

    February 9, 2012 1 Photo

  • Gover Johnson, Gover pace Pulaski in 69-56 win over Knox Central For the Pulaski County Maroons, the defense of their 47th District championship and the quest for a 12th Regional crown will begin a little over a week from now on February 20th in Mt. Vernon, when Al Gover and crew will meet up against Rockcastle County in the opening round of the district tourney.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo

  • Rebound Lady Warriors avenge 2011 season-ending loss

    After splitting games with Garrard County and Somerset over the weekend, Southwestern returned to the hardwood on Monday night, squaring off against Casey County, the same team who ended the Lady Warriors’ postseason run last season in the semifinals of the Girls 12th Region Tournament.

    February 7, 2012 1 Photo

  • Rose Ashley Rose named to All-OVC teams

    Former Pulaski County High School standout archer Ashley Rose, recently ended her collegiate carer with high honors.

    February 6, 2012 1 Photo

  • krause.jpg Somerset vs. Southwestern girls basketball

    February 5, 2012 6 Photos

  • rebound.jpg Lady Warriors down Somerset, 47-39

    Good teams built for a deep run in March always seem to find a way to gut out a win when one of their top players have an ‘off night’.

    February 4, 2012 1 Photo

  • Preview Cross-town rematch tonight at Briar Patch

    When Somerset and Southwestern last played -- on the second night of the high school girls basketball season -- there were more questions than answers.

    February 3, 2012 1 Photo

  • Rivals Warriors destroy Somerset, 63-32

    If defense does indeed win championships, then it’s safe to pencil in the Southwestern Warriors as a solid favorite to win the upcoming 12th Regional Tournament in a little less than a month from now.

    February 2, 2012 1 Photo

SEC Zone
News Live
Facebook
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
AP Video
Raw Video: Israeli Embassy Car Attacked Coroner: Don't Know Houston's Cause of Death Yet Valentine Greetings Sent Worldwide From Loveland Greek Austerity Measures Spark Riots Raw Video: Obama Budget Goes to Capitol Hill Arab League Wants U.N. Help in Syria Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight 'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48 Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party 79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport Fuel Removal Under Way on Capsized Italian Ship Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Stocks