Somerset —
For anyone wondering what the new era of Somerset basketball might look like under their new head coach Jeff Cothron — it took less than six minutes for everyone to find out.
In the first 5 1/2 minutes of the Briar Jumpers’ home opener against Rockcastle County, Somerset used a stingy defense and an aggressive ‘inside out’ offense to roar out to a 15-2 lead en route to their 78-66 district win over the Rockets.
“You are always anxious to get that first win, and it being a district game made it all that more important,” Cothron stated.
“We worked on defense significantly in practice and we put in a couple of things we hadn’t done before and Rockcastle struggled with that,” Cothron explained. “Also, we made some adjustments on some things we didn’t do well on after that first game (against Russell County).”
Junior guard Ryan Dishman nailed four treys in the opening quarter, while Somerset senior big men Tyson Williams, 6’5” 240, and Ryan Weddle, 6’8” 235, crashed the boards inside.
For the game, Dishman led all scorers with 27 points. Junior guard Cam Cheuvront added 15 points, while Williams scored 14 points and Weddle added 12 points.
After that initial 15-2 Briar Jumper run in the opening 5 1/2 minutes of the game, the closest the Rockets ever came to closing the gap on Somerset was a 9-point deficit late in the first quarter, after the Rockets’ Blake Mullins nailed back-to-back treys.
However, the Jumpers’ lead ballooned to 19 points late in the third quarter after a 8-0 run and a 7-0 run. Sandwiched in between those two Somerset mini-runs was another trey by Mullins, who led the Rockets with 17 points.
“Rockcastle had a couple of opportunities where the momentum swung their way, but I have to give our kids credit that they didn’t let it go that way,” Cothron said. “I was proud of their effort and their execution, for no longer than we have had everybody together as a team.”
Somerset took their biggest lead of the game at 75-52 with 4:10 left in the contest, thanks to a Weddle putback and a Tyler Dishman layup.
With a little over two minutes left in the game, the Briar Jumpers still led by 21 points. But with benches on both sides cleared, the Rockets ended the game on a ‘little too late’ 9-0 run.
Despite the seemingly lopsided deficits, Rockcastle had a strong perimeter game with 12 goals beyond the arc and the Rockets played a very physical man-to-man defense that made the Jumpers work hard on every offensive possession.
“We scouted Rockcastle 2 or 3 times and we knew they played a very physical type of defense, with pressure on the ball and denying the passing lanes,” Cothron stated. “We tried to prepare for Rockcastle’s physicality, and for the most part, our kids did a good job of handling it.”
However, the difference in the game was the Jumpers’ selective shooting of 56 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line – on 20 attempts that came mostly in the second half.
Also, Somerset’s size came into play in the second half as the Jumpers outrebounded the Rockets 27 to 11 after halftime. Senior Matt Gordon led the Jumpers with 11 boards, while Ryan Weddle had 8 rebounds and Tyson Williams grabbed 5 rebounds.
After a road loss to Russell County High School earlier in the week, the Jumpers evened their record to 1-1 and upped their distinct record to 1-1.
The Jumpers traveled to Jackson County last night, and will be back home for another district match-up when they host Casey County High School on Tuesday, Dec. 11.
RC 11 13 18 24 – 66
SHS 23 14 24 17 — 78
ROCKCASTLE CO. (1-3) – Mullins 17, McPhetridge 14, Mason 12, Pensol 9, Wilson 5, Hasty 3, Reynolds 2.
SOMERSET (1-1) – Ryan Dishman 27, Cheuvront 15, Williams 14, Weddle 12, Tyler Dishman 5, Gordon 4, Coomer 1.
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Somerset High School junior Ryan Dishman (#23) goes up for two of his game-high 27 points in the Briar Jumpers’ 78-66 district win over Rockcastle County High School on Friday. Scott Lynch Photo
Jumpers, Cothron shine in home debut
- Local Sports
-
-
The Doctor gets his chance to be a ‘Cool Runner’
For most of his adult life, Dr. Joe Weigel has been an avid runner.
And for most of his adult life, Dr. Joe Weigel has been an avid local spokesman for health and fitness. -
Another big turnout for 16th annual Cool Run
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native David Justus felt right at home in Somerset, Kentucky on Saturday evening, as he cruised to victory in the Somerset 5K Cool Run and Walk at the Rocky Hollow Recreation Center.
Justus, a 25-year-old from the Volunteer State, outlasted 176 other runners to claim the first-place trophy in the race’s 16th edition. Justus’ winning time was 17:02. -
Commonwealth Journal High School All-County Track Team
Three local athletes - Cam Cheuvront, Jimmy Goldson, and Maranda Mills - came away with individual state titles at this year’s state track meet.
For their success at the state track meet, those three athletes have been named the 2013 Commonwealth Journal All-County Track and Field Athletes of the Year. -
Saline wins 4th straight international title
The Saline Saints volleyball team ended their season with an exclamation point — make that four exclamation points!
Last week, the Lady Saints accomplished a goal that no other Saline volleyball team has been able achieve. They won their fourth consecutive ACE International Student Convention (ISC) Volleyball Championship at Central Missouri University. -
Bo knows Upsets!
It’s ok if you don’t remember the first mega-star in the history of Kentucky college athletics.
Afterall, it’s been nearly 100 years since Alvin “Bo” McMillin laced up his high tops for the Somerset Briar Jumpers, before going on to a legendary career at Centre College.
Despite being a great player for Centre 1917-21, the Texas native m -
Swimmer Saved
Callie Garner has been a competitive swimmer almost all of her life.
Garner first took up swimming in the Eagle’s Nest swimming pool at the age of four. She swam at the national level for the next 13 years in the USA swim program. As a high school swimmer, she held almost every female school and pool record. -
Maroons take back Alumni Bowl title, 20-14
Friday night’s second annual Southwestern-Pulaski County Alumni Bowl football game, just like the 2012 game, was not a disappointment as it came right down to the wire. Pulaski raced out to a 20-0 lead in the opening half, but homestanding Southwestern made things interesting, as they cut the lead to 20-14.
The Maroons, who fell in the opening to the Warriors in the first annual game by a last-second score, held on to win the 2013 game by a score of 20-14, evening the Alumni series up at 1-1. -
Tim Rice resigns as Lady Warriors’ hoops coach
After nine seasons as the Southwestern High School girls basketball coach, Tim Rice announced his resignation on Friday afternoon.
Prior to his resignation from Southwestern, Rice was offered the girls head coaching job at Sheldon Clark High School.
-
Warriors fall to Mercer Co., 13-3
Southwestern came into last night’s 12th Region Baseball Championship game against Mercer County with a plan.
Unfortunately that plan didn’t pan out the way it was supposed to for the Southwestern Warriors, as the Mercer County Titans came away with a five-inning, 13-3 victory in the title game last night at Rockcastle County High School. -
Combs-Muntz named as new Lady Maroons hoops coach
In the past few weeks there has been a whirlwind of activity in the Pulaski County High School girls basketball program.
On the last day of school, Brian Miller announced to his Lady Maroons basketball players that he would be stepping down as head coach to take on the role of the school’s athletic director – while Randy Elmore takes a medical leave.
Two weeks later, a former Pulaski County High School standout shooting guard was named as the Lady Maroons’ new head coach.
Tarah (Combs) Muntz will take over the reigns of the Pulaski girls basketball program. - More Local Sports Headlines
-
