Game 8: Mason County 66, Elliott County 62
Posted by Mike Fields on March 20, 2008
See a slideshow with comments from both coaches’ postgame press conferences.
Also: Read the game story from the Herald-Leader.
- Mason County, which beat Elliott County by 29 points last month, escaped with a victory in the rematch thanks to clutch three-point shooting by Trevor Setty and Russ Middleton down the stretch. Setty led the winners with 19 points, including five threes. UK signee Darius Miller had 17 points and 10 rebounds, including a couple of big boards when teammates missed free throws in the closing seconds. Miller hit two clinching foul shots with 7 seconds left.
- Jonathan Ferguson led Elliott County with 19 points. Ethan and Evan Faulkner combined for 25 points and 11 rebounds.
- Mason County has hit three three-pointers in row — two by Trevor Setty and one by Russ Middleton, to edge ahead 62-59 with 1:36 left. Elliott County will have the ball after a timeout.
- Elliott County holds a 59-56 lead with three minutes left. Trevor Setty just hit a three to keep Mason County ticking.
- Tyler Maynard just hit a 25-foot, high-arching three-pointer to give Elliott County a 53-47 lead with 5:17 left. Mason County calls a timeout.
- Shown at right: Evan Faulkner drives around Mason County’s Ethan King in photo by Charles Bertram.
- Elliott County has the crowd roaring in Rupp Arena as Tyler Maynard hits a three-pointer from the right corner to give the Lions a 44-43 lead in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Mason County Coach Chris O’Hearn immediately calls a timeout. Ethan and Evan Faulkner have 19 points and 10 rebounds between them for Elliott County. Darius Miller has 13 points and 6 rebounds for Mason County, which has missed 6 of 8 free throws.
- Mason County saw its lead trimmed to 37-34 but has pushed it back to 40-34 with 3:41 left in the third quarter. Darius Miller and Russ Middleton have 10 points apiece for the Royals.
- Halftime: Mason County 35, Elliott County 30. The Lions are staying close in the first half, nothing like when they lost 90-61 at Mason County last month. Ethan King, Darius Miller and Trevor Setty have 8 points apiece for the Royals. Ethan Faulkner has 10 and Jonathan Ferguson 9 for Elliott County which is close even though it’s shooting only 34%.
- Midway through the second quarter, Mason County is ahead 27-20.
- Mason County leads 19-15 after one quarter. Jonathan Ferguson’s nifty spin move for a fast-break layup was the highlight of the game so far. Ethan King’s 8 points lead Mason County. Elliott County is having trouble getting open looks against the taller Royals, reflected by its 7-for-21 shooting. Darius Miller has 2 points.
- Elliott County is trying to hang with Mason County early. Mason County leads 12-7 with 2:30 left in the first quarter. Ethan King has 6 points to lead the Royals, who are successfully driving to the basket. Darius Miller has taken only two shots, and hit a 15-footer. Elliott County is 1-for-5 on threes.
March 20, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Does Darius look like he can play at the level that we need at UK.
March 20, 2008 at 10:28 pm
[...] Coach Chris O’Hearn and Elliott County Coach Rick Mays on the Royals’ 66-62 win. Read game notes on Mike Fields’ blog. Photos by Charles Bertram. Share This 1 [...]
March 21, 2008 at 6:25 am
The officiating at this game left a LOT to be desired…
March 21, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Reference to Susan Burton statement regarding the officiating in Mason Vs. Elliott game #8.
The talent displayed by the 5 to 6 players from Sandy Hook was the only thing that the referees could not take away from Elliott. The officiating took away many opportunties from Elliott and possibly the game. and with a minute to go, a no call situation in the paint near Elliott’s goal may a cost Elliott the game, Mason took the ball down and scored a three to place them ahead by one. Elliott could not recover after that, the no call by the officials.
March 21, 2008 at 3:53 pm
There were alot of bad calls on both sides but that was not the deciding factor on the game. Give credit where credit is due the Mason County Royals are just a great team of young men who stepped up their game at the crucial time. Way to go MCHS, you have alot of fans all over — Lets Win this thing!!!
March 21, 2008 at 4:56 pm
You have got to be kidding me. Bad calls on both sides, lol. Was you at the game? You must have your rose color Mason County glasses on. You need to admit that Elliott outplayed Mason the entire game and deserved the win. Good luck next year Elliott let’s bring home a state championship.
March 21, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Not a deciding factor to the game, lol. You people amaze me.
March 21, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Elliott County is a good team. They had literally only one kid over 6-foot tall and Mason County did not perform well and may have had their guard down.
Elliott County is a team that has not won a single game against one ranked team all season. They may end up being one of the state’s most grossly overrated team ever.
March 21, 2008 at 10:11 pm
“Elliott County is a team that has not won a single game against one ranked team all season. They may end up being one of the state’s most grossly overrated team ever.” Are you kidding me?
I have watched multiple games this year for Elliott. What have you watched 2 games? This was one of the best 3 point shooting teams in the state and one of the best defensive pressure teams. This team performed well all year.
Elliott only played 2 teams in the top 25 all year. You can ask 15,000 people (excluding some Mason fans) from last nights game that Elliott should have had their first win against a top 25. I know You know nothing about basketball, because this was one of the best 5 teams at the state tournament this year. Elliott has several games against some of the nations top teams next year, so we will get plenty of opportunities next year not only against the states best but country’s best.
KHSAA should be ashamed of one of their officials last night. Who should never be able to officiate another game in the state of KY. You know which one I am talking about. If you ever see these officials ask them what was discussed when they huddled up when Elliott was up 7 at the end of the game. Shame on you officials and shame on the KHSAA. It is not all about $$$. The other 2 did a decent job until swallowing their whistles late in the game.
March 22, 2008 at 9:18 am
[...] Game 8: Mason County 66, Elliott County 62 See a slideshow with comments from both coaches’ postgame press conferences. Also: Read the game story from the […] [...]
March 22, 2008 at 2:53 pm
If, indeed, the ECHS schedule includes some of the nations best next year….be ready for a season’s record similar to that of Scott Co. this year….also, given I have no dog in this fight, I can guess that MAYBE ECHS was overrated this year in that it was a below average schedule, competition wise, and the loss to Rose Hill in the Class ‘A’, and with the 29 point loss to Mason Co., resulted in the Royals looking past the Lions….just my opinions based on the FACTS
March 22, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I would like to congratulate the Elliott County Lions for a wonderful season, all the way to the Sweet Sixteen. Your school and community could not be more proud of the effort that each of you have put into every game, victory or defeat. Your game against Mason County showed your talent and commitment. A few breaks in our favor could have had Elliott County playing in the state finals. Everyone will be looking forward to the 2008-09 season, hoping that the Lions will take it all the way to Rupp and the final game in ‘09!