Marshall County HoopFest – Day Two Recap
by Chris Jung
BENTON, Kent. – Dy Two of HoopFest featured a back-to-back show from the Paducah Tilghman boys and girls teams, the return of coach Aaron Beth and the first appearance of the weekend by defending national champion, Oak Hill Academy.
Paducah Tilghman Lady Tornado v. Louisville Mercy
Friday evening’s first game featured one of the best from the east from one of the best from the west.
The Lady Tornado from Tilghman is a heavy favorite to dominate the region, while a young Mercy squad will once again be in contention in Region 7 in Louisville.
But when the smoke cleared and 32 minutes was up, Tilghman had landed a knockout blow and defeated the Jaguars 83-58.
Game MVP Aseer Itiavkase has 25 points and eight rebounds, Pam Bell had 18 points and Christian Shelton contributed 19 as the three combined for 62 of Tilghman’s 83 points.
Mercy had trouble keeping up with the Lady Tornado speed and at times was unable to get back on defense to prevent fastbreak points. In the halfcourt set, Mercy had no answer for the 6’1 Bell. Mercy guard Jenny Petrie kept the Jags alive with several 3-pointers in the first half.
Tilghman gained an 11-point halftime lead following Dria Moore’s buzzer-beating jumpshot, which completed a 6-0 end-of-the half run. It continued in the third as Bell continued to dominated the paint. Her blocked shot and quick outlet pass led to another Tilghman fast break layup and 59-36 lead.
Petrie scored 16 for Mercy and Katie Wiedmar had 12.
Paducah Tilghman v. Bowling Green
Head Coach Aaron Beth made his return to Marshall County with his Bowling Green squad Friday, as his Purples beat up on the Tornado 77-59.
In an extremely impressive team performance, Bowling Green executed their offense to a tee and never allowed Tilghman to create a fluent offensive rhythm.
Michael T. Jackson, the game’s MVP, led Bowling Green with 18 points, including six of the game’s first nine. His huge dunk with 7:25 left in the second quarter gave the Purples a 20-6 lead, and he also had 15 rebounds. Jordan Blann was 7-of-15 from the field and finished with 23 points for Bowling Green.
Tilghman was led by Tim Laster’s 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Oak Hill Academy v. Lanier High School (Jackson, Miss.)
The crowd was on their feet and let out “oohs” and “ahs” as the Warriors of Oak Hill slammed down dunk after dunk – and that was just during pregame layup drills.
Looking almost like a professional team, the defending national champion Warriors had three players score 20 or more points and defeated Monta Ellis and the Jackson Lanier Bulldogs, 94-80 in Friday’s nightcap.
Junior guard Tywon Lawson (25), junior forward Kevin Durant (21) and senior guard Eric Devendorf (21) were the high scorers for Hill, but were unable to match the amazing 48-point, 11-rebound performance by Lanier’s Ellis.
Ellis’ output broke the record for most points in a HoopFest game, previously held by Lyon County’s Ty Rogers’ 42 last year.
This game featured minimal defense, but plenty of highlight reel-worthy action.
Oak Hill guard Jamont Gordon added 16 points. Lanier guard Al Graham had 13 points in the loss.
