By Rick Elmore
The Greenup Beacon
No sooner had the 2021 basketball season started in Kentucky when Raceland’s boys and girls basketball teams started the All “A” Classic with a double-header on Saturday with both squads hosting Elliott County.
Boys
Raceland’s boys basketball team used an early 14-0 run to take an early lead against Elliott Co., but had to overcome a halftime deficit to defeat the Lions 54-46.
Raceland had a 14-2 lead after its first quarter spurt, but Elliott Co. rallied to take the lead late in the second period.
Gavin Whitt rebounded a missed Lions shot and got the points in the paint to give Elliott Co. a 21-20 lead with 2:32 remaining in the first half.
The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes and a foul on the Raceland offensive end on Gavin Reed put Eli Griffith at the foul line with three seconds left in the half. Griffith sank both shots to give the Lions a 26-23 lead.
In the third quarter, Raceland scored the first 11 points to take the lead and this time the Rams held off Elliott Co.
Kirk Pence had 22 points for Raceland followed by Andrew Floyd’s 19 points. Floyd scored 13 points in the second half.
The win put Raceland’s record at 2-1 as of Saturday and earned the Rams a rematch with Rose Hill Christian on Monday at West Carter High School.
Raceland defeated Rose Hill Christian on Jan. 5 by a score of 69-37 at Raceland-Worthington High School.
Against Rose Hill, the team took the steps that Raceland head coach Bob Trimble was hoping to see the team make following its loss at Johnson Central to open the season.
Pence scored 27 for Raceland to lead the way in the win over the Royals.
As a team, the Rams scored 28 points during a third quarter offensive outburst that put the game away.
“We got some steals that got us out for some easy baskets,” Trimble said. “Plus, they were without probably their best player.
Stacey Jackson, who led Rose Hill with 14 points in a loss on Monday at Greenup Co.
Against Johnson Central, Pence led the way with 21 points while Kyle Broughton (16 points) and Floyd (11 points) both reached double figures in scoring.
Johnson Central presented a different challenge, Trimble said.
“I think it was a combination of their speed and defense,” Trimble said. “We turned the ball over 17 times, plus we took some bad shots that led to some points for them in transition.”
Trimble also said that Johnson Central, being one of the top teams in Region 15, exposed Raceland to “duress” that he was unable to duplicate in practice. The coach added that later in the season, the game could be closer.
Girls
Raceland’s girls basketball team captured its first win of the season on Saturday with a 51-50 victory over Elliott Co. to start the All “A” Classic.
Kierston Smith had a game-high 26 points, which included five 3-pointers, to lead the way for the Rams (1-2).
“She had a monster game, no question about it,” Raceland head coach Ron Keeton said. “We put in a couple of sets (Friday) to create some open shots for her and her teammates.”
With the win, Raceland advanced to the semifinals on Tuesday where it will take on Rose Hill.
Where the Raceland schedule goes from there is to be determined by Tuesday’s other games. Those games would include the winner of Saturday’s Fairview-West Carter winner and Menifee County.
Should Rose Hill beat Raceland Tuesday and Menifee Co. loses then the Rams and the Lady Cats would play on Friday in Frenchburg.
After that, Raceland would travel to Martin Co. on Saturday and then play in a rematch at Lewis Co. on Jan. 19.
The Rams faced Lewis County in its opener on Jan. 4 losing the important district game 56-34 to the Lions.
Lions standout Sarah Weddington scored 20 points to lead all scorers in that one, while Smith added 16 points to lead Raceland.
Keeton’s squad followed that game up with a 73-45 loss at Ashland the next day.
Smith and Chloe Collins each posted 13 points to lead Raceland against the Kittens, however they were unable to overcome four players scoring in double figures to lead Ashland.
Star Khia Robinson scored 20 points followed by Carly Cullop with 18, Jordan Rakes with 15 and Kenleigh Woods’ 10.
“They just consumed us, bottom line” Keeton said. “They played the game a little faster than us.”
Keeton said he felt his team took a lot of strides into fixing its offensive woes in the victory over Elliott Co., though the Rams turned the ball over 14 times.
