Second Annual 2001 Cougarama


Bullitt Central High School
Shepherdsville, Kentucky
November 17, 2001

©2001 by Ron Harrison

Bullitt Central High School coach James Hurley has put together an exciting day of basketball with seven scrimmage games on the slate.  The schedule is as follows:

11:00

Louisville Manual vs. Central Hardin

12:30

Graves County vs. Marion County

2:00

Madison Central vs. Louisville Fairdale

3:30

Louisville Ballard vs. Christian County

5:00

Shelby County vs. Highlands

6:30

Bullitt Central vs. Glasgow

8:00

Paducah Tilghman vs. North Hardin

Some of the top seniors expected to perform today are Brandon Stockton (Glasgow), Brian Silverhorn and Robert Daniels (Shelby County), David Bryant (Ballard), Quinton Smith (North Hardin), Marcus Barnes (Central Hardin), Anthony Milan (Fairdale), Todd Spencer (Bullitt Central), Orlandus Hill (Paducah Tilghman), Mykel Tidwell (Graves County), Eric Davie (Christian County).   Some of the top underclassmen in the state will also participate in this event.  Some expected to play are Ross Neltner (Highlands), Shawn Ballard (Madison Central), Andre Woodson (North Hardin), Chad Stivers (Bullitt Central), Sean Booker and David Cornwell (Ballard), Keenan Burton (Manual), etc.

This event has been highly anticipated and was listed in the prestigious HoopsUSA Tournament and Events Report. It has also been previewed in the BluegrassPreps Internet site.   Today’s games will consist of two 16-minute halves with the score being reset at the half.  I will combine the two scores for the sake of clarity and any stats mentioned here are not official but were recorded by me personally.  Please remember that these are scrimmages and the coaches will be experimenting with various lineups and rotations.

Game No. 1 – Louisville Manual vs. Central Hardin

Manual defeated Central Hardin by a score of 61-50.  Manual led at halftime by a score of 37-28 and maintained their advantage in the second half to gain the victory.  Manual was led today by 6-2 Sr. Stephon Puryear and 6-2 So. Ronnie George with 17 and 15 points respectively.  6-2 Jr. Keenan Burton added 10 points.  Central Hardin was led today by 6-2 Sr. Marcus Barnes and 5-8 Sr. Daniel Miles with 19 and 12 points respectively.

Game No. 2 – Graves County vs. Marion County

Graves County led Marion County 27-9 at the half and easily went on to claim a 55-27 victory.  Graves County tallied eight three-point goals for the game.  They were led by 6-0 Sr. Mykel Tidwell and 5-10 Jr. Michael Johnson with 19 and 14 points respectively.  Tidwell connected on five three pointers while Johnson tallied three long-range shots.  Marion County was led by 6-0 Sr. Kerry Gorley with 9 points.

Game No. 3 – Madison Central vs. Louisville Fairdale

Madison Central took a 29-19 lead at halftime and won by a score of 54-38.  The victors were led by 6-5 So. Shawn Ballard and 5-11 Sr. Dustin Gayheart with 14 and 13 points respectively.  Fairdale was led by 6-5 Sr. Anthony Milan with 14 points.  Both of these teams have some talented underclassmen and should improve as the season progresses.

Game No. 4 – Louisville Ballard vs. Christian County

Ballard took a 46-40 lead at halftime and won by a score of 98-86.  This game had plenty of offense and entertained the crowd.  Ballard was led by 5-11 Sr. David Bryant with 31 points.  Bryant has the ability to light up the scoreboard and can penetrate at will.  6-2 Jr. Sean Booker added 14 points. 6-6 Jr. David Cornwell only played the second half but managed to add 13 points.  6-3 Sr. Eric Davie and 6-0 Ryan Isom led a balanced Christian County attack with 14 points each.  5-11 Sr. Brandon Oldham and 6-1 Sr. Kevin Taylor added 12 points each.

Game No. 5 – Shelby County vs. Highlands

Highlands held a 34-26 lead at the half but Shelby County rallied to gain a 66-58 victory.  6-8 Jr. Ross Neltner led Highlands with 20 points and 9 rebounds but fouled out with 8:54 remaining in the game which severely damaged Highlands’ chances of winning.  6-4 Jr. Kevin Gilles added 12 points.  Shelby County was led by 6-3 Sr. Robert Daniels with 26 points. 6-0 Sr. Zane Williams added 13 points.

Game No. 6 – Bullitt Central vs. Glasgow

Glasgow was a little short-handed today as leading Mr. Basketball candidate Brandon Stockton was ill and could not play.  Ty Bowles was also absent because he is still involved in football playoffs.  Bullitt Central led 37-35 at the half and pulled away in the second half to claim a 77-60 decision.  The victors were led by 5-8 Jr. Chad Stivers and 6-2 Sr. Herbie Rowe with 18 and 15 points respectively.  6-3 Jr. Mark Clayton came off the bench to add 11 points.  Glasgow was led by 6-3 Jr. Ryan Landrum with 21 points.  5-8 Jr. Joe Taylor Mercer came off the bench to tally 11 points.

Game No. 7 – Paducah Tilghman vs. North Hardin

This was a great matchup to conclude the day.  Tilghman led 30-29 at the half but North Hardin rallied in the second half to gain a 72-68 victory.  This may have just been a scrimmage but both teams treated it as a championship caliber event.  North Hardin was led by 5-10 Sr. Quinton Smith, who heated up in the second half to total 23 points including four free throws in the final 21 seconds.  5-6 Sr. Larry Fox added 18 points.  Tilghman was led by their inside force 6-4 Sr. Orlandus Hill with 24 points.  Sr. Fred Perry added 13 points.

 

This was a very enjoyable day of hoops and a great way to whet your appetite for the regular season.  There were several good players on display today from the silky smooth Quinton Smith to the solid inside play of 6-8 Jr. Ross Neltner.  The whirling dervish David Bryant had another good performance – once he gets in the lane he will score.  Fans were disappointed that Brandon Stockton was unable to perform but nobody complained about the caliber of play and these were only scrimmages. 

Congratulations and thanks to Coach Hurley for putting together this event.  Hurley went 20-10 last year in his first season as a head coach, and should enjoy another fine campaign.  Also a special thanks to the sponsors:  Specialties for Success, Firstar, Blue Chip Basketball (www.basketballcamp.net), Derbytown Communications, McDonalds of Shepherdsville and Shelbyville, and Publishers Printing.