2002 S. T. Roach Classic

2002 S. T. Roach Classic

Paul L. Dunbar High School, Lexington, Kentucky
January 20, 2002

This is the 10^th annual “S. T. Roach Boys Basketball Classic” named after the legendary coach Sanford T. Roach. Coach Roach led the first Lexington Paul Laurence Dunbar High School to two Kentucky High School Athletic League state championships and two more state tournament appearances in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s Sweet 16. Coach Roach had a stellar 610-166 record over his coaching career and was noted for his ability to mold young men into excellent citizens as well as great basketball players.

There are ten teams scheduled to play in today’s event: Tates Creek, Mercer County, Henry Clay, Highlands, Clay County, Rowan County, Lafayette, Conner, Paul L. Dunbar, and Tug Valley (WV). Some key players expected to perform today are Michael Cross and Justin Taylor (Tates Creek), Joe White (Mercer County), Clay List (Henry Clay), Ross Neltner (Highlands), Angelo Smith and Richard Walker (Clay County), Chris Conn and Jordan Grevious (Rowan County), Brandon Riley and Marcus Barron (Lafayette), Jason Lafollette (Conner), Kenneth Fox (Paul L. Dunbar), Kyle Gillman and John Marcum (Tug Valley), etc.

Game 1 Mercer County (9-8) vs. Tates Creek (8-4)

Mercer County coach Stacey Hall started the following lineup: 6-3 Sr. Jason Sexton, 6-1 Jr. Casey Watts, 6-1 Sr. Robert Jones, 5-9 Jr. Brett Arness, and 6-2 Jr. Joe White. Tates Creek coach Joe Pat Covington countered with 6-2 Sr. Brad Schueler, 6-6 Sr. Patrick Gray, 6-2 Jr. Josh Bell, 6-1 Sr. LaTodd Holman, and 6-2 So. Justin Taylor.

Tates Creek hit a blasting 73.5% of their shots in the first half on their way to a 56-34 halftime lead. Tates Creek outshot Mercer County 55.1%-39.4% from the field on their way to an 87-73 victory. Tates Creek also enjoyed a 50-30 advantage on the boards. Tates Creek was led by 6-6 Sr. Patrick Gray with 22 points and eight rebounds. 6-6 Jr. Michael Cross added 21 points and 11 rebounds. Mercer County was led by 6-2 Jr. Joe White and 6-1 Jr. Casey Watts with 18 points each.

Mercer County	19	15	17	22	-	73
Tates Creek	29	27	17	14	-	87

Mercer County	(73) -	Sexton 8, Watts 18, Jones 11, Anness 5, White 18, Lyons 6, Watkins 7.
Tates Creek	(87) -	Schueler 12, Gray 22, Bell 2, Holman 7, Taylor 7, McCoy 5, M. Cross 21, Hoskins 2, Stigall 9.

Game 2 Highlands (11-3) vs. Henry Clay (8-9)

Highlands coach John Messmer started the following lineup: 6-3 Sr. Derrik Moeves, 6-3 Sr. Craig Forbes, 6-8 Jr. Ross Neltner, 6-1 Sr. Scott Liggett, and 6-1 Jr. Ryan Gross. Henry Clay coach Kirk Chiles countered with 6-6 Sr. Clay List, 5-11 Fr. Bryan Turnage, 5-10 So. Branden Coles, 5-7 Jr. Branden Bowman, and 6-0 So. Chase Mitchell.

Highlands utilized their inside-outside game to defeat Henry Clay by a score of 61-48. Highlands’ 6-8 Jr. Ross Neltner tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds and their outside marksmen connected on seven of seventeen three-point attempts. Craig Forbes added 14 points including three three-point field goals. Henry Clay was led by Clay List with 21 points. 5-8 Jr. Lamont Campbell added 16 points and six assists.

Highlands	18	11	17	15	-	61
Henry Clay	12	7	10	19	-	48

Highlands	(61) -	D. Moeves 3, Forbes 14, Neltner 18, Liggett 6, Gross 9, Hall 2, Gilles 3, Klingenberg 2, Miller 2, Guidugli 2.
Henry Clay	(48) -	List 21, Turnage 0, Coles 5, Bowman 3, Mitchell 2, Campbell 16, Patterson 1.

Game 3 Rowan County (14-2) vs. Clay County (9-7)

Rowan County coach Don Daniel started the following lineup: 6-3 Sr. Chris Ginter, 6-2 Sr. Jordan Grevious, 6-6 Jr. Chris Conn, 5-10 Sr. Cody Sorrell, and 6-3 Sr. Paul Rhodes. Clay County coach Mike Jones countered with 6-5 Fr. Rodney Mitchell, 6-4 So. Brian Griffin, 6-3 Sr. Richard Walker, 5-9 Jr. Angelo Smith, and 5-9 So. Brian Sizemore.

Rowan County took an 11-0 lead but Clay County caught up and took a 17-15 lead at halftime. The score was tied 36-36 at the end of three quarters but Rowan County pulled away in the closing minutes to gain a 53-46 decision. The victors were by 6-2 Sr. Jordan Grevious, 6-6 Jr. Chris Conn, and 6-3 Sr. Chris Ginter with 14, 12, and 10 points respectively. Clay County was led by 6-4 So. Brian Griffin with 16 points. 6-5 Fr. Rodney Mitchell added 10 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.

Rowan County	11	4	21	17	-	53
Clay County	6	11	19	10	-	46

Rowan County	(53) -	Ginter 10, Grevious 14, Conn 12, Sorrell 5, Rhodes 9, Scott 3.
Clay County	(46) -	Mitchell 10, Griffin 16, Walker 9, Smith 9, Sizemore 2.

Game 4 Conner (6-7) vs. Lafayette (9-7)

Conner coach Scott Thomas started the following lineup: 6-1 Sr. Derek Warnick, 6-0 Jr. Chuck Houston, 6-7 Sr. Jason Lafollette, and 5-10 Sr. Will Foltz, and 6-1 Jr. Justin Hansman. Lafayette coach Don Adkins countered with 6-4 Jr. Kevin Grantlin, 6-5 So. Nic Mullins, 6-1 Sr. Brandon Riley, 6-1 Jr. Gene Cotton, and 6-0 So. Marcus Barron.

Conner led Lafayette 14-7 after the first quarter but Lafayette rallied to take a 30-28 lead at the half. Lafayette held on in the second half to take a 62-56 decision. Lafayette’s pressure defense forced 14 Conner turnovers which resulted in 20 points. Lafayette was led by 6-1 Sr. Brandon Riley, 6-0 So. Marcus Barron, and 6-1 Jr. Gene Cotton with 19, 16, and 13 points respectively. Conner was led by 6-1 Jr. Justin Hansman and 6-0 Jr. Josh Raney with 16 points each.

Conner	14	14	9	19	-	56
Lafayette	7	23	15	17	-	62

Conner	(56) -	Warnick 2, Houston 8, Lafollette 8, Foltz 2, Hansman 16, Burman 2, Raney 16, Kuhn 2.
Lafayette	(62) -	Grantlin 9, Mullins 1, Riley 19, Cotton 13, Barron 16, Bauman 4.

Game 5 Tug Valley (WV) vs. Paul L. Dunbar

This event was scheduled for January 19^th but was postponed because of the heavy snowfall in the Lexington area. West Virginia high school athletic association rules prohibit their schools from playing on Sunday, so this game was postponed until a later date.

Conclusion

Congratulations to Paul Laurence Dunbar and the sponsors for putting on this fine event. Also congratulations to Allen Penn of Paul Laurence Dunbar for winning the “S. T. Roach Sportsmanship Award”. One of the highlights of this annual event is the appearance of Mr. Sanford T. Roach, who epitomizes class and dignity. A special thanks to the WL Stats crew for providing the stats for the games.

Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the tournament, teams, or players to me at prephoops@yahoo.com .