On Thursday night, the McCracken County Mustangs returned home to Strawberry Hills Pharmacy Arena in a highly anticipated matchup against the visiting University Heights Academy Blazers. With an all-out battle from tip-off to the final buzzer, the Mustangs handed UHA the program’s first loss of the 2023-24 season with a 71-67 finish.
“That’s a really good basketball team that we just played—high-powered offensively, athletic and long. I’m proud of our guys on the defensive end,” head coach Dustin Roberts said. “Late in the game, when UHA got in a desperate situation down about five-six, we got a bit leaky defensively, but for the most part, I thought we were really good defensively.”
With the victory over the Blazers, the Mustangs continue the program’s six-game win streak that began on February 23, 2021, with a 64-62 overtime finish. The last victory for UHA over McCracken County came on December 17, 2016.
McCracken County senior Connor Miller led all scorers in the contest with 22 points, leading the charge for the Mustangs with help from younger squad members Jay Martin, Jackson Klope, and Caden Fulcher. The trio of one sophomore and two freshmen posted 35 points for the Mustangs.
“Offensively, we made some shots, not many were from the foul line,” Roberts said. “But from the floor, we shot it well. I’m proud of them for coming out and having a good start because our games have not yet had good starts.”
The first quarter of the contest began with neither team being able to strike first offensively. However, the Mustangs got on the scoreboard with 5:30 left in the opening quarter courtesy of Miller, who went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe. University Heights answered with a 3-pointer by Tylin George, and from there, the aggressive and intense contest kept a fast-paced tone.
The Mustangs inched away at the 3-1 lead, with Dylan Jackson going 1-for-2 in free throws. Like Jackson and Miller’s appearances at the line early in the game, McCracken County would continue throughout the contest with struggles while taking free throws.
“Sixth period today, we shot free throws for 20 minutes in pressure situations, just different things, mixing it up,” Roberts said. “And we still came out and shot it that way. We don’t want to overstress it, but at the same time, it will be addressed. Rep-wise, we’ll be shooting plenty of those tomorrow.”
The Mustangs went 16-for-34 in free throws, which kept University Heights within striking distance throughout the contest. Despite the smothering defense from UHA against the Stangs, the Blazers escaped fouls by officials and took an 11-8 lead over McCracken County in the first quarter.
With 6:57 on the clock in the second quarter, Fulcher’s 3-point shot knotted the score at 11-11, sending the Mustang faithful into a cheerful uproar throughout the gymnasium. The two teams continued to battle, finding themselves in foul trouble early. Minutes later, Jackson allowed McCracken County to take a 23-21 lead over the Blazers
Sophomore Carter Hawes added to the Mustang lead, going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe with one minute left until halftime. McCracken County continued to lead over University Heights, who came into the contest undefeated with a big win over the Murray Tigers earlier in the week. The score increased by seven courtesy of Fulcher’s 3-pointer. At the buzzer, Miller made it a 31-23 ballgame with a three.
At halftime, the Mustangs outscored the Blazers 31-23 in the contest’s first half.
Despite the Mustangs keeping a lead, the third quarter favored the Blazers, who posted 20 points to McCracken County’s 14. Quinton Quarles and George posted 3-point shots with perfect timing as the Mustangs struggled at the line. In the third quarter, McCracken County went 1-for-7 at the line, the lone successful shot coming from Jackson.
With a 45-43 difference, the Mustangs held the lead going into the final quarter in regulation at Strawberry Hills. McCracken County outscored the Blazers 26-24 in the quarter, but coming out with the win was no small task as Jackson fouled out for the Mustangs while Quarles and Elijah Walton fouled out for UHA.
For McCracken in the final quarter, it was all hands on deck with shots from Martin, Miller, Jackson, Klope, and Fulcher. With both teams in the bonus, the Mustangs found themselves at the free-throw line 16 times in the quarter—making nine to inch closer to the victory.
McCracken County will head to Calloway County on Saturday for the Ken-Tenn Classic, where they will face Memphis East (TN) at 3:30 p.m. before returning home to host the Mayfield Cardinals on Tuesday.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 71, UNIVERSITY HEIGHT ACADEMY 67
UHA 11 12 20 24 — 67
MCHS 8 23 14 26 — 71
UHA: T. George 18, Q. Quarles 13, E. Walton 11, G. Grubbs 9, B. Northington 7, K. Baker 5, M. Harrett 4. FIELD GOALS: 14 (E. Walton 5, G. Grubbs 4, K. Baker 2, M. Harrett 2, B. Northington 2). 3-POINT FG: 10 (T. George 6, Q. Quarles 3, B. Northington). FREE THROWS: 5/11. RECORD: 3-1.
MCHS: C. Miller 22, J. Martin 14, J. Klope 11, C. Fulcher 10, D. Jackson 8, G. Parish 4, C. Hawes 2. FIELD GOALS: 17 (C. Miller 6, J. Klope 5, G. Parish 2, J. Martin 2, D. Jackson 2). 3-POINT FG: 7 (J. Martin 3, C. Miller 2, C. Fulcher 2). FREE THROWS: 16/34. RECORD: 3-1.