On Friday night, the McCracken County Mustang basketball programs invited a familiar regional foe into Strawberry Hills Pharmacy Arena. With the Marshall County Marshals in town, the two First Region rivals wrapped up their regular season meetings with the Mustangs honoring seniors. The Lady Mustangs defeated the Marshals with a 65-34 finish, and the Mustangs took a 67-60 victory to complete the sweep.
The Mustangs honored seniors Connor Miller, Zander Smith, Grayson Parish, Claire Johnson, Mikee Buchanan, Jayden Skaggs, Megan Swinford, and Lady Mustang manager Audrey Hunt with head coaches Dustin Roberts and Scott Sivills. Additionally, McCracken County honored the senior all-girl cheer team and dance team.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 65, MARSHALL COUNTY 34
The Lady Mustangs returned to Strawberry Hills Pharmacy for their penultimate home contest. With senior Claire Johnson leading the charge and dropping 29 points, McCracken County handed the Lady Marshals a 65-34 loss.
“They played big, and I thought every one of our seniors did a wonderful job tonight. I thought Megan Swinford played a really good game, getting her first start and coming in to give us a big lift early—playing big minutes. I thought CJ [Claire Johnson] was terrific, and she keeps doing what she does best,” head coach Scott Sivills said. “Mikee had four or five great looks tonight. Her leadership, rebounding, running the floor, and hand on the basketball were phenomenal. Jayden Skaggs was unbelievable, the way she played and competed. If we do what we did tonight, we’re going to be hard to beat down the stretch.
Seniors Jayden Skaggs and Mikee Buchanan also finished in double digits for McCracken County. Skaggs collected 13 points, and Buchanan tallied 10 in the win. For Marshall County, senior Chevelle Henson led the Lady Marshals with nine points.
The Mustangs jumped on the board in the opening half with a 10-0 run before Henson’s basket to end the McCracken County surge. However, the Mustangs’ tight defense kept Marshall County in trouble with five turnovers early. As Johnson collected 14 points, the Mustangs pushed ahead to a 32-8 lead to conclude the opening quarter.
By halftime, the Lady Mustangs held a 51-18 lead over Marshall County, with Johnson leading all scorers with 25 points in the first two quarters. Despite Henson commanding the court for the Lady Marshals with eighth-grader Jessica Reed at her side, Marshall County could not overcome the explosive offense from the early quarters. McCracken County pushed ahead in the third quarter, scoring 12 to Marshall County’s eight. The Lady Marshals posted eight in the fourth quarter, holding McCracken County to two points.
MCHS 8 10 8 8 — 34
MCHS 32 19 12 2 — 65
MCHS: C. Henson 9, J. Reed 8, L. Schroader 7, E. Sandlin 5, A. Wall 2, R. Darnell 2, J. Wells 1. FIELD GOALS: 12 (J. Reed 4, C. Henson 4, L. Schroader 2, R. Darnell, A. Wall). 3-POINT FG: 1 (E. Sandlin). FREE THROWS: 7/14. RECORD: 19-7.
MCHS: C. Johnson 29, J. Skaggs 13, M. Buchanan 10, R. Hill 7, A. Hughes 6. FIELD GOALS: 14 (C. Johnson 6, R. Hill 3, J. Skaggs 3, M. Buchanan 2). 3-POINT FG: 5 (C. Johnson 2, J. Skaggs 2, M. Buchanan). FREE THROWS: 19/24. RECORD: 22-4.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 67, MARSHALL COUNTY 60
The McCracken County Mustangs moved to 2-1 over the Marshall County Marshals this season with the 67-60 finish, with senior Connor Miller leading the charge. After the tip, McCracken County senior Zander Smith made the first basket for the Mustangs, honoring him on senior night after facing a season-ending injury last fall.
“I want to thank the Marshall coaches, our coaches, and my team because that’s one thing I’ll remember forever because that was amazing,” Smith said. “My team fought until the end and was able to get me in at the last couple of seconds, and that was one of the best feelings I’ve had. It was awesome. We have a group of dogs here; no matter what you say or think, they will fight until the end.”
Marshall County freshman Matthew Langhi led all scorers in the contest with 20 points for the Marshals. McCracken County’s additional double-digit athletes came in the form of junior Dylan Jackson and sophomore Jackson Klope. Jackson finished with 16 and Klope with 13.
For Marshall County, junior Alex Staples finished with 14 points. The Mustangs held Staples to three points in the first two-quarters of the contest, an accomplishment, as Staples is the leading scorer for his team.
The Mustangs pushed ahead in the opening quarter against the Marshals with scoring coming from Miller, senior Grayson Parish, and sophomore Owen Grogan. Grogan’s two came from the free-throw line. Aside from the two points for senior Logan Parker, for Marshall County, Langhi found himself at the charity stripe. Langhi went 1-for-4 at the line but led the Marshals with three of the five points.
The Marshals outscored McCracken County in the second quarter, finding a rhythm and taking advantage with Staples, Langhi, and junior Tommy Robertson all making appearances at the line. Five of Marshall County’s 14 points in the second quarter came from free throws. Parish led the Mustangs at halftime with seven points.
McCracken County pushed ahead in the third quarter, outscoring Marshall County 21-17, with Klope surging, posting seven of the 21 points. Additionally, six of the Mustang points came from beyond the arc. In the fourth quarter, both teams posted 24 points. However, it was the Mustangs who were able to edge out their First Region rival as freshman Jay Martin, Miller, Jackson, and Klope all took trips to the line—making 13 out of 16 shots to claim the win.
MCHS 5 14 17 24 — 60
MCHS 11 11 21 24 — 67
MCHS: M. Langhi 20, A. Staples 14, T. Robertson 9, O. Phelps 5, R. Stokes 5, L. Parker 4, K. Mohler 3. FIELD GOALS: 12 (M. Langhi 3, T. Robertson 2, A. Staples 2, L. Parker 2, O. Phelps 2, R. Stokes). 3-POINT FG: 7 (A. Staples 2, M. Langhi 2, R. Stokes, T. Robertson, K. Mohler). FREE THROWS: 15/20. RECORD: 18-7.
MCHS: C. Miller 17, D. Jackson 16, J. Klope 13, G. Parish 9, O. Grogan 5, J. Martin 3, Z. Smith 2, C. Fulcher 2. FIELD GOALS: 18 (C. Miller 6, J. Klope 5, G. Parish 4, D. Jackson 2, Z. Smith). 3-POINT FG: 4 (D. Jackson 2, C. Miller). FREE THROWS: 19/22. RECORD: 22-7.