The Second District boys’ basketball tournament ended Thursday night with the battle between the crosstown rivals at Paducah Tilghman’s historic Otis Dinning Gymnasium. With a 58-53 finish, the McCracken County Mustangs claimed the program’s eighth district title since the school’s inception in the fall of 2013.
“It always starts with the district. We have a tough one with St. Mary, CCA, and Tilghman, which is always a big rivalry game. They came out to play and gave us a real tough test tonight,” McCracken County head coach Dustin Roberts said. “Greg (Overstreet) does a good job over there, but we talked to our guys about making our three seniors go out and cut down two sets of nets. That’s been the goal. We had a week of practice and kept emphasizing that. We had a good week of preparation but came out here and started pretty bad. They fought back like they have all year, but down the stretch, they made the plays to win the game.”
McCracken County senior Connor Miller led the Mustangs with 23 points. Sophomore Jackson Klope and junior Dylan Jackson finished double-digits for the Mustangs—Klope with 14 and Jackson with 10. For Paducah Tilghman, sophomore Miles Woodfork led all scorers in the contest with a game-high 26 points. Senior Omari Williams and junior Joshua Campbell posted a combined 20 points for the Blue Tornado.
The contest’s first half was a back-and-forth battle between the two, with Miller and Woodfork leading their respective teams. The Mustangs found themselves in foul trouble early with Klope and senior Grayson Parish but edged out Paducah Tilghman in the opening quarter with a 10-9 lead. However, Woodfork and his Blue Tornado surged in the second quarter, outscoring the Mustangs 16-12, with missed opportunities by McCracken County being Paducah Tilghman’s gain.
By halftime, Paducah Tilghman led 25-22 over McCracken County as Woodfork led the Blue Tornado with 10 points, and Jackson led the Mustangs with seven points.
The Mustangs changed the game’s pace on the hardwood in the third quarter, outscoring Paducah Tilghman by four points, with Miller taking charge of his team. On the other side of the court, Woodfork collected five points, and Campbell continued to be the glue for the Blue Tornado with four points.
The Mustangs took advantage of fouls in the fourth quarter as Miller and Klope took trips to the free-throw line for McCracken County. The duo went 6-for-8 with the addition of three points from beyond the arc from Jackson. Woodfork led the charge for Paducah Tilghman, posting 11 points to keep the Blue Tornado within striking distance as the game was down to under two minutes. However, the Mustangs were able to stay ahead and snag the title as Paducah Tilghman could not find the equalizer.
Dylan Jackson (McCracken County), Jackson Klope (McCracken County), Connor Miller (McCracken County), Joshua Campbell (Paducah Tilghman), Ahmad Wilkins (Paducah Tilghman), Miles Woodfork (Paducah Tilghman), Aidan Hahn (St. Mary), Owen Mikel (St. Mary), Luke Sims (St. Mary).
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 58, PADUCAH TILGHMAN 53
PTHS 9 16 11 17 — 53
MCHS 10 12 15 21 — 58
PTHS: M. Woodfork 26, O. Williams 10, J. Campbell 10, J. Purdiman 4, A. Thompson 3. FIELD GOALS: 18 (M. Woodfork 8, J. Campbell 4, O. Williams 4, J. Purdiman 2). 3-POINT FG: 3 (M. Woodfork 2, A. Thompson). FREE THROWS: 8/18. RECORD: 14-15
MCHS: C. Miller 23, J. Klope 14, D. Jackson 10, G. Parish 6, J. Diaz 2, J. Martin 2, O. Grogan 1. FIELD GOALS: 14 (J. Klope 5, C. Miller 3, G. Parish 3, D. Jackson 2, J. Diaz). 3-POINT FG: 5 (C. Miller 4, D. Jackson). FREE THROWS: 14/17. RECORD: 24-7