It’s a typical night for Caverna High School basketball in a girl-boy doubleheader at Barren County. Madison Faulkner, wearing number 11 for the Lady Colonels, scores nine straight points in the fourth quarter to pull her team even with the Trojanettes. She tallies 28 for the game, but Caverna comes out on the short end of a 49-44 game. Mason Faulkner, wearing number 11 for the Colonels, starts slowly but pours in 28 points in the second half to finish with 38 in a 72-62 loss to the Trojans.
Sibling rivalry is being redefined at the tiny Horse Cave school, where the Faulkner twins are using their friendly familial competition on the basketball court to elevate their games to heights few players can reach.
Madison, a 5-foot-7 guard/forward for the Lady Colonels, was the first to reach 2,000 career points when she did it last December as a junior. Mason, a 6-foot-2 combo guard, was a month or so behind his sister in reaching 2,000 points but was the first to sign to play college basketball when he decided to take his talents to Northern Kentucky University.
One of the Faulkners will wind up as the leading scorer, male or female, in Caverna basketball history. With most of the season yet to be played, the jury is still out on that one, but the verdict has been rendered on Madison and Mason: guilty of being very good on the basketball court.
How good? Good enough to attract attention to a school with a little over 200 students in all four grades. Madison, who has already broken the school’s girls’ basketball scoring record set by former Lindsey Wilson College player Rudy Brents, is being wooed by LWC, University of Pikeville, Austin Peay, Kentucky Wesleyan, and others.
And Mason? After averaging 30 points per game as a junior and enjoying a successful summer with Team Manimal on the AAU circuit, he had to sort through 21 offers from Division-I schools before deciding on NKU. Now, based on Mason’s play in December, it’s looking like the Norsemen got a steal. Displaying accuracy from long range and mid-range and improved strength near the basket, Mason is averaging better than 40 points per game to lead the state. He is also putting himself squarely in the conversation about leading candidates for the Kentucky Mr. Basketball Award given to the state’s top senior player.
“He’s a different-level kid,” says Matthew Taylor, the first-year Caverna coach who has experience coaching at the college level. “There aren’t too many like him. If he were playing at Caverna or any other school in the state, he would shine. He’s definitely special.”
Need evidence? Going up against Taylor County and Mr. Basketball front-runner Quentin Goodin, all Faulkner did was score 52 points and grab 20 rebounds in a 98-77 loss. Three nights later, he bombed Hart County for 50 points and 15 rebounds as Caverna pulled out a 94-86 victory.
Such outbursts are becoming the norm for Mason, who has stepped up his game after averaging 25 points as a sophomore and 30 last season. The slender 165-pounder with acrobatic moves and a sweet shooting stroke worthy of the ESPN generation chalks up his improvement to an old-school work ethic.
“Never stop working,” he says. “I have set some records here at Caverna, but I continue to strive. I want to be the best I can be.”
While outwardly not as driven as her twin brother, Madison displays the same fire and desire when she steps on the court. A varsity player since sixth grade, Madison has improved her production each year.
“I think I’m more aggressive than Mason,” she says, “although he is getting more aggressive. If someone goes at me, I’m going to go at them 10 times harder.”
That was evident in the Barren County game when, despite heavy attention from the Trojanette defense, Madison put together a fourth-quarter scoring spurt that nearly put the Lady Colonels over the top.
Where do the Faulkner twins get their competitiveness? From their youth-league coach, a parent, or maybe a school administrator? Yes, to all of the above, for their biggest influence is all those things rolled into one.
Cornelius Faulkner, a former Hart County High School basketball standout who played at Lindsey Wilson College, coached both twins when they were younger and is now superintendent of Caverna Independent Schools. He coached both the twins when they were young and coached the Caverna girls’ team through last season, when he had to step down when he became superintendent.
The elder Faulkner saw potential in both twins from a young age.
“Mason displayed some characteristics of being a really good player at a young age,” he says. “You could tell he was going to be a little different. Madison is just a well-rounded player, aggressive and physical.”
Having watched a little basketball over the years, Cornelius sees qualities in Mason that should make him a good player for NKU.
“He’s a three-part scorer,” the father says. “He can score off the dribble, he can shoot from the perimeter, and he has a good mid-range shot. He’s hard to guard. He has held his own against some really good competition. He goes out every night and plays as hard as he can.”
Mason attributes that drive to his father, who has gone from being his coach to being his biggest cheerleader.
“My Dad pushed me every single day growing up,” Mason says. “He helped me fall in love with the game. I have just kept competing and building my confidence.”
Madison also gives a lot of credit to her father, who was her coach from sixth grade through her junior year.
“I loved my Dad as a coach,” she says. “He taught me a lot and helped me with my basketball IQ. He’s very strict on us and expects nothing but our best. But it’s good. I’m glad he’s always around.”
As for any rivalry between the twins, Mason admits to keeping an eye on that scoring record. But he says any rivalry is of the friendly variety.
“I support her, and she supports me,” Mason says. “She even takes up for me when the referee’s calls don’t go my way.”
