GLASGOW – Allen County-Scottsville keeps on rolling.
For a team that won just nine total games a season ago, the Patriots’ turnaround so far into the 2019 campaign has been nothing short of special – and the magic continued to happen on Friday night as ACS defeated rival Glasgow 62-59 to win its 15th game of the year and remain undefeated in District 15 play.
“I think it’s big because not only have we won all our district games, but they’ve all been on the road, too,” Allen County-Scottsville guard Mason Shirley said. “It’s very hard to play in this district. It was good for Barren (County) to beat Monroe (County) tonight and put us two games ahead of everybody. I think it just shows a lot about this team and the character that we have.”
The Patriots (15-2 overall, 3-0 District 15) played a sluggish opening quarter and trailed 12-5 but outscored Glasgow 21-10 in the second to take a 26-22 lead into the locker room at halftime. Allen County-Scottsville continued to stay in front throughout the second half and was able to hold off the Scotties for a tough district road victory.
Mason Shirley led the way for the Patriots with a game-high 22 points, while Brett Rippy scored 14 and Cayden Ross added nine.
Tucker Kirkpatrick carried Glasgow (9-6, 1-2) with 14 points, while Tayshaun Bradley and Nik Sorrell each tallied 13 and Bowen Haney added nine.
Glasgow caught fire early, opening the game with 3-pointers on its first two possessions en route to building a 10-0 lead at the 4:05 mark of the first quarter. Allen County-Scottsville responded with five straight points – highlighted by a Shirley and-one – but the Scotties held a 12-5 lead after one.
“I’m proud of the way they fought,” Glasgow head coach James Willett said. “I felt like ACS beat us to a lot of 50-50 balls most of the game. They’re really having a great year and playing for each other. But at the end of the day, I am proud of our kids’ fight.”
The Patriots bounced back from a sluggish start with a dominant second period. Trailing 16-9 after Bradley scored for Glasgow, Allen County-Scottsville put together a quick 7-0 run to even the scoreboard at 16-all at the 4:01 mark.
The two sides exchanged baskets over the next two minutes, but the Patriots closed the half with scores on back-to-back possessions to lead 26-22 at the break.
“We never think we’re out of a game,” Shirley said. “When it got 10-0, we stayed calm. Our shots weren’t falling, and they were hitting everything. We knew they would hit shots and knew they had a chance to beat us, but we just chipped away and chipped away.”
Things remained tightly contested throughout the ensuing half.
After leading 29-23 at the 6:23 mark of the third quarter, Allen County-Scottsville’s advantage was trimmed to 31-28 just over two minutes later. However, the Patriots fired back and closed the period with a momentum-swinging 7-2 run – including back-to-back scores from Ross and Shirley – to take a 45-35 lead into the fourth.
A big 3-pointer from Shirley pushed Allen County-Scottsville’s advantage to 48-37 with just under six minutes remaining. Despite being down 11, Glasgow continued to battle – and Bradley’s triple, followed by a converted and-one from Haney – brought it to within 53-45 with just over three minutes left.
Kirkpatrick’s 3 from the left corner cut the Patriots’ advantage to just 55-50, and Robert Kingery’s tough bucket inside later helped the Scotties get within 57-55 with 43 seconds left. Allen County-Scottsville fired back with four straight points, and Jax Cooper’s transition layup capped it.
“The kids … they fight hard, they believe in themselves, but we just tend to make things a little too chaotic and sloppy in times that we shouldn’t,” Bonds said. “But again, they’re still learning how to win. It was a good challenge and battle test for us to see that you’re down by 10, now what can you do? Our kids played with a lot of emotion.”
Both teams return to action Saturday in the semifinal round of the inaugural Kentucky 2A Championship Sectional Tournament at Hopkins County Central High School. Glasgow will face Calloway County at 2 p.m., while Allen County-Scottsville meets Webster County at 6 p.m.
Allen County-Scottsville – 5 21 19 17 – 62
Glasgow – 12 10 13 24 – 59
ACS – Mason Shirley 22, Brett Rippy 14, Cayden Ross 9, Bryce Carter 9, Jax Cooper 4, Chase Ward 2, Owen Stamper 2.
GHS – Tucker Kirkpatrick 14, Nik Sorrell 13, Tayshaun Bradley 13, Bowen Haney 9, Robert Kingery 7, Landon Frasier 3.
Lady Scotties roll past Lady Patriots
Glasgow is starting to get to where it wants to be.
Now sporting a six-game win streak and a perfect 3-0 mark in District 15 play after rolling past rival Allen County-Scottsville, 61-35, on Friday at Glasgow High School, the Lady Scotties are excited about where they stand at the midway point of the season.
“It’s huge to be 3-0 in this district,” Glasgow head coach Justin Stinson said. “Ever since I’ve been here, it’s been the toughest district in the region and one of the toughest in the state. Always three really quality teams, so to be 3-0 and have a win over all three is really, really big.”
Glasgow – now 13-3 through 26 games – took Allen County-Scottsville out of its usual rhythm and made everything tough for Lady Patriot stars Sarah Sutton (10 points) and Mason Towery (8), who finished with a combined 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting. The Lady Scotties finished with a 44-24 edge in the rebounding category and held ACS to just 13-of-52 (25 percent) shooting on the night.
The Lady Scotties led 14-10 after the opening quarter, took a 29-16 lead into the locker room at halftime and dominated throughout the second half. Ashanti Gore finished with a game-high 16 points and was one of four players in double figures for Glasgow, as Amande Lee registered a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, Dynasti Page scored 13 points and KJ Hughes registered an 11-point, 12-rebound outing.
Glasgow shot 45.7 percent from the field and finished with a 20-2 advantage in points in the paint.
“We told them before the game that this would be a defense and rebounding game,” Stinson said. “At one point in the first half, we were up 18-4 on the glass – and I thought that’s what set the tone. Our ability to get offensive rebounds, our ability to go get misses and our ability to limit them to one shot each time down. We’ve been a great rebounding team all year – and tonight was no different.”
Chloe Cook paced the Lady Patriots (13-4, 1-2) with 11 points.
The two sides played a competitive first quarter.
After Allen County-Scottsville took a 4-2 lead at the 5:20 mark, Glasgow put together an 8-0 run – highlighted by four points from Gore – to jump in front 10-4 with 2:48 left in the quarter. Although she didn’t record a single point in the first 5:26 of the game, Sutton made up for it with six points to cut the Lady Patriots’ deficit to 14-10 after one.
Opening the second with a pair of quick buckets, Glasgow pushed its lead to 18-10 and triggered an ACS timeout. The Lady Patriots scored on a jumper from Grace Tuttle out of the break, but the Lady Scotties answered with five straight points to go up 23-12 at the 3:16 mark.
Towery’s score brought Allen County-Scottsville within single digits at 23-14, but Glasgow held a double-digit advantage of 29-16 at the break.
A 6-0 run to open the second half pushed the Lady Scotties’ lead to 35-18 at the 4:24 mark of the third quarter. The Lady Patriots responded with baskets on back-to-back possessions, but Page’s 3-pointer put Glasgow up 38-23 – and it later took a 42-26 lead into the final period.
Lee began the fourth with back-to-back buckets to give the Lady Scotties a 46-26 lead – their largest of the contest. Taking advantage of the comfortable advantage, Glasgow was able to cruise throughout the final minutes and record a marquee district road victory.
Both teams return to action Saturday in the semifinal round of the inaugural Kentucky 2A Championship Sectional Tournament at Hopkins County Central High School. Glasgow will face Calloway County at Noon, while Allen County-Scottsville meets Webster County at 4 p.m.
Allen County-Scottsville – 10 6 10 9 – 35
Glasgow – 14 15 13 19 – 61
ACS – Chloe Cook 11, Sarah Sutton 10, Mason Towery 8, Taylor Carter 2, Grace Tuttle 2, Haleigh Steenbergen 2.
GHS – Ashanti Gore 16, Amanda Lee 14, Dynasti Page 13, KJ Hughes 11, Kayla Bradley 7.
