GLASGOW—Glasgow sophomore Nik Sorrell let go of a 25-foot shot just before the buzzer at the end of double overtime, watching the ball arc through the air, go into the cylinder, roll around…and fall out—sending the 15th District Tournament first-round game against crosstown-rival Barren County to a third overtime.
But while Sorrell narrowly missed the game-winner in that second extra frame, he would find the mark the next time the opportunity arose just minutes later.
Trailing 68-67 with 5.9 seconds left in triple overtime, Sorrell passed it in to fellow sophomore Jaden Franklin at the right high post, who then bounced it back to a cutting Sorrell for the game-winning layup that lifted Glasgow to a thrilling 69-68 triple overtime victory over Barren County in the first round of the 15th District Tournament on Wednesday night.
“Nik just made a play,” Glasgow coach James Willett said. “That wasn’t anything special that we drew up in the huddle. Jaden and Nik have played a lot of basketball games together, and Nik just cut real hard right there and Jaden found him.”
Sorrell saw Franklin get open at the elbow, and he knew his teammate would help him execute one of the sport’s most effective but forgotten plays: the give-and-go.
“I just saw Jaden open, and I knew if I gave it to him he would give it right back,” Sorrell said.
Glasgow (21-8) advances to the 15th District title game and clinches a spot in the Fourth Region Tournament with the win on Wednesday night, but the Scotties finally earned bragging rights in the City of Glasgow by ending a 13-game skid to the crosstown-rival Trojans.
“To get beat 13 times in a row and finally beat them is just an amazing feeling,” Glasgow senior Peyton Mills said.
Barren County (19-11) built up a 26-19 lead—seven points being the most either team would lead the entire game—late in the second quarter before Mills splashed a 3-pointer from the right wing to narrow the deficit to 26-22 heading into the locker room.
But that would not be the only time Mills would hit a clutch shot.
The Trojans extended their lead out to as many as six points in the third quarter before Mills’ desperation heave from the opposite free-throw line at the horn found the bottom of the net to engage the teams in a 38-38 deadlock heading into the fourth quarter.
Barren opened up with the first four points of the fourth before the Scotties went on a 7-0 run to take a 45-42 lead with 4:14 left in regulation. Barren County senior Jared Coomer ended the scoring drought and netted a 3-pointer from the right wing to tie it up, but the Scotties answered right back with a three-point play by Kobe Brents to own a 48-45 advantage with 3:20 to go.
The two teams traded three-point plays, and the Scotties led by three before Coomer hit a clutch 3-pointer to knot it back up at 51-all.
Barren came up with a defensive stop and attempted to hold for the final shot, but Will Bandy was called for an offensive foul with 6.9 seconds left—giving the ball back to Glasgow.
The Scotties drove down the floor and called a timeout with 2.6 ticks left to set up a lob play to Dalvin Smith for the win, but Barren County senior Tyler Smith batted the inbounds pass into Coomer’s hands—sending the game into the first overtime.
Glasgow led 59-56 late in the extra period and had a chance to win with a defensive rebound off several missed shots by the Trojans, but Coomer grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play at the charity stripe with 3.1 seconds left to force another extra session.
Sorrell began the scoring in double overtime with a layup that gave the Scotties a 61-59 lead. Coomer answered back on the ensuing possession with a basket to tie the game before Barren County freshman Gavin Withrow banked in a floater on the right side to propel the Trojans in front 63-61 with 1:16 showing on the clock.
Franklin knocked down a shot to knot it back up at 63-all with 33 seconds left, and Sorrell stole the ball with 5.9 seconds left to give the Scotties a chance for the win.
The iron was then rather cruel to Sorrell as his last-second attempt rolled out of the cylinder, and the game went into a third extra session.
Glasgow took a 66-63 lead after Mills hit a free throw with 56 seconds left in triple overtime, but the Trojans answered back with a bucket by Bandy to chip the deficit back to one. a
Mills came down and once again went 1-of-2 at the line to push the Scottie lead to two points, but Coomer converted yet another three-point play to give the lead back to the Trojans with 16.2 seconds left. Coomer cramped up between the basket and the free throw attempt, but the senior managed to go to the line and nail the clutch free throw to give Barren a 68-67 lead.
Enter Sorrell and Franklin.
Pass. Cut. Pass. Layup. Ballgame.
The Trojans did have one last opportunity to win the game, but Dalvin Smith knocked the long inbounds pass away from Coomer as time expired.
Coomer led the Trojans in the loss with 23 points and was able to make clutch shots when needed, but the Scotties were able to keep the standout senior in check for most of the night thanks to the defensive efforts of Mills.
“There’s no secret that he’s one of the best players in this region,” Willett said of Coomer. “To put a six-foot guy (Mills) on 6-7 guy that can go inside-out like that was a tough task for him, but he was up to it. We knew we had to make a little bit of a switch because he really hurt us in those first two games. He had to work for everything he got tonight, and that was the gameplan.”
Withrow and Bandy added nine and 16 points, respectively, for Barren County, who finishes the season with a mark of 19-11 and misses the Fourth Region Tournament for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
“We have nothing to hang our head about,” Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said. “There was going to be somebody walking out of here hurting tonight, and unfortunately that was us. Give Glasgow credit: they played well and made some plays, but our guys have nothing to hang our heads about.”
Mills and Franklin paced a balanced Scotties’ attack with 16 points apiece while Brents added 15. Sorrell finished with 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Glasgow.
The Scotties will now shift their focus to the 15th District Championship Game against top-seed Monroe County on Friday night at 6 p.m. The Falcons advanced to the championship with a 66-49 win over Allen County-Scottsville on Tuesday night.
Monroe County and Glasgow split during the regular season, with the Scotties recording a 80-79 victory in Tompkinsville on Dec. 15 and the Falcons notching a 61-48 win in Glasgow on Jan. 30.
