Western Kentucky signee Jackson Harlan scored a game-high 26 points and Seth Stockton finished with 20 to lead Clinton County to a dominant 73-52 win over Allen County-Scottsville in the Boys’ Region 4 Tournament quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Bulldogs (24-7) – champions of District 16 – led 19-12 after the opening quarter before outscoring ACS 22-8 in the second to build a 41-22 lead at halftime. CCHS was able to maintain its double-digit advantage throughout the second half and extend its season.
“I thought we did a great job of getting back to work yesterday and getting a game plan in,” Clinton County coach Todd Messer said. “Our kids came out and played beautifully the first half. Give Allen County a lot of credit on a great year. Our kids did what we asked them to do and they shut down a very good basketball team offensively.”
While Harlan and Stockton combined for 46 points, Chase Stines added 12 for the Bulldogs.
Brett Rippy paced the Patriots (23-9) with 16 points in their season-ending defeat.
With Clinton County’s win, it’ll now face Bowling Green (25-5) at 6 p.m. Friday in a regional semifinal.
“We’ll take tomorrow off, and then that gives us three days to get ready for Bowling Green, a really, really good basketball team,” Messer said. “It doesn’t really matter who we’re playing as long as we’re playing. This group of kids expect to win.”
Clinton County came out hot, opening the game with a 6-2 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Stockton and Harlan. Another 3 from Harlan made it 9-7, and a jumper from Stockton made it 15-12 at the 1:42 mark.
Mason Shirley’s score with 36.2 seconds left in the first quarter brought Allen County-Scottsville within 17-14, but Harlan scored just before the buzzer to put the Bulldogs up 19-14 after one.
Clinton County controlled the second period, outscoring ACS 22-8 to build a near-20-point advantage at the break. A 5-0 run to open the quarter made it 24-14, and another run – this one a 7-0 – extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 35-20 at the 1:34 mark.
“We did not make shots – and they did,” Allen County-Scottsville coach Brad Bonds said. “It seemed like the more we got up in them, the more they made shots – and that’s the nature of the game. They scored more points. They were really, really good and a team that was playing with the composure and the experience of being on this floor for many years. I thought that was definitely an advantage for them.”
Back-to-back triples from Stockton and Harlan – Harlan’s being a buzzer-beater – sent Clinton County into the locker room leading 41-22.
A Stockton basket, which was followed by a Harlan free throw, gave the Bulldogs a 48-25 lead at the 6:07 mark of the third – and it was soon pushed to 55-32 with just under two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Taking a 58-35 lead into the fourth, Clinton County was able to cruise throughout the final eight minutes and move into the next round.
“I thought we did what we should do being that we’ve expected to do some special things this year,” Messer said. “The environment, the stage wasn’t even on the radar. All we thought about one game, let’s move on. We’re expecting to make a run. Really proud of our kids. Great team effort.”
ACSHS – 14 8 13 17 — 52
CCHS – 19 22 17 15 — 73
ACS – Rippy 16, Carter 8, Shirley 7, Stamper 6, Ross 4, McIntrye 4, Cooper 3, Smith 3, Ford 1.
CC – Harlan 26, Stockton 20, Stines 12, Guffey 4, Pruitt 2, Hay 2, Brown 2, Tallent 2, Madison 2, Dearborn 1.
