Tiger Boys Use 26 Point 3rd Quarter to Down Maysville

Worth County's boys used a 26-point third quarter to down Maysville 62-47 and get back on track following a 70-43 loss to South Harrison in a gym and against a team with which they have historically not played well against. It was the second straight long road game for Worth County and both teams were sluggish coming out of the gate as Worth County could only manage a shot from the right side and an inside shot from Jordan Harding and a free throw from Todd Harding. Maysville, which constantly put five players in and five players out in an effort to wear down Worth County with their bench depth, answered with a fast break bucket from Drew Lippold and free throws from Josh Silver as Worth County led 5-4 after one quarter.

Worth County finally got some cushion in the second as Bryce Ross deflected an offensive board to Alex Harmening for a putback. Free throws from Brian Hall and Alex Harmening and Todd Harding gave Worth County a 13-6 lead with 3:51 left. But then Todd Harding picked up his third foul and sat on the bench until the beginning of the fourth quarter. Eli Mullock also picked up his third foul. In the meantime, Maysville kept hanging around as they traded buckets with Worth County for the most part as Worth County was having trouble against their trapping zone. However, they were up 18-12 at the half.

Coach Chris Healy elected to sit Todd Harding with his three fouls for the third quarter, and the move paid off as everything started to fall. Bryce Ross, who had only scored two points in the first half, finally got going as he scored from the right baseline and then cut inside. He would score 18 in the second half after only scoring two in the first for a total of 20. Jordan Harding took a charge and then Brian Hall made a head fake and scored against the trap to make it 24-14. Kent Munson scored to make it 24-16, but then Alex Harmening hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and Bryce Ross followed with a steal and drive with 5:20 left to make it 29-16.

Taylor Merritt cut it to 29-18 but then Ross continued to carry the team, cutting inside for a basket, leaping into the stands to deflect a ball to Alex Harmening who went in for a layup, and then Jordan Harding scored an off-balance shot off a drive to make it 35-18. Jordan Harding, normally a role player, was on fire that night, getting a career high 13 points. Ross then added a fast break against the trap and then cut inside for a layup before Wyatt McClain aired out a long pass to Travis Troutwine for a 3-pointer to make it 44-27 after three quarters of play.

But then Maysville began to come back as their deep bench began to wear out Worth County as they fought back to within 48-36 with 5:37 left. Kent Munson was on fire during the run, getting seven of Maysville's nine points during the 9-2 run. Todd Harding finally got untracked, hitting a pair of free throws and a shot to keep it at 50-38 but then Dakota Peterson hit a 3-pointer following a jumped pass and then Munson added two free throws to make it 50-43 with 3:39 left. Bryce Ross beat the press to make it nine, but then Drew Lippold scored off a backdoor layup and then Michael Strong scored from inside to make it 52-47 with 2:27 left.

But then Todd Harding came through, driving against the trap and getting a layup to get Worth County back on track. Jordan Harding hit a pair of free throws following a steal in the post and then Bryce Ross took a charge on defense. Ross hit two free throws, followed by free throws from Jordan Harding and Travis Troutwine before Eli Mullock got a steal and drive in the closing seconds.