Worth County’s boys made a run at a third straight district title, but fell short to Pattonsburg Saturday 63-53. The Tigers had lost 70-37 to the Panthers earlier this year, a game in which Pattonsburg had done whatever they wanted to with Worth County. But in the second meeting between the two teams, Worth County fought until the end.
Coach Mark Fletcher credited his assistant, Daniel Gladstone, for the turnaround season, in which they got a winning season after hitting a low point with a 50 point loss to North Andrew in December. “He did most of the work, I just did the cheering and hollering,” he said. He said that Caleb Parman had been playing up to his potential during last week’s games. “I’ve been looking for him to do that all year,” he said.
Both sides traded buckets to start off the game until Jackson Runde’s pullup with 3:34 left in the first put Worth County in front 9-8. Pattonsburg had gotten numerous layups off their backdoor looks in the first game, but only got one in the second half, as Worth County did a much better job closing that off.
Then, it threatened to get out of hand as Pattonsburg got up by 10. Cameron Jones hit a free throw, Trevor Ireland scored off a drive, Connor Ireland hit a 3-pointer, Trevor Ireland hit a free throw, and Carter Crone scored from inside as Pattonsburg went up 17-9. Jackson Runde drove the right side to close the Tigers to within 17-11, but Crone scored from inside and Dillon Turner came off the bench to score from inside to make it 21-11.
The interior game of Carter Crone and Connor Ireland, which had eaten North Harrison alive in Thursday’s semifinal game, was eating Worth County alive as well. They were helping out hard and rotating well on defense, meaning everything for Worth County was contested.
But all of a sudden, Worth County realized they could play basketball with Pattonsburg and started making tough shot after tough shot to get back in the game. Caleb Parman got a drive and a pullup, then stripped a green shirt after a defensive board and put it back in. Alex Rinehart added a guarded three to make it 21-18. Conner Ireland hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for Pattonsburg to restore order for the time being, and Pattonsburg went into the locker room with a 26-22 halftime lead.
Pattonsburg began the second half by making a concerted effort to put the game away with their transition game. They had gotten away from it in the first half, but Cameron Jones was flying down the court at will for much of the third quarter and for part of the fourth. Caleb Parman cut it to three with a drive after a pass from Alex Rinehart with 6:22 left, but then Cameron got loose in transition and made it 33-25 after Connor Ireland had dropped a 3-pointer for the Panthers. The lead grew to nine when consecutive transition baskets from Cameron Jones made it 39-30 with 3:10 left.
Worth County started fighting back as Jackson Runde scored off a pullup and Alex Rinehart hit a guarded three. Aydan Gladstone followed with a steal, and all of a sudden, the deficit was down to two. Following a five seconds call, Alex Rinehart hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Aydan Gladstone hit Bryant McCord backdoor to put Worth County in front 42-39 before Cameron Jones hit a guarded shot from the top of the key with his foot on the line to make it 42-41.
But then Cameron Jones took over again, getting behind the Tiger defense once again. Supersub Dillon Turner followed with a drive to put Pattonsburg back up 45-42. Jackson Runde drove down the left side, but Carter Crone got a putback and Cameron Jones finished after the green shirts stole the ball to make it 49-44. Pattonsburg had 12 fast break points in the second half, compared to none in the first half.
The game threatened to get out of hand again as Patrick Cowley scored from inside, Carter Crone hit two free throws, and Cowley scored off a drive to make it 55-46. But Jackson Runde kept Worth County’s chances alive with a 3-pointer. Connor Ireland bulldozed his way to a basket to make it 57-49, but Aydan Gladstone scored after Bryant McCord kept a possession alive with an offensive board and Alex Rinehart added a three throw after Pattonsburg threw it away, making it 57-52 with 1:24 left.
But Cameron Jones hit a free throw, Alex Rinehart got a steal only to get it blocked by the green shirts flying back down the court, and Worth County had to start fouling. Pattonsburg hit 5 for 6 the rest of the way to seal the victory.
Jackson Runde and Alex Rinehart each had 15 for Worth County. Caleb Parman had 13, Aydan Gladstone 8, and Bryant McCord 2.
For the second straight game, Bryant McCord had double figures in rebounding. He had 11 boards for the night. Jackson Runde had 6, Alex Rinehart 4, Aydan Gladstone 3, and Caleb Parman 3.
Aydan Gladstone had 8 assists. Caleb Parman had 4, Jackson Runde 2, Alex Rinehart 1, and Bryant McCord 1.
Aydan Gladstone had 8 tips. Alex Rinehart had 5, Jackson Runde and Bryant McCord 2, and Caleb Parman 1. Aydan Gladstone had 6 steals. Bryant McCord had 5, and Alex Rinehart and Jackson Runde had 2. Worth County got a lot more tips and steals than in the first game; they had 18 tips and 15 steals Saturday, while only surrendering the ball seven times.
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