After leaving Dawson Springs to take the Trigg County coaching job nine months ago, Chad Burgett knew their first meeting on the hardwood would have some intensity attached. He was right as the motivated Panthers came into Wildcat Gym Friday and handed the Wildcats a 62-59 homecoming loss.
The win by Dawson Springs snapped a 14-game losing streak to Trigg and was their first in Wildcat Gym in 20 years. Trigg County had won 32 of the previous 33 meetings prior to Friday.
Trigg County led 40-34 with 2:53 left in the third quarter when the tide of the game turn. Trigg got a steal but missed a dunk in transition. Trigg fouled on the rebound, and Dawson Springs responded by scoring five of the next seven points to end the quarter.
Trigg led 52-49 with 4:30 left on two Kendric Adams free throws. However, Adams fouled out on the next possession with 16 points and six rebounds. The Panthers answered with six straight points, including a bucket by Braxton Cotton that pushed him over the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Trigg’s last lead was at 56-55 with 1:19 left. Dylan Skinner hit three free throws, and Cotton added a put back for a 60-56 lead with 15 second left. Kion Thompson hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to bring Trigg to within 60-59. After a timeout, Cotton threw a long pass to Logan McKnight who hit a bucket as time expired for the final three-point margin.
Cotton was one of four Panthers in double figures with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Dylan Dawson added 13 points and 11 rebounds to help the Panthers own a 44-27 advantage on the boards. Skylar Clark, who entered the game averaging 18 points a game, was limited to 11 points on 5-of-20 shooting.
Jhaden Vaughn scored 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Trigg County. Jordan Miles scored 10 points.
Trigg County hit just 25-percent of their shots in the second half, including 1-of-11 from 3-point range. They finished the game at 31-percent from the floor.
Dawson Springs (6-11) will host Frederick Fraize Saturday.
Trigg County (9-11) is also on the road Saturday as they will play at Union County.
Dawson Springs 14 13 12 23—62
Trigg County 12 17 13 17—59
Dawson Springs (6-11) – Cotton 14, Pace 14, Dawson 13, Clark 11, McKnight 5, Skinner 5
Trigg County (9-11) – J. Vaughn 21, K. Adams 16, Miles 10, Thompson 5, Bridges 4, Terrell 2, K. Vaughn 1
