It was set up to be a battle of two teams expected to contend for regional titles. The McCracken County Mustangs, who won the 2020 1st Region championship traveled to Hopkinsville Tuesday night to square off against the University Heights Academy Blazers, who are among a handful of teams figured to have a chance at claiming the 2021 2nd Region title.
Oftentimes, games that have that kind of potential do not live up to the hype. That was not the case Tuesday evening at Blazer Gym.
McCracken County’s Noah Dumas hit a driving shot in the paint with 1.8 seconds to go in overtime to complete a second half rally and give McCracken County a heart-pounding 64-62 win over University Heights in a game that would have been worthy of being played in Rupp Arena during the Sweet 16.
Dumas’ game-winning shot was only possible due to the Mustangs rallying from five points down in the final 40 seconds of regulation. With the Blazers appearing to be on the verge of a signature win, leading 55-50, Cason Tilford drilled a three with 39.6 seconds to go, followed by Dumas knocking down a shot with 15 seconds to go to even things up at 55.
McCracken County actually had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a forced, off-balance shot from Dumas came up just short as the horn sounded.
The Mustangs opened the game Tuesday night like they were going to “gallop” away with the win. With Ian McCune and Cason Tilford connecting early, McCracken County bolted out to a 14-5 lead.
The Blazers then caught fire in the form of D.J. Quarles and ripped off a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the night at 15-14. The Blazers would hold a 20-16 lead as the quarter came to an end.
While the first quarter was played at a frenetic pace, things settled in quickly in the second quarter. Neither team led by more than four points in the second quarter of play, which ended with the Mustangs clinging to a 31-30 halftime lead.
One of the big stories in the first half was rebounding. UHA was able to hang right with the taller Mustangs by outrebounding them 14-11.
UHA looked to take control of the game in the opening moments of the second half. With McCracken County up 33-30, K.J. Crump got things cranked up and led the Blazers on an 8-0 run and into a 38-33 lead. UHA would lead by as many as eight points in the quarter, before settling in with a 47-42 lead at the quarter’s end.
McCracken opened the final quarter cutting the lead to 52-50. However, K.J. Crump knocked down three of four free throws to move the lead out to 55-50 and put the Blazers in a seemingly comfortable position, before the Mustangs pulled off their furious finish at the end of regulation.
McCracken County did a much better job coming down to the finish than other Blazer opponents against the UHA spread offense. The tall and lanky Mustangs went to a “hard” half-court trap, and it was effective, forcing the Blazers into 15 second half turnovers, several of those coming as the Mustangs made their move to force overtime. The Blazers would finish the night with 20 turnovers.
The Blazers did finish the night outrebounding the taller Mustangs 27 to 22.
UHA was led by K.J. Crump, who finished with 21 points, 16 of them coming after halftime. Amani McGee added 15, while D.J. Quarles finished with 13 points, but only three of those coming in the second half of play. He would foul out of the game with 1:41 left in overtime.
Noah Dumas was one of three Mustangs to hit double figures with 16. Ian Hart and Brant Brower finished with 13 and 12 points respectively.
UHA falls to 5-7 with the loss. The Blazers are set to return to action Thursday as they travel to the other side of North Drive for an 8th District battle with Christian County.
McCracken County moves to 14-4 and will host Lyon County on Thursday night.
MCHS — 16 15 11 13 9 – 64
UHA — 20 10 17 8 7 – 62
McCracken County (14-4) – Dumas 16, Hart 13, Brower 12, Tilford 9, J. McCune 8, I. McCune 6
University Heights (5-7) – Crump 21, McGee 14, Quarles 13, Braxton 6, Shouse 3, Grubbs 2, Bryan 2
