After dropping their first six games last season on the way to a 7-12 record, the Todd County Central Rebels have five wins in as many tries in 2021, including a 72-46 victory over visiting Edmonson County on Friday night to add to a four-game winning streak.
Mareke Johnson had the hot hand early for the Rebels and they trailed by a point after he scored in the paint and then knocked down a 3-pointer with just over a minute left in the 1st quarter. Evan Stice and Braden Wall combined for 12 for the Wildcats, with Stice connecting on a 3-pointer for the final points of the frame and a four-point lead.
Trailing 24-20 midway through the 2nd quarter, Preston Moore drilled a 3-pointer to jumpstart a 13-0 Rebel run. Jamison Glass chipped in six points and his back-to-back baskets put Todd Central up 33-24 with 1:38 left in the half. Stice finally got Edmonson County back on the board with a 3-pointer, but at the other end, Moore beat the buzzer from long distance to restore the Rebels’ nine-point cushion.
Glass scored on putbacks on back-to-back trips to stretch the margin to 11, but the Wildcats responded with a run of their own. Wall put up 10 in the 3rd to fuel a 19-9 spurt and Edmonson was within a point at 49-48 with :17 left in the quarter. This time it was Todd Central’s Amari Andrews’ turn to beat the clock, burying a corner 3 as time expired to seize the momentum.
The Rebel lead was at least five points throughout the first half of the 4th quarter, but they blew the game open over the last four minutes. They closed the game on a 13-2 tear, punctuated by a fast-break dunk by Glass, on the way to their third double-digit win of the season.
Edmonson County won’t have to wait long to try to get some revenge as the Rebels and the Wildcats will face off again on Monday in the opening game of the Rafferty’s Caveland Classic.
Todd County Central 12 24 16 20 –72
Edmonson County 16 11 21 8 — 56
Todd County Central (5-1) — Andrews 18, Glass 16, Johnson 11, Whitlock 6, Rager 5, Burgess 3
Edmonson County (4-3) — Wall 19, Bass 8, Stice 8, Vincent 6, Saling 4, Taylor 4, Highbaugh 3, Meredith 2
