Trigg County used accurate 3-point shooting early and held off a late Union County rush to hand the Braves a 78-62 in a physical, intense battle at Wildcat Gym Tuesday.
Jerimyah Shearer hit a trio of 3-pointers and Jhaden Vaughn added another in the opening eight minutes as the Wildcat raced to a 22-12 lead.
Trigg was able to push its advantage to 40-21 by halftime as the Wildcats were able to transform eight Union turnovers into eight Wildcat points.
Izaiah Manuel, who scored 40 points in Union’s season opener, was scoreless in the second quarter and reached halftime with only six points.
He came alive in the second half.
Manuel and Kris Hughes teamed in the second half to erase 11 points off the Trigg lead.
Manuel scored 24 of his 30 points in the second half, tallying 16 points in the third quarter. He was 14-of-29 shooting and had six rebounds.
Hughes added 17 points and four assists.
Trigg County had three players score in double figures led by Luke Washer, who scored a career-high 29 points and added 10 rebounds.
He scored seven straight points in the third quarter as Union County got to within 11 points. 21 of his 29 points came in the second half, and he knocked down 11 of 12 free throws.
Union’s last run came with 5:16 left when a Manuel bucket got the Braves to within 65-55 with 4:56 left.
Landon Stewart buried a 3-pointer and added a free throw on the next trip to keep Trigg’s lead in double-digits.
Shearer joined Washer in double figures with 13 points, five assists, and four steals. Jhaden Vaughn scored 12 points, pulled down 13 rebounds, and handed out five assists.
Trigg County was able to keep the Braves at bay thanks to a 17-of-20 shooting effort at the free throw line. Union was 2-of-16 from both 3-point range and the charity stripe.
Trigg County will begin district play Friday at Livingston Central.
Union County 12 9 24 17– 62
Trigg County 22 18 17 21– 78
Union County (0-2) – Manuel 30, Hughes 17, Wilson 6, Hancock 4, Pollard 4, Curry 1
Trigg County (4-0) – Washer 29, Shearer 13, Vaughn 12, Reynolds 8, Stewart 6, Gude 6, Bush 4
