One night after bowing in the final seconds, the Caldwell County Tigers picked up a win on a last-second shot Tuesday night at the St. Mary Christmas Classic in Paducah.
Luke Maddox gathered in a missed free throw and stuck the ball back in the basket just ahead of the final horn as the Tigers defeated Fort Campbell 56-55.
It is the second win of the season for the Tigers, who dropped a heartbreaker in the waning moments to Livingston Central 54-52 on Monday night.
It looked like the Tigers might come up just a little short again against Fort Campbell, with the Falcons leading 55-53 late in the game.
But Zavy Bumphus was fouled with 5.8 seconds to play. He made the first free throw to cut the gap to one, but his second shot rimmed out.
Maddox was there though to gather in the ball and stick it back in off the glass as the final seconds ticked off.
The Caldwell sophomore finished with six points in his first significant varsity minutes of the season. Maddox was named the Game MVP.
Collin Whittington led the Tigers with 18 points. Bumphus had 11 points and JayDarius Wilson had 10. Demaurius Thompson had eight points and eight rebounds.
Caldwell (2-8) led by double digits in the first half before taking a 30-21 lead to halftime.
Fort Campbell (2-8) trailed just 42-41 through three quarters and took the lead in the fourth quarter.
Aidan Blaszkowski driving layup with 56 seconds to play pushed the Falcons up 54-53.
Blaszkowski then made it a two-point game when he made the first of two free throws with 20 seconds remaining.
Maurice Moore had 15 points to lead Fort Campbell. Daniel Castro and Blaszkowski each had 14 points.
The game was the seventh-place contest in the St. Mary tourney.
Caldwell has taken its last five meetings with Fort Campbell and seven of the last eight.
The Tigers lead the all-time series 19-7.
Caldwell County 13 17 12 14 — 56
Fort Campbell 7 14 20 14 — 55
Caldwell County (2-8)—Whittington 18, Bumphus 11, Wilson 10, Thompson 8, Maddox 6, Roach 3.
Fort Campbell (2-8)—Moore 15, Castro 14, Blaszkowski 14, Westbrook 3, Rice 3, Tate 2, Smiley 2, Perriman 2.
