(Trigg County Bicentennial Photo)
The day following Valentine’s Day in 1997, Trigg County and Whitesville Trinity played one of the highest-scoring games that remain in the record books of both Trigg County and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
The Wildcats nearly lost a 14-point fourth quarter but held on to beat the Raiders 115-111 on a Saturday night at Wildcat Gym.
Scoring in triple digits was nothing new for that 1996-97 Trigg County team. The Wildcats led the state in scoring at 90.2 points a game and the win over Trinity was their third straight time eclipsing the century mark and eighth at that time.
Trigg County led 31-28 after the first quarter and 66-52 at halftime. The 66 points remain the most scored in a half by the Wildcats.
The Wildcats maintained a double-digit lead ford for most of the second half, but Trinity began to chip away at the lead as Trigg’s accuracy from the outside waned in the final minutes.
Chris Sparks scored with 3:13 left for a 109-100 Trigg advantage. But Trinity used an 11-4 run, capped by a Kevin Morris bucket with 17 seconds for a 113-111 Trigg lead. Anthony Mayes hit two free throws with 12 seconds left for the final four-point margin.
Mayes tied a school record with 17 free throws made as part of a 35-point night. He was 17-of-18 at the line and Trigg knocked down 28-of-31 for the game. Mayes added 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Sparks finished with 28 points, and Lemar Northington added 22 points and seven assists.
Kevin Morris led Trinity with 34 points.
Remarkably, both teams shot 50-percent from the field. Trigg was 38-of-76 while Whitesville Trinity put up 86 shots and hit 43.
At the time, the 226 combined points were the second-most in state history. But as the KHSAA record book has seen additions before and after 1997, It currently stands tied for 10th.
Trigg County would roll through the 5th District Tournament and later win the school’s first region championship since 1970. Their 26-6 record is still the best in program history.
Whitesville Trinity finished with a 21-6 record and lost to Breckinridge County 72-61 in the first round of the 11th District Tournament. Their coach, Steve Winkler, would later serve as an assistant at Daviess County and Brescia University before returning to coach Trinity in 2008. He took over for Robbie Merritt, his former player who scored 23 points in that 1997 game at Wildcat Gym.
Like Winkler, Trigg County coach Mike Wright would return for a second go-around as head coach. Wright retired as the school’s all-time wins leader.
(February 15, 1997)
Whitesville Trinity 28 24 30 29– 111
Trigg County 31 35 24 25– 115
Whitesville Trinity (19-5) – Kevin Morris 34, Robbie Merritt 23, Keith Dickens 16, Dusty Hamilton 15, Nick Edge 11, Troy Lanham 9, Travis Brey 2, Joey Basham 1
Trigg County (19-5) – Anthony Mayes 35, Chris Sparks 28, Lemar Northington 22, Kris Alexander 15, Kelly Mayes 13, John Cundiff 2
