Henderson Survives Trigg County Regional Upset Bid

Don’t believe the final score, it was not truly a double-digit contest. The Henderson County Colonels kept their winning streak alive against Trigg County to advance to the 2nd Region semifinals. Still, they had to earn it the hard way against a gutty effort from the 5th District runner-up Wildcats. The Colonels took control of the game in a 30-second span midway through the final quarter and then made it stand up on their way to a 50-40 win over the Wildcats.

In the first couple of minutes of the game, it looked as if Henderson County was ready to run off and hide. The Colonels jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, holding Trigg County scoreless for more than three minutes, as the Wildcats had trouble adjusting to the Henderson 2-3 zone. Henderson also blocked four shots in the early going.

Trigg got settled in a bit on offense for the rest of the opening quarter, and their defense did the job against the Colonels. The Wildcats finished the quarter outscoring Henderson 8-2. Landon Stewart’s 3-pointer late in the quarter tied the game 8-8 going into the second. Trigg might have been in the lead at the end of the quarter if not for five turnovers that led to six Henderson points.

After a basket from Jake Rideout opened the second quarter, Trigg took its only lead of the half when Landon Stewart buried a three to put the Wildcats up 11-10.

Henderson then delivered a roundhouse punch in the form of a 13-0 run. The run was ignited by the interior passing of the Colonels, which led to some easy looks under the basket. Gerard Thomas and Alec Satterfield were the dime deliverers for the Colonels.

Trigg finally ended the run with a Landon Stewart three with 2:35 left to go in the half. The Wildcats used two more threes over the final minutes to stay in the game as the teams headed off to the break with Henderson up 27-20.

Trigg County knocked down 5 of 11 threes in the first half. The Wildcats might have been even closer if not for turnovers, as 7 Trigg miscues resulted in 11 Henderson County points. Henderson’s passing was a big plus in the opening 16 minutes as the Colonels had 8 first-half assists.

The threes kept falling for the Wildcats as the third quarter got underway. Back-to-back bombs from TuTu Gude brought Trigg to within 30-28 with 6 minutes to go in the third, prompting a timeout from Coach Tyler Smithhart for Henderson County.

Both teams hit a bit of a dry spell from that point with the only score being a Henderson County free throw until a Gerard Thomas layup with 1:40 left in the quarter. Cooper Davenport hit a three to put Henderson up 36-30 with 25-seconds left in the quarter, but then Trigg seized the momentum back when Landon Stewart drilled a three from the left corner just ahead of the horn to cut the lead to 36-33 heading into the final quarter.

The Wildcats were within two points at 36-34 when the turning point of the game took place. With Trigg in possession of the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead, Alec Satterfield picked off a cross-court pass and scored on a layup to make it 38-34. After a missed Trigg shot, Cooper Davenport buried a three to extend the lead to 41-34 and forced a Trigg County timeout to try and stem the tide.

But the Wildcats could get no closer than six points for the rest of the contest as Henderson made just enough free throws to take it on out to a ten-point win.

Landon Stewart led the Wildcats with 12 points, all coming on three-pointers. TuTu Gude added 11 points, including three made 3-pointers. Trigg got a huge night from Jhaden Vaughn with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Gerard Thomas kept the Colonels alive for another night with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Cooper Davenport was the only other Colonel to reach double figured with 10.

The killer stat for the Wildcats was 15 turnovers, which in turn led to 19 Henderson County points.

The win improves Henderson County to 22-8 on the season and moves the Colonels into Monday night’s second semifinal game.

Trigg County wraps up its year at 15-17 after making its first trip to the 2nd Region tournament since 2016.

Trigg, who was looking for its first win over Henderson County since 1976, has dropped 12 straight games to the Colonels.