There’s no place like home for the holidays.
Trigg County has taken that Christmas song to heart as the Wildcats rallied to beat Union County 67-64 Friday and claim its first Chappel Allen Memorial Classic title in seven years.
After starting the season losing four of its first five games on the road, the Wildcats have returned to Wildcat Gym to win three straight and even their season record at 4-4.
Union County appeared to seize control of the game with a 39-30 halftime lead as Daishawn Curry scored 13 of his 17 points in the frame.
Trigg County cut the deficit to 51-45 after three quarters.
Davaree Gude scored 10 points in the second quarter and added six more in the fourth as Trigg began its comeback. Jhaden Vaughn scored seven points in the decisive fourth quarter and Lance Breckel and Landon Stewart each scored four.
Trigg County, a 51% free throw shooting team, hit just enough (17/26) to grab the lead and keep it.
Gude led the Wildcats with 24 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Vaughn scored 21 points and added nine rebounds, joining an elite club of 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his Wildcat career.
Cale Johnson led Union County with 18 points.
The Chappel Allen Memorial Classic, formerly the KME Classic, has evolved through the years from a round-robin format, to a six-team event, to a four-team event in 2023. It is staged through the generosity of the Allen family and Kentucky Machine and Engineering. Trigg County’s win on Friday was the first time since 2016 that the Wildcats won the event.
Trigg County will head to southeast Tennessee after Christmas to play three games in the Rhea County Christmas Classic. The Wildcats will play Ooltewah, Tenn. on Wednesday.
Union County 12 27 12 13– 64
Trigg County 14 16 15 22– 67
Union County (6-3) – C. Johnson 18, Curry 17, Miller 13, Rapier 6, Wilson 6, J. Johnson 4
Trigg County (4-4) – Gude 24, Vaughn 21, Stewart 7, Shearer 7, Breckel 4, Bush 4
After the game, Kerry Sweno and Jill Jackonski, daughters of the late Trigg County Athletic Hall of Famer Chappel Allen, were presented with a signed game ball for their continued support of Trigg County athletics.
