A 16-2 first-quarter run by visiting Meridian, IL proved decisive on Thursday, spoiling Senior Night for the Trigg County Wildcats with a 90-79 defeat.
The Bobcats completed a season sweep over Trigg, improving on a 59-55 home victory to pick up their fourth straight win and improve to 23-8. The Wildcats suffered their fourth defeat in a row to slip to 10-15 ahead of a trip to Ballard Memorial on Friday.
Trigg led 4-3 with two minutes played after senior Peyton Moore scored on a jumper in the lane, but Meridian answered with a 23-7 run to lead 26-11 after the first quarter. After not playing in the teams’ first matchup, Antonio Flenoid Jr. made up for lost time with eight points, including six straight to power the Bobcats’ spurt. Will Thurston chipped in with a pair of three-pointers to put Trigg on the ropes with only eight minutes played.
The margin reached 20 at 43-23 after Javionne Ranson capped a nine-point quarter with a bucket on a drive before a technical on the Meridian bench jumpstarted a 12-6 Trigg run to close the half. Davaree Gude scored eight for the Wildcats, Jhaden Vaughn added six, and Caleb Vogel came off the bench to score five, including a three-pointer just before the horn to trim the score to 49-35 at the halftime break.
The Wildcats rallied in the third quarter behind ten more points from Gude, capping a 12-2 spurt with a three-point play to cut the lead to 62-56 with 1:14 left in the frame. Meridian pushed it back to 11, but Vogel drilled a three and Jerimyah Shearer beat the horn with a layup to pull Trigg to within six with a quarter to play.
Gude finished off a game-high 28-point night with eight in the fourth, with his bucket in the lane trimming the lead to 77-72 with 3:55 left to play. But a three-pointer by Meridian’s Cole Kaufman, a Ranson drive, and a steal and dunk by Flenoid, Jr. pushed the margin to 12 to seal the victory.
Gude’s 28 points led all scorers, with Shearer adding 13 for the Wildcats. Vaughn just missed a double-double with nine points, ten rebounds, and five assists.
Ranson scored 26 to lead Meridian, followed by Flenoid, Jr. with 22. Kaufman finished with 19, and Thurston scored 11.
The Bobcats won the battle on the boards 39-27 and forced the Wildcats into 20 turnovers. Trigg County was 15/25 from the free-throw line while Meridian connected on seven of 15 attempts.
Meridian 26 23 18 23 — 90
Trigg County 11 24 26 18 — 79
Meridian (23-8) — Ranson 26, Flenoid, Jr. 22, Kaufman 19, Thurston 11, Easley 5, Woodson 3, Johnson 2, Reed 2
Trigg County (10-15) — Gude 28, Shearer 13, Vaughn 9, Fogle 8, Stewart 8, Bush 7, Bridges 2, Moore 2, Terrell 2
