Montgomery County Fans May Take Over Rupp Arena

Cayden Reed is Montgomery County’s leader scorer and hit the game-winning shot in the regional championship win. (Tonia Witt Photo)

Montgomery County coach Jason Mays isn’t sure what the record might be for one school selling out its initial allotment of tickets for the state tournament in the shortest amount of time but he knows Montgomery fans didn’t waste any time buying tickets.

Montgomery (22-10) beat George Rogers Clark 60-55 to win the 40th District crown and then beat GRC 59-56 to win the 10th Region championship to earn its first state trip since 2013.

Mays believes the fan reaction to his team’s success is a “testament” to how high school sports can impact a community in the right way.

“Our people were starving for this moment. The way the game unfolded (Cayden Reed banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win ) added to it,” he said. “Our arena was built in 2006 and holds 4,200. I hope the fire marshal kept his job (because so many people were in the gym).

“This is new to them (Montgomery fans). They’ve done it before but it has been 12 years. It is fresh. Everybody is excited. They have really come to love this team.”

Montgomery will play 15th Region champ Lawrence County at 1:30 p.m. Thursday when Montgomery fans are expected to have a huge crowd in Rupp Arena.

Lawrence County coach Chandler Thompson believes his team (23-10) can handle the large crowd atmosphere.

“I feel like our boys have fed off good crowds,” he said.

In the past the 15th Region Tournament was held at the Expo Center in Pikeville. This year because of flood damage, it had to be moved to Pike Central High School and its smaller gym.

“It was an awesome atmosphere. Our guys played well. We are talking about different dynamics in Rupp Arena but the atmosphere was something we fed off of. We are certainly looking forward to playing in Rupp and do hope it is one of the best crowds of all the sessions,” Thompson said.

Montgomery added freshman Andrew Terry — his father joined the staff as an assistant coach — this year and he is averaging 9.8 points per game. The Indians have won 11 of its last 12 games after Reed got eligible even though Montgomery did not have a player other than Reed who had even played in a regional tourney game until this season.

“He (Reed) has some KHSAA eligibility things (after transferring from Mason County) and had to wait to be eligible on January 25th,” Mays said. “We had Cayden in practice but at game time we did not have our dynamic point guard. A dynamic point guard makes a world of difference. He is a difference maker. He hit a last-second shot to beat Covington Catholic and hit the last second-shot to win the region.”

Reed is averaging 21.7 points per game and shooting 53 percent from the field. Teammate Tyce Jarvis adds 17.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while Luke Fawns scores 12 points per game.

Lawrence is a high scoring team that scored 93 or more points in three of its four regional games and averaged 77.7 points per game this season. Juniors Kaiden Harris (18.8 points per game) and Gunnar Woods (18.7) are the team’s top scorers while sophomore Perry Hayden adds 15.7 points per game. Lawrence does not have a senior in the starting lineup.

“Lawrence County is a really good team. They played like they were on fire in the 15th Region Tournament,” Ashland coach Ryan Bonner said. “They could be dangerous because of their offensive firepower and the way they shoot the basketball.”

Mays was the head coach at Ashland from 2019-2022 and compiled a 99-28 record. He also won four straight 16th Region championships, including 2020 when Ashland was 33-0 when COVID cancelled the state tourney. Ashland dismissed Mays just before the 2022-23 season due to alleged KHSAA violations.

Mays, who will be 49 next week, says he has not focused on the past during his team’s magical run.

“I try to live life with a heart full of forgiveness,” he said. “Montgomery County gave me a chance to coach again and I will forever be grateful. It’s not about what happened to me or redemption. I am having a fresh set of eyes and looking at the lens the kids are looking through. It’s more fun to look at it that way.”