Trigg County snapped a three-game losing streak but the final product didn’t leave coach Mason Burgett feeling warm and fuzzy.
The Wildcats defeated Thomas Nelson 71-57 in the semifinals of the Chappel Allen Memorial Classic Monday at Wildcat Gym. It was a sluggish early effort against the winless Generals, but Trigg found its footing in the third quarter to turn a 12-point halftime lead into a 27-point advantage.
But the Wildcats again had trouble closing out the game, getting outscored 19-9 in the fourth quarter. Jhaden Vaughn’s bucket with 6:22 left gave him 1,000 points for his Wildcat career. It was also Trigg’s last field goal of the game.
Burgett was not pleased with some shot selections in the final quarter. The result was Thomas Nelson converting Trigg mistakes into points and topping 50 points for the first time this season.
The Wildcats broke a 10-all tie with the final seven points of the first quarter. Hunter Reynolds scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half. Facing a zone defense, Reynolds hit four 3-pointers in the first half and two more in the second half.
Vaughn scored 19 points and added eight assists and seven steals to his stat line.
Trigg shot 41-percent from the field and scored 36 points off 24 Thomas Nelson turnovers.
The Generals shot 51-percent from the floor but their turnovers resulted in 13 fewer shots than Trigg. Thomas Nelson also outrebounded the taller Wildcats 29-27.
Trigg County will play Todd County Central in Tuesday’s championship game at 7:30. The Wildcats lost to the Rebels 75-60 on Saturday.
Thomas Nelson will play South Fulton, Tenn. in the third place game Tuesday at 6:00.
Thomas Nelson 10 13 15 19– 57
Trigg County 17 18 27 9– 71
Thomas Nelson (0-7) – Morgan 16, Girdley 12, Cade Boone 9, Cutter Boone 7, Cammack 6, Allen 3, Mattingly 2, Johnson 2
Trigg County (7-3) – Reynolds 22, Vaughn 19, Shearer 10, Washer 7, Bush 5, Gude 3, Linton 3, Barnes 1, Terrell 1
