Wildcat Season Comes To Close With Loss To Trinity

Cats Fall In District Tournament 61-55

Senior Cole Saling goes for 2 of his 15 points against Trinity.

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle photos:
A very tough first quarter was too much of a setback for the Wildcats last night in the first round of the District 12 Tournament against Whitesville-Trinity as the Cats fell 61-55.

The start to the game was brutal for Edmonson County as everything went right for Trinity and wrong for the Wildcats.

The Raiders jumped out to a 21-5 lead after the first quarter.

Senior Evan Stice attempts a three-pointer in the district tournament against Trinity.

Braden Wall puts up a shot over two Trinity defenders.

Coach Brad Johnson discussed the rough start to the ballgame.

"That's on me," he said. "They've showed nothing but zone traps and zone stuff against us. All year long against man-to-man, we've said teams can't guard us man-to-man because of our cuts and everything, and we just kind of came out with a little stage fright and forgot to cut. We were very impatient with the ball and missed easy shots. But it's a good team. Sometimes you get beat by a good team. I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't have us more ready against man-to-man, and we fought so hard to get those white uniforms tonight and get that two-seed. I just hate it for the kids."

Zander Bass goes up against Trinity's Landon Smith for a shot.

After the first, the comeback attempt was in full force as Edmonson County outscored Trinity 16-12 in the second and had cut the lead to 33-21 at the half. The Wildcats outscored Trinity 50-40 in the final three quarters, but unfortunately for the Cats, the first was too much to overcome.

Braxton Highbaugh looks to make a pass against the Trinity defense.

Leading the Cats in scoring was Braden Wall with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Cole Saling followed with 15. Trace Taylor added 7 points and Braxton Highbaugh had 5 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. Zander Bass added 5 points, Tyler Anderson had 4 points, and Evan Stice had 3.

It was the final game for six Wildcat seniors: Trace Taylor, Evan Stice, Cole Saling, Jarrett Prunty, Clay Clemmons, and Noah Parsley.

"I think we created a little bit of a buzz and positivity from going 0-2 in the district with two losses at home, to being a two-seed," Johnson said. "I can't go into Cee Bee or Dollar General without someone saying, 'man I like watching those kids play,' and even at halftime when I was raking them over the coals, I said that we were playing hard. I mean, the effort was always there. They're killed right now. We've got a good team coming back, but I hate it for those six seniors. Some of them didn't get to see the floor very much and I really wanted to take those guys to the Sports Center and to Moonlight and go out that way. But we appreciate the support, from you (the Edmonson Voice) and we had a good crowd out tonight here, and hope that everybody hangs with the girls and supports them, too."

Edmonson County finishes the season with a record of 15-13.