Wildcats Beat Cougars 61-53 on the Road, Advance to District Finals

Edmonson County junior shooting guard Kollin Doyle (22) pulls up and fades away with a jumper against host Grayson County in the KHSAA 12th District Tournament first round Tuesday February 27 in Leitchfield.

Joseph Barkoff, story and photos:
​It has been noted in athletic seasons how a team can mature, but more importantly is the ability for those teams to take their learning, often in hard knocks, and then begin to peak.
 
The Edmonson County Wildcats could not have picked a better time to begin that peak and show maturity, than when facing District 12 rival Grayson County in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Boys’ Basketball District Tournament on the road at host Grayson County High School, Tuesday, February 27th in Leitchfield.
 
It was the first game this year the Wildcats have played well from wire to wire against an opponent with a winning record, as was noted by Wildcats Live Edmonson Voice broadcaster Darren Doyle in the pregame show.
 
The replay of the game can be seen on this Edmonson Voice Facebook page.
 
The mood in the broadcast booth may have been all “Lady and the Tramp,” the spaghetti sought was to be found on the court in the form of a controlled swirling melee of aggressive, but reasonably clean basketball play from two hungry teams.

Edmonson County senior shooting guard Will Alexander (0) lays it in against host Grayson County in the KHSAA 12th District Tournament first round Tuesday February 27 in Leitchfield.

Edmonson County junior shooting guard Kollin Doyle (22) drives into the paint for a shot against host Grayson County in the KHSAA 12th District Tournament first round Tuesday February 27 in Leitchfield.

Edmonson County junior power forward Joshua Decker (24) drives to the basket against host Grayson County in the KHSAA 12th District Tournament first round Tuesday February 27 in Leitchfield.

Over the past ten meetings between the Wildcats and Cougars, each team had notched five wins, and this was the third meeting for the two neighbors this season. The two previous matches saw the Cougars win both games, including a 15-0 run to open the game in their meeting a month ago on January 26th in Leitchfield.
 
To be successful, they would need to slow the game tempo down, and stay away from playing into Grayson’s game plan, including a goal of keeping the Cougars at no more than 60 points, Wildcats head coach Trey Tinsley told Doyle before the game.
 
The Wildcats did just that in holding on to defeat the Cougars 61-53 in the KHSAA 12th District round one.
 
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Tinsley said on the Wildcats Live Postgame. “That’s a heck of a win, you know.”
 
Indeed, and yes.
 
The Cougars recently beat the number one team in the region, they are coached well and with a lot of young players they have a bright future ahead of them, Tinsley said.
 
“That’s a good team, but I am proud of our guys,” he said. “We handled the ball, we had our poise and we kept it under 60 tonight.”
 
Edmonson handled the rebounds too, out-rebounding Grayson 29 to 19.
 
They out-shot them as well from the field. The Wildcats shot 52 percent for the night as the Cougars shot 38 percent.
 
“We slowed down the game just enough and hit our free throws late, so I am proud of every single one of ‘em,” Tinsley said.
 
The Cougars average around 70 points a game, he said, so to win they would need to play Edmonson's game, he said.

Edmonson County sophomore shooting guard Tyler Wilson shoots a deep jumper against host Grayson County in the KHSAA 12th District Tournament first round Tuesday February 27 in Leitchfield.

Edmonson County junior power forward Wyatt Gravil (15) shoots a 3-pointer against host Grayson County in the KHSAA 12th District Tournament first round Tuesday February 27 in Leitchfield.

​“It’s hard to beat a team three times in a row,” junior power forward Wyatt Gravil said after the game outside the locker room. “It really is. We went out there and we had a great game plan, great coaching stuff set up the perfect game plan to get the win tonight.” 
 
One of Kollin Doyle’s 3-pointers, (banked in) giving the team the extra push to get out ahead was his favorite moment on the evening, other than the fans rushing the court, Gravil said.
 
Doyle on the night had 17 points and 4 rebounds with three 3-pointers. 
 
Also in double-digit scoring was sophomore shooting guard junior power forward Tyler Wilson and Joshua Decker with 12 points with 3 rebounds and 11 points and 8 rebounds respectively.
 
Senior power forward Layne Ashley contributed 9 points with 11 rebounds and senior shooting guard Will Alexander tossed in 7 points with 3 rebounds.
 
“Spencer (Langdon) and Jack (Logsdon) are their two best players and the first time we played em, they hurt us pretty bad,” Will Alexander said after the game in the locker room. “Coming into this game we knew that they would underestimate us, and once we came out strong and got on top of them, we won. We shut them two down pretty much and couldn’t be happier.”

Edmonson County head coach Trey Tinsley speaks to his team during a timeout in the fourth quarter, with the lead against host Grayson County in the KHSAA District 12 Tournament Tuesday Feb. 27 in Leitchfield.

Edmonson County bench and crowd erupt in cheers after a 3 pointer is scored against host Grayson County in the fourth quarter of the KHSAA District 12 Tournament Tuesday Feb. 27 in Leitchfield.

It was win or go home. The Wildcats won, so now what?

This Friday, in two or three days, depending on count start, on March 1st on the road, back at District 12 host Grayson County in Leitchfield at 7 p.m. the Wildcats will face off against the number two in the region Butler County Bears (19-8 season, 11-0 region, 7-0 district), although many argue they should be number one. Butler County defeated Trinity last night 100-50.
​
“Friday we are going to be playing a tough Butler County school, if we can do things right and slow it down a little bit, we can stick there with ‘em,” Alexander said. “So, I’m excited, it’s gonna be a fun ride.”
 
It is a nice drive, but the work is not over yet.
 
“We gotta get ready for Butler County,” Tinsley said. “Enjoy the heck outta this one tonight and we gotta get ready tomorrow.”