ASHLAND, Ky. – The well-rested 1960-64 Ashland Tomcat All-Stars threw an early haymaker at the 1970-74 Cats in the semifinals of the Tomcat Shootout simulation tournament Wednesday night.

They hit them right between the eyes by scoring 34 points in the opening quarter. Larry Conley scored a dozen himself and the 60-64 Cats led by 20 points with 1:23 to play in the first quarter.

It was a knockdown, but not a knockout.

The 70-74 Tomcats, displaying the grit that brought them to victories over the 75-79 Tomcats and the 90-94 Tomcats just to reach the semifinals, got up off the deck and began fighting back.

They played dead even in the second quarter but still trailed by 16 at intermission. The 70-74 Cats had cut the deficit under double figures once at 39-30 when Dwayne Farrow drilled a 15-footer but the lead grew back to 16.

“We were on the verge of getting blown out of this old gym,” said 70-74 Tomcats coach Steve Gilmore. “When they made it 32-12, I was worried. But we got it together a little bit, outscored them 6-2 the rest of the quarter, and kind of righted the ship. Looking in their eyes after a timeout when they went up 20, I saw the fire still burning.”

They began chipping away but it was tough against Larry and the Legends, the tournament favorite. Their balanced attack was hard to beat. Conley cooled off but still ended up just shy of a triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

“Larry is the best, there’s no two ways about it,” Gilmore said. “But Ronnie (Griffith) did a good job on him after they stunned us early. We had a hard time finding him on the box out. He killed us on the offensive boards.”

Johnny Mullins was taxed with slowing down Harold Sergent and he limited him to 11 points. He got up in Sergent enough to frustrate the ’61 great guard.

“Mullins is tough,” Sergent said. “Tough as I’ve seen.”

When the second half started, something changed. The 70-74 Tomcats showed a new life and some of the toughness that had carried them in the first two series. They also regained some confidence.

“They wouldn’t go away,” said 60-64 Tomcat coach Bob Wright. “We were a couple of buckets from putting them away in that first quarter and then we gave them some breathing room with a lazy second quarter.”

Halfway through the third quarter the 70-74 Tomcats had pulled within 69-64 when Chuck Williams scored on a putback. Conley came back and was fouled, making one of two free throws, to bring the score to 70-64. That would be the biggest lead for either team the rest of the game, matched again at 78-72 on Parkie Beam’s driving layup with 10:54 to play in the fourth quarter (remember, we play 12-minute quarters).

The 70-74 Tomcats were matching the 60-64 Tomcats basket for basket and it was going to be a photo-finish. Griffith finished with a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Mullins scored 15. Dale Lynch had 12 points and four assists and Williams, Steve Dodd and Danny Evans added 10 points apiece.

“That’s how we’ve advanced in this tournament,” Gilmore said. “We have toughness, defense and balance.”

Farrow made two free throws to complete a 7-1 run that tied the game at 79 with 8:01 remaining and David Smith followed with a long jumper that put the 70-74 Tomcats in front 81-79. It was their first lead since early in the first quarter.

The fans at the old Ashland High School gym started getting nervous about that time. The roof was about to blow off the place with the screaming 70s fans going absolutely bonkers.

Wright was coming unhinged on the bench. He called a timeout and got into the faces of the 60-64 Tomcats, holding nothing back. Parents sitting behind the bench held their hands over the ears of their children. This was no longer a PG-rated event.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Coach so mad,” Conley said. “I thought we were going to start running these steps right then. He challenged us, told us to wake up and a lot worse. I’m sure everybody in the gym could hear him.”

The battle was on. When the 60-64 Tomcats broke the huddle, they immediately turned the ball over on the baseline. They complained that one of the cheerleaders from the 70-74 team had stepped onto the floor and tripped Steve Cram (accidentally) during a cheer. Wright came storming off the bench to complain but was quickly grabbed by Conley, who pulled him back to the bench as the referees gave them an icy stare.

“He was so hot, I’m not sure what was going to happen,” Conley said. “I knew we didn’t want a technical foul there. It was going to be tough enough.

Meanwhile, from the Ashland stands, out came Cathy Goble to defend her cheerleaders and she may have been screaming louder than Wright, and about as much PG-13. “Stay away from my girls!” she screamed. There was a lot of confusion but, when order was restored, they gave the ball to the 70-74 Tomcats who rushed it down the floor, missed a rushed jumper, but Jeff Cooksey was there for the garbage basket to make it 83-79.

Cooksey, the ultimate garbage man, had eight points and 12 rebounds. “He is always around the ball, always scrapping,” said Evans.

The 60-64 Tomcats began to recover behind Gene Smith, who ignited an 8-2 run that put them ahead 87-85 before Williams tied it on an offensive rebound.

“We gave up way too many offensive rebounds,” Wright said afterward. “My teams don’t do that.”

Conley drove down the middle and finger-rolled in a basket to put the 60-64 Tomcats ahead 89-87 and then the lead grew to 97-93 with a pair of Conley free throws with 29 seconds remaining. Griffith was fouled on a drive, making an acrobatic shot and then sank the free throw to bring it to 97-96 with 17 seconds to play.

Lynch went for a steal against Ditto Sparks and fouled him. Sparks made two free throws at the 14-second mark to bring the lead to 99-96.

Gilmore called timeout and set up a play to free either Evans or Griffith for a 3-point shot that could have forced overtime. The 60-64 Tomcats were ready with Conley smothering Griffith and Sergent switched to Evans. The ball ended up in Mullins’ hands and he took two dribbles back to get behind the 3-point line, looked down to make sure his feet were OK, and fired it up. It was on target but rattled around the rim three times before kicking out and Sparks rebounded. He was immediately fouled with four seconds to play.

Sparks, who finished with 16 points, made both free throws to set the final score at 101-96.

“Shew! That was a battle,” Wright said. “Our guys showed some toughness. They responded to a good ‘ol butt-chewing. I apologized to those parents who were sitting behind the bench. I went out of my mind after that poor playing.”

The 60-64 Tomcats showed balance with Steve Cram scoring 18, Gene Smith 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Conley’s 27 points.

“I tell you what,” Conley said, “those 70s guys can play. They never gave up.”

1970-74 TOMCATS (96) – Lynch 4-12 2-2 12, Mullins 7-19 1-1 15, Williams 4-10 2-2 10, Cooksey 4-8 0-0 8, Griffith 6-10 6-7 18, Dodd 4-5 2-2 10, Farrow 1-3 2-2 4, Evans 4-7 2-3 10, Smith 1-4 0-1 2, Hixson 3-7 1-4 7. FG: 38-85. FT: 18-24. 3FG: 2-8 (Lynch 2-5, Mullins 0-3). Rebounds: 51 (Lynch 4, Mullins 4, Williams 5, Cooksey 12, Griffith 10, Dodd 8, Farrow 2, Evans 1, Smith 4, Hixson 1). Assists: 22 (Lynch 4, Mullins 2, Williams 3, Cooksey 4, Griffith 3, Farrow 4, Hixson 1, Smith 1). PF: 26. Turnovers: 24.

1960-64 TOMCATS (101) – Sergent 3-8 5-6 11, Sparks 5-17 5-6 16, Cram 9-21 0-0 18, Conley 10-16 7-9 27, Smith 4-8 4=8 12, Beam 1-3 2-2 4, Hilton 2-4 0-0 4, Sexton 2-6 1-2 5, McKenzie 1-1 0-0 2, Wright 1-2 0-0 2. FG: 38-85. FT: 24-33. 3FG: 1-8 (Sergent0-2, Sparks 1-4, Cram 0-2). Rebounds: 49 (Sergent 5, Sparks 2, Cram 7, Conley 10, Smith 14, Beam 2, Hilton 7, Sexton 1, Wright 1). Assists: 18 (Sergent 2, Sparks 2, Cram 2, Conley 9, Smith 1, Hilton 1, Sexton 1). PF: 27. Turnovers: 19.

1970-74 TOMCATS       18       21       31       26          –            96

1960-64 TOMCATS       34       21       19       27          –           101

ASHLAND, Ky. – Even in simulation basketball (maybe especially?) strange things can happen.

Take the quarterfinal game between the 2000-04 Tomcats and the 1980-84 Tomcats in the Tomcat Shootout in a Tuesday matinee at Anderson gym.

It was billed as another “Battle of the Bigs” with Mark Sugalski and Jeff Tipton as the centerpieces for their respective teams. The two met during the season simulation series with Tipton’s 1980 team hanging on against Surgalski’s 2001 Tomcats.

This battle had some streaky extremes.

The 2000-04 Tomcats raced to an 18-point lead in the first half and the 1980-84 Tomcats had a 19-0 run in the second half.

And the game had only two lead changes!

So who wins after those kind of events?

Well, first off, both Surgalski and Tipton lived up to advance billing. Surgalski had 33 points and 14 rebounds and Tipton collected 18 points and 10 rebounds. They were titans inside with Tipton adding seven blocked shots to a stuffed stat line.

“Those guys battled in there, just like they did when we played them with the individual teams,” said 2000-04 coach Mike Flynn. “Those two guys are warriors, that’s all there is to it. They played above expectations.”

Surgalski and Arliss Beach, who scored 19 points, helped the 2000-04 Tomcats race out to a 41-23 lead after Derek Cooksey scored at the end of a fastbreak.

It looked like Doomsday for the 1980-84 Tomcats.

“I was worried about then,” said 1980-84 coach Ernie Simpson. “We couldn’t get a stop on defense. We’re not really a come-from-behind team. I knew if it (the lead) got into the twenties, we were in deep doo-doo.”

It wasn’t much better the rest of the half although the 80-84 Cats shaved a little and managed to trail only 55-40. But the 15-point deficit loomed large.

“I was sucking wind going into halftime,” Tipton said. “But we recovered a little bit and found some more gas.”

Greg McCauley, who scored 19, and Chuck Cantrell and Doug Smith, who had 16 points apiece, came to life in the second half. But they were on the brink of losing when Beach went out after crashing hard to the floor on an attempted dunk. He missed and landed on a hip and had to be helped to the locker room.

However, his team carried on. Jeremy Howell scored on a drive down the lane to make it 75-61 with 2:53 remaining in the third quarter.

“We’d maintained that big lead from the first half and then it all came apart,” Flynn said.

Sure enough, the 2000-04 Tomcats had empty possession after empty possession including some close-in looks from Surgalski and Cantrell, who were a combined 19-for-46 shooting.

“It was literally like there was a lid on the basket,” Cantrell said. “I don’t know how else to describe it.”

Momentum swung during a 19-0 run for the 80-84 Cats that turned a 14-point deficit into a five-point lead at 80-75. They began to build on the margin and led by 98-89 with 4:19 remaining when McCauley was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. The shot went in and he made the free throw to complete the four-point play.

Now it looked like Doomsday for the 2000-04 Tomcats.

“They were dead and buried,” Simpson said, “and we let them out of the grave.”

Three consecutive trips down the floor they fed it inside to Surgalski, who scored six points to cut the deficit to 98-95.

“That was the most important stretch of the game to keep us alive,” Flynn said.

But they still trailed. It was 102-99 after Greg Conley sank a pair of free throws with 1:19 to play. Adam Howard answered with a three-point play, driving inside and getting fouled on the arm by McCauley. He sank the free throw to tie the game at 102-102.

Only 59 seconds remained but neither team could regain the lead after two failed attempts each. With 25 seconds to play Beach, who had returned in the middle of the fourth quarter, came up with an open-court steal that gave the 2000-04 Cats a crack at a last-second shot.

Flynn called for a timeout and everybody knew it was going to Surgalski. When the teams broke huddles, Tipton and Cantrell lined up around Surgalski. Howell, who had eight assits, used a behind-the-back dribble to shed a defender and he lobbed it inside to Surgalski on the block. With nowhere to go, Surgalski saw Howard set up in the deep corner and he slipped a pass to him.

McCauley came off the baseline with hand outstretched as Howard caught the pass and rose to shoot. He had to put a little extra arc on the shot because of McCauley’s long reach. His shot went so high it looked like it might graze the roof at Anderson gym.

Everybody watched as the ball reached its peak and headed straight toward the basket for a perfect swish. It was the first time they led since surrendering the 19-0 run.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever had a team give up 19 straight points and then win,” Flynn said. “This simulation games have a little bit of everything.”

“Well, I think Adam’s shot might have drawn some rain, it was so high in the air,” Simpson said. “Great shot and a great game. I really like this team, but they will have their hands full against those 2020 guys. Nobody seems to be able to contain them.”

The semifinals are set for the Tomcat Shootout with the 1960-64 taking on the 1970-74 and the 2000-04 playing the 2015-20 teams.

2000-2004 ASHLAND (105) – Howell 2-5 0-0 4, Davis 5-9 3-3 13, Howard 4-12 1-3 10, Surgalski 13-29 7-10 33, Beach 7-15 5-10 19, Cooksey 2-7 0-0 4, J.Cook 2-5 0-0 4, C.Cook 1-5 0-0 2, Johnson 3-4 4-5 10, Salyers 2-5 1-1 5. FG: 41-96. FT: 21-32. 3FG: 2-14 (Davis 0-4, Howard 1-4, Cooksey 0-3, J.Cook 1-2, C.Cook 0-1). Rebound: 54 (Howell 2, Davis 12, Howard 6, Surgalski 14, Beach 5, Cooksey 2, J.Cook 1, C.Cook 4, Cooksey 4, Salyers 4). Assists: 24 (Howell 8, Davis 3, Howard 4, Surgalski 2, Beach 2, Cooksey 2, J.Cook 1, C.Cook 2). PF: 16. Turnovers: 18.

1980-1984 ASHLAND (102) – McCauley 6-19 4-4 19, Cantrell 6-17 1-2 16, Smith 7-10 2-2 16, Tipton 6-15 6-6 18, Farrow 1-2 2-2 5, Conley 1-4 6-6 8, Stewart 3-7 0-0 6, Scott 2-6 0-0 4, Webb 3-4 4-4 11, Daniels 0-2 0-0 0, Crank 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 35-87. FT: 25-26. 3FG: 7-18 (McCauley 3-7, Cantrell 3-8, Tipton 0-1, Webb 1-1, Crank 0-1). Rebounds: 48 (McCauley 7, Cantrell 3, Smith 8, Tipton 10, Farrow 2, Conley 5, Stewart 5, Scott 3, Webb 1, Daniels 4). Assists: 19 (McCauley 8, Smith 3, Tipton 1, Stewart 3, Scott 2, Daniels 2). PF: 24. Turnovers: 18.

2000-04 TOMCATS         27         28         20         30              –            105

1980-84 TOMCATS         17         23         28         34              –            102

ASHLAND, Ky. – In a game that was as much intriguing as exciting, as close as it was shocking, and as good as it gets for simulation, the new school Tomcats defeated the old school Tomcats.

After an exhausting 22 lead changes and nine ties, the 2015-20 Tomcats withstood a great challenge from the surprising 1955-59 Tomcats, 116-111, Monday night at the old Ashland High School in the quarterfinals of the Tomcat Shootout.

The 1950s Tomcats gave it their best shot, even taking a one-point lead into the fourth quarter behind Larry Castle’s triple-double – the first in the history of the simulation series – with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

“Not sure anybody could do more than Larry did,” said teammate Howard Humphreys, who collected 19 points and 14 rebounds. “These young Tomcats are tough and when you add the (Christian) Villers kid with them, man oh man, they’re hard to guard.”

Christian Villers and Colin Porter scored 25 apiece to offset the twin 21-point games from Castle and George Carroll.

“I know we have a lot of shooters, but those guys can put the ball in the basket,” said 2015-20 Tomcat coach Jason Mays. “I’d like to take Castle and Carroll with me to the next round. Humphreys is as tough as they come, too. He knocked us around a little bit inside. We were lucky to win this game.”

The high-scoring Tomcats also had another big game from Cole Villers, who collected 20 points and 19 rebounds.

“Villers, Villers, Villers,” said 1955-59 Tomcat coach Bob Lavoy. “That’s all I heard from (public address announcer) Chuck Rist over there. Those guys are a nightmare.”

It was only double-Villers powered this time. Chase rolled his ankle during the warmups and didn’t play much.

“He could have gone more but we have plenty of players,” Mays said. “I didn’t want to chance it. We will need him in the semifinals.”

In a pulsating first half, the teams were never separated by more than four points. The biggest lead was 42-38 after Robert Wright scored on the end of a fastbreak with a pinpoint pass from Castle, who dazzled with his assists.

Carroll drilled a 17-footer at the buzzer to end the first half for a 60-59 lead for the 1955-59 Tomcats.

“They more than got our attention in the first half,” Mays said. “I don’t know if our guys thought they were going to win this easily or what. But the message was clear at halftime. The 50s Tomcats were here to win.”

Nothing changed in the first two minutes of the second half with the 1950s Cats building a 71-62 lead when Castle head-faked and drove around Justin Bradley, who was trying to keep up with him to no avail.

“We tried a little bit of everything on Castle but nothing seemed to work” Mays said.

Leading 77-68, though, the 50s Tomcats went stone cold.

The 20s Cats went on a 20-10 spurt to regain the lead at 88-87 when Porter drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“Big shot right there,” Mays said.

The lead would go back and forth four times in the fourth quarter. Ethan Hudson, who scored 18 points, dropped in a pair of free throws for a 94-93 and Hunter Mays scored his only basket on a 12-footer to make it 96-93 – a big lead in a game that was tight from buzzer to buzzer.

The 20s Tomcats made it 104-109 after two free throws from Christian Villers at the 3:47 mark – the last points of the game for him.

“Even when we were down five, I thought we had a good chance,” Lavoy said. “One thing we never got the hang of was the 3-point shot. I think we forget about it.”

The 50s Tomcats, who didn’t have the 3-pointer in their day, took only four triples and made one. The 20s Tomcats lived by the triple play and made 6 of 22, a low percentage from them. But they still held an 18-3 lead on 3-pointers, a big difference in the game.

Carroll and Don Church hit back-to-back baskets to cut the deficit to 109-107 with 1:19 remaining. Porter completed a three-point play, surviving a hard foul by Humphreys who came across the lane to clobber him.

“I don’t know how he made that shot,” Humphreys said. “I intended to put him into the wall.”

Porter flung the ball to the basket as he was being hit. The three-point play made it 112-107.

Humpheys scored on a putback and Hudson swished to free throws to make it 114-109. Castle came down and drilled an 18-footer, just inside the 3-point line, to make it 114-111 with only six seconds remaining.

Hudson was fouled again and hit two free throws to set the final score. He made 10 of 16 free throws.

Two strong passing teams combined for 51 assists. The 50s Tomcats had 28, including the 10 from Castle and nine from Carroll, their top two scorers. Porter had nine assists for the 20s Tomcats.

“Porter gave us what we needed,” Mays said. “He was probably our MVP tonight.”

Hudson scored 18, Sellars 12 and Devaunte Robinson 10 as six scored in double figures. Bradley, switching as a defender on Castle and Carroll, managed to pull down 13 rebounds.

The 20s Tomcats await the winner of the quarterfinal game between the 1980-84 and 2000-2004 Tomcats.

2015-2020 TOMCATS (116) – Christian Villers 9-19 6-7 25, Porter 8-14 7-7 25, Robinson 3-9 1-1 10, Cole Villers 9-12 2-2 20, Hudson 4-9 10-16 18, Bradley 1-5 0-0 2, Sellars 6-8 0-0 12, Chase Villers 0-4 0-0 0, Miller 1-4 0-0 2, Mays 1-1 0-0 2. FG: 42-85. FG: 26-33. 3FG: 6-22 (Porter 2-9, Christian Villers 1-5, Robinson 3-4, Bradley 0-1, Chase Villers 0-1, Miller 0-2). Rebounds: 55 (Porter 5, Christian Villers 4, Robinson 4, Cole Villers 19, Hudson 2, Bradley 13, Sellars 4, Chase Villers 4). Assists: 23 (Porter 9, Christian Villers 6, Cole Villers 1, Hudson 4, Bradley 2, Sellars 1). PF: 15. Turnovers: 14.

1955-59 TOMCATS (111) – Kazee 5-9 0-0 11, Castle 9-19 3-4 21, Carroll 10-17 1-1 21, Meeks 0-0 0-0 0, Humphreys 9-19 1-4 19, Church 5-7 3-4 13, Patton 3-6 2-3 8, Griffith 5-9 2-2 12,  Campbell 1-7 0-0 2, Wright 1-5 0-0 2. FG: 49-99. FT: 12-18. 3FG: 1-4 (Kazee 1-2, Castle 0-1, Carroll 0-1). Rebounds: 47 (Kazee 1, Castle 10, Carroll 6, Meeks 1, Humphreys 14, Church 2, Patton 3, Griffith 5, Campbell 1, Wright 2). Assists: 28 (Kazee 6, Castle 10, Carroll 7, Humphreys 2, Church 1, Campbell 1, Wright 1). PF: 26. Turnovers: 13.

2015-2020 TOMCATS        32      28       28      28      –         116

1955-59 TOMCATS            31      28       30      22      –         111

ASHLAND, Ky. – It’s called the intangibles and they often determine who wins and who doesn’t.

The first quarterfinal game of the Tomcat Shootout came down to an intangible.

As expected, it was a physical battle between the 1970-74 Tomcats and the 1990-94 Tomcats. They both were known for their toughness and that showed up in the opening round with down-to-the-wire victories in the third game of their respective best-of-3 series.

Now it was into the quarterfinals, where it’s win or go home.

“I’ve never seen two teams go at it any harder than these two,” said 1970-74 Tomcat coach Steve Gilmore. “I’m probably not running for office again but, if I do, I want guys like this in my corner. I could go on and on about each player but I don’t guess you have enough … ”

No, sorry coach, we don’t.

The way the game played out spoke volumes. Both teams had their leads – 11 points for the 1990-94 Tomcats and nine for the 1970-74 Tomcats – at different times throughout the game. The stars performed like the stars perform – Marty Thomas scored 33 for 1990-94 and Ronnie Griffith scored 22 for 1970-74 – and they both played important roles.

But the difference was the intangibles.

The 1990-94 Tomcats built an early lead of 28-23 in the first quarter after leading by as many as eight points, the last time at 24-16 when Jason Strader head-faked Dale Lynch off his feet and went around him for a layup.

But the game wasn’t getting away from anybody.

The physical 1970-74 Tomcats knocked Thomas to the floor more times than once, although he still was an incredible 12-for-19 shooting. He also made 9 of 11 free throws and pulled down 12 rebounds.

“You could always count on Marty for the big baskets, too,” said 1990-94 coach Jeff Hall. “He did that again tonight for us and he had some help. Four in double figures is usually a good sign for us.”

The game was higher scoring than most anticipated but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t physical. The 1990-94 Tomcats pushed back. A hard body check on a screen by Rob Lynch sent Danny Evans to the floor and Rusty Gray and Ryan Robinson scrapped for every loose ball available, one time kicking Paul Hixson in the mouth. He had to leave the game after having two teeth knocked out.

The inside play was strong for the 1970-74 Tomcats with Chuck Williams and Steve Dodd playing significant roles. Williams collected 17 points and 10 rebounds and Dodd had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Dodd’s block-outs included a few well-placed elbows in the ribs of Nathan Kirk, who one time gave Dodd a push in the back into the wall when the referees weren’t looking.

“I thought we were going to have a fight,” Gilmore said. “It’s a good thing Ronnie was holding him back or Dodd would have probably been tossed. Johnny (Mullins) was telling him to ‘Go get ‘em!’”

Tempers flared the next time down the floor and the officials called for a timeout to talk to both coaches. The crowd was starting to get active too and that was the bigger concern.

“I wasn’t worried about the players, those things happen,” Hall said. “But it was getting dicey in the stands. And I may or may not have told Nathan he needed to make sure he introduced himself to Mr. Dodd in a nice way.”

The 70-74 Tomcats seemed to get an emotional edge from the near scuffle though. They rallied and overtook the 90-94 Tomcats for a 58-51 halftime lead when Mullins, blood dripping from his mouth, sank a pair of free throws with 13 seconds to play.

The second half was a carbon copy of the first with physical play being the common denominator.

Dodd scored inside to make it 83-73 with 35 seconds to go but the 1990-94 Tomcats got the last three points of the quarter to trail only 83-76 going into the fourth quarter.

“We were in pretty good shape right there because these old men were wearing down,” Hall said.

Gilmore laughed at Hall’s comment about the fatigue.

“Put a ball on the floor and watch them go,” he said. “I’ve never seen so many people diving for the basketball. Coaching these guys were a dream, a bunch of hard nuts to crack. They weren’t tired, not one bit.”

A three-point play from Thomas took an 88-84 deficit to 88-87 early in the fourth quarter and the game played out tight from there. A 5-0 run from the 90-94 Cats put them back in front for the first time in the second half at 92-88. It included a dazzling drive-and-score from Robinson, who was pummeled by Mullins. Robinson completed the three-point trip.

Blood was flowing from the noses of Williams and Fred Keeton, who had got into a little elbow battle, too. The colors of this game were maroon-and-red!

“I tell you what, it was tough inside,” Thomas said. “I’ve never taken so many body shots. Nothing came easy.”

Thomas scored five consecutive points to tie the game at 96 and he had two other baskets that kept it close with the 90-94 Cats trailing 102-100. Two free throws from Griffith brought the lead to 104-100 but Austin Young answered with a 3-pointer from the deep corner to make it 104-103.

Griffith made one of two free throws and Thomas, who was well covered inside, stepped outside and swished a 15-footer to tie it 105-105 with 10 seconds remaining.

Evans hurried it down the floor and fired up an off-balance 15-footer that spun around the rim and came out, but Jeff Cooksey kept the ball alive with a one-handed tip, allowing Dodd to grab the rebound and stick it in as the buzzer sounded for an exhausting 107-105 victory.

The 70-74 Tomcats ran up to Dodd and surrounded him in celebration while the 90-94 Tomcats looked up at the scoreboard while bent over with hands on their knees.

“I made the game-winning shot but it would have never happened if Jeff Cooksey hadn’t kept it alive,” Dodd said. “The guy is always hustling. He had a tough game but he made the biggest play of the night.”

Cooksey was the intangible difference.

It was a tough ending for the 90-94 Tomcats, which had a big game from Rob Lynch with 21 points and Kirk and Strader with 13 points apiece. Kirk also had nine rebounds and Strader 10 assists.

Dale Lynch didn’t miss a shot and scored 15 points – 5-for-5 from the field including a 3-pointer and 4-for-4 on free throws. Mullins scored 13 points.

The difference in the game was the failure of the 90-94 Tomcats to get the 3-point game going. They were a woeful 1-for-15.

“These guys are shooters, so I don’t understand how that happened … until you look at their arms,” Hall said. “They were blood red, I swear. You can’t make a 3-pointer with somebody swiping at your arms.”

It didn’t help that the 90-94 Tomcats missed with nobody around them. They were 22 of 40 on free throws.

“Welcome to the 1970s boys,” Mullins said.

The 1970-74 Tomcats play the tournament favorite 1960-64 Tomcats in the semifinals.

1970-74 ASHLAND (107) – Mullins 5-8 3-3 13, Griffith 9-24 4-5 22, D.Lynch 5-5 4-4 15, Williams 6-15 5-9 17, Dodd 7-10 5-10 19, Farrow 1-4 2-2 5, Evans 3-9 909 6, Cooksey 2-7 1-2 5, Smith 1-2 1-1 3, Hixson 1-4 0-0 2. FG: 40-88. FT: 25-36. 3FG: 2-6 (D.Lynch 1-1, Griffith 0-1, Evans 0-2, Farrow 1-2). Rebounds: 48 (Mullins 5, Griffith 8, D.Lynch 2, Williams 10, Dodd 10, Cooksey 8, Smith 2). Assists: 17 (Mullins 2, Griffith 3, D.Lynch 2, Williams 2, Dodd 3, Evans 2, Cooksey 1, Smith 1, Hixson 1). PF: 30. Turnovers: 17.

1990-1994 ASHLAND (101) – Strader 6-13 1-2 13, Thomas 12-19 9-11 33, Young 2-10 0-0 5, Keeton 2-6 1-4 5, R.Lynch 8-11 5-8 21, Kirk 5-10 3-9 13, Greene 3-9 1-3 7, Gray 1-2 1-2 3, Robinson 2-4 1-1 5, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Salyers 0-3 0-0 0. FG: 41-87. FT: 22-40. 3FG: 1-15 (Strader 0-4, Thomas 0-2, Young 1-3, R.Lynch 0-3, Greene 0-2). Rebounds: 53 (Strader 2, Thomas 12, Young 5, Keeton 11, R.Lynch 5, Kirk 9, Greene 5, Gray 2, Robinson 1). Assists: 20 (Strader 6, Young 4, R.Lynch 2, Smith 4, Robinson 4). PF: 24. Turnovers: 18.

1970-74 TOMCATS     23      35      25           24      –         107

1990-94 TOMCATS     28      23      25           29      –         105