Author: Mark Maynard

Managing editor of Kentucky Today, the digital newspaper of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, since July 2017. Worked 42 years for The Daily Independent in Ashland, Kentucky, the last 12 as managing editor and editor and the previous 30 in the sports department, including 17 years as sports editor. President of Amy For Africa, a faith-based Christian ministry serving Uganda. I'm a husband to Beth and father to Stephen and Sally, grandfather to Brooks and Addy.

A shot to remember or one to forget? It’s a 1990s thriller

ASHLAND, Ky. – David “Smooth” Greene found himself with the basketball in his hands with the 1990-94 Tomcats trailing 100-99 and only seconds remaining.

There wasn’t a defender near him, but it hadn’t been the best of nights for Greene, who was 1-for-9 shooting. Nothing would go in, not even layups. A tough night.

“I kind of, well, stunk,” he said bluntly.

Greene was open by design. The 1995-99 Tomcats had surrounded Marty Thomas with the game on the line. Somebody was going to be left without a defender. Coach Wayne Breeden chose Greene.

“It wasn’t his night,” Breeden said. “Marty had killed us all night. I couldn’t give him the opportunity to put the dagger in us. It seemed like a reasonable risk.”

The ball had got into Thomas when he was suddenly blocked from going anywhere with defenders on three sides. He quickly flashed it out to Greene, who was about 15 feet away.

“I held the ball for what seemed like an hour,” Greene said.

Everything was on the line for the 90-94 Tomcats, who were facing elimination with a loss.

Thomas had done his part, breaking loose for 43 points on remarkable 17-for-24 shooting from the field. He was, in a word, unstoppable. Thomas had “promised” a Game 3, which meant a Game 2 victory. He also had 15 rebounds.

And he was about to find out if Greene was going to give him his first assist of the night.

Like the first game, this one played out tight from start to finish. There were 15 lead changes and 13 ties. The 95-99 Tomcats led by 13 points at 53-40 late in the first half and looked on the way to clinching the series. But the 90-94 Tomcats weren’t going down easily.

Coach Jeff Hall used his 2-2-1 press to get back in the game. He also devised a counter-attack to Breeden’s box-and-one on Thomas. Chris Estep was chasing Thomas again, but Hall had Rusty Gray and Stuart Smith form a two-man wall screen. Estep crashed through it on several occasions but got himself into foul trouble.

He had three fouls midway through the third quarter when he tried to break through the screens again and was called for foul. He complained to the referee who was quick on a technical foul and he was out of the game since it also counted as a personal foul.

“Rusty and Stuart gave Marty a chance to do his thing,” Hall said. “And it did it well.”

Like in the opening game of the series, the 95-99 Tomcats showed great balance with its “bigs” and some instant offense from Michael Lynch, who led them with 25 points. Kyle Umberger collected 15 points and nine rebounds, Tony Barrow scored 14, Chris Lynch 13 and Darrell Arbaugh 11.

On the other side, Nathan Kirk’s 18 points and 12 rebounds complemented the huge game from Thomas. Jason Strader had 11 points and 10 rebounds and twice picked the pocket of little brother Brian to make amends for the steal in Game 1.

“I told him I was going to get him,” Strader said. “You know what they say about paybacks.”

Rob Lynch’s shooting was way off, going 3-for-13, but he did pull down eight rebounds for the 90-94 Tomcats.

“Except for Marty and Nathan, not a great scoring night for us but our defense was much better,” Hall said.

Austin Young hit the only 3-pointer for the 90-94 Tomcats but it was a big one. It pulled them within 100-99 with 20 seconds to play. Robinson came up with the game’s biggest defensive play, taking a charge to give his team one last chance to stay alive.

Both teams called timeout to set the last-second strategy and everybody knew it had to involve Thomas.

“We were going to Marty but figured they were coming,” Hall said. “We flashed Smooth out in the corner and I told him to be ready and take the shot if you get it. A lot of guys who had a game like he’d had wouldn’t want the ball. But I looked into his eyes and they looked back at me with confidence. I was almost hoping they’d triple team Marty. OK, not really, but I felt good about Smooth shooting.”

They managed to force it inside to Thomas, but there was no way for him to shoot it and he wasn’t going to leave it to the referees for a bail-out call.

“Smooth got open, just like Coach said he would,” Thomas said.

Greene caught the pass, rolled the ball in his hands and shot the jumper like he’d done a thousand times before. It was a high-arching shot that was either going to be a perfect swish or bounce off the rim it had such trajectory….

Swish!

And that was it. The 90-94 Tomcats had won 101-100 to force Game 3 just as Thomas promised after Game 1.

“I told you there was going to be a Game 3!” Thomas yelled as teammates mobbed Greene in a dog pile at the foul line. “I told you!”

You might just call the celebration a Marty Party.

1990-1994 ASHLAND (101) – Strader 4-7 3-4 11, Young 2-4 0-0 5, R.Lynch 3-13 1-2 7, Kirk 7-16 4-6 18, Thomas 17-24 9-16 43, Greene 2-10 0-0 4, Keeton 1-2 0-0 2, Gray 2-3 0-0 4, Smith 1-2 3-5 5, Robinson 1-3 0-0 2, Salyers 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 40-85. FT: 20-32. 3FG: 1-9 (Young 1-3, R.Lynch 0-1, Kirk 0-2, Salyers 0-1). Rebounds: 46 (Young 1, R.Lynch 8, Kirk 12, Thomas 15, Greene 1, Keeton 2, Gray 1, Robinson 4, Salyers 1). Assists: 22 (J.Strader 10, R.Lynch 3, Kirk 3, Thomas 1, Gray 2, Smith 2, Robinson 1). PF: 24. Turnovers: 11.

1995-99 ASHLAND (100) – Tolbert 2-6 2-2 7, Estep 2-6 0-0 5, M.Lynch 8-22 7-8 25, Umberger 6-9 3-3 15, Arbaugh 4-9 2-4 11, C.Lynch 4-7 3-4 13, Barrow 5-6 2-2 14, Cooksey 1-3 0-0 2, Stakely 1-3 0-0 3, B.Strader 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 1-4 1-1 3. FG: 35-74. FT: 20-24. 3FG: 10-24 (Tolbert 1-4, Estep 1-3, M.ynch 2-6, Umberger 0-2, Arbaugh 1-1, C.Lynch 2-2, Barrow 2-2, Cooksey 0-1, Stakely 1-3). Rebounds: 42 (Tolbert 3, Estep 4, M.Lynch 3, Umberger 9, Arbaugh 3, C.Lynch 3, Barrow 5, Cooksey 2, Stakely 1, Strader 5, Johnson 4). Assists: 23 (Tolbert 7, Estep 2, M.Lynch 4, Umberger 2, Arbaugh 2, C.Lynch 5, Barrow 1). PF: 27. Turnovers: 10.

1990-94 ASHLAND    25         26         27         23      –          101

1995-99 ASHLAND    25         30         29         16       –         100

 

Tight as expected, a brotherly swipe and ‘bigs’ provide edge in 1990s opener

ASHLAND, Ky. – Whew!

In a game every bit as good as advertised, the 1995-99 Tomcats drew first blood in the best-of-3 series with the 1990-94 Tomcats in an entertaining 113-106 victory in front of a record crowd at James A. Anderson Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

Kyle Umberger powered in 25 points and sparked a key 9-0 surge in the third quarter that broke open a tight game that featured 16 lead changes and 14 ties.

There wasn’t much separation between the teams until Umberger scored seven in the 9-0 run to take the game from 70 apiece to 79-70.

“Kyle put the team on his back like he did so many times for us,” said 95-99 Tomcats coach Wayne Breeden. “When you have him, (Darrell) Arbaugh and (Chris) Lynch in there, it’s pretty formidable. They couldn’t match that.”

Umberger did surprise though with a pair of 15-footers in the surge that was sparked just as much from strong defense. Breeden used a 1-2-2 press to force four consecutive turnovers.

Brian Strader had an open court steal from his brother Jason that started the run. He lofted a perfect pass to Umberger to make it 72-70.

“That’ll be the last time that will happen,” vowed Jason Strader of his brother’s swipe.

However, the best defense came from Chris Estep, who took on Marty Thomas in the box-and-one that Breeden deployed against his former star. Ashland’s all-time scoring king was 6-of-15 for 16 points.

“Marty was going to have a tough time scoring inside if he got around Chris,” Breeden said. “But we couldn’t let him get going. I know the kind of damage he could do to teams. Chris is a bulldog. He did a good job of limiting Marty’s touches.”

Rob Lynch scored 20 and Jason Strader collected 17 points and nine assists. Nathan Kirk had 14 points.

“We got enough scoring, but we didn’t play enough defense,” said 90-94 coach Jeff Hall. “It was a great game though. Both of us played pretty well overall. That’s a load they have inside.”

Arbaugh (17 points) and Chris Lynch (12 points) joined with Umberger for a combined 54 points and 25 rebounds. Tony Barrow came off the bench for another 10 points.

Meanwhile, Tate Tolbert was spectacular with 19 points and five assists and Michael Lynch bombed in 13 points.

“We had six in double figures and Chris scored eight garbage points,” Breeden said.

It was hard to say who had the most floor burns. It was a close race between Estep and the 1990-94 team’s Smooth Greene, Stuart Smith and Ryan Robinson. On one possession, Greene and Smith caused a turnover by fighting each other for the basketball.

“Those guys are balls of fire,” Hall said. “How can you get upset with them over that play? It was like two dogs fighting over the same piece of meat.”

The first half was a dead-even battle with the 90-94 Tomcats holding the biggest lead at 57-51. It was tied at 59 at the half.

“That’s a lot more points than either one of us should have given up,” Breeden said.

The second half was much the same with the teams practically trading baskets until the 9-0 surge put the 95-99 Tomcats ahead for good. They built their biggest lead at 93-80 when Michael Lynch finished off a fastbreak after a pinpoint pass from Derek Cooksey.

Both teams shot it well from 3-point range with the 90-94 Tomcats going 10 of 24 and the 95-99 Tomcats shooting 12 of 28. Surprisingly, three of Arbaugh’s four baskets were triples.

“We were going to let him have that shot and he burned us,” Hall said. “He showed some range we didn’t think he had.”

The teams also both shot 47 percent from the field.

“This is going to be a great series,” Breeden said. “I’m glad we won the first one. It gives us some breathing room. I know Jeff is going to come back with something different. We need to be prepared for it.”

Thomas said the 90-94 Tomcats would get it together and he promised there would be a Game 3. “We’re winning tomorrow,” he said. “Put that in your story.”

1990-94 TOMCATS (106) – J.Strader 7-11 0-0 17, Young 3-10 0-2 7, R.Lynch 7-12 4-4 20, Kirk 5-10 3-4 14, Thomas 6-15 3-4 16, Salyers 202 909 4, Keeton 1-5 2-2 4, Robinson 2-5 0-0 4, Gray 3-6 1-2 7, Greene 1-4 5-5 8, Smith 2-3 0-0 5. FG: 39-83: FT: 18-23. 3FG: 10-24 (J.Strader 3-5, Young 1-5, R.Lynch 2-2, Kirk 1-1, Robinson 0-3, Gray 0-2, Greene 1-1, Smith 1-2). Rebounds: 39 (J.Strader 3, Young 4, R.Lynch 4, Kirk 5, Thomas 6, Salyers 1, Keeton 4, Robinson 3, Gray 4, Greene 3, Smith 2). Assists: 23 (J.Strader 9, R.Lynch 4, Salyers 1, Keeton 2, Robinson 3, Gray 2, Greene 2). PF: 21. Turnovers: 18.

1995-99 TOMCATS (113) – Tolbert 8-11 2-2 19, M.Lynch 5-14, 0-0 13, Umberger 11-9 2-4 25, Arbaugh 4-13 6-8 17, C.Lynch 4-5 4-4 12, Barrow 3-4 3-4 10, Estep 4-8 0-0 8, Cooksey 2-6 0-0 6, Johnson 0-5 0-0 0, B.Strader 0-2 0-0 0, Stakely 1-1 0-0 3. FG: 42-88. FT: 17-22. 3FG: 12-28 (Tolbert 1-3, M.Lynch 3-6, Umberger 1-2, Estep 0-4, C.Lynch 0-1, Arbaugh 3-4, Barrow 1-1, Cooksey 2-5, Johnson 0-1, Stakely 1-1). Rebounds: 40 (Tolbert 2, M.Lynch 4, Umberger 12, Arbaugh 7, C.Lynch 6, Estep 4, Cooksey 3, Johnson 2). Assists: 25 (Toblert 5, M.Lynch 2, Arbaugh 3, C.Lynch 3, Barrow 4, Cooksey 1, Johnson 2, B.Strader 5). PF: 20. Turnovers: 13.

1990-94 TOMCATS       28         31         21         26      –        106

1995-99 TOMCATS       30         29         29         25      –        113

Inside over outside leads to sweep for 80-84 Tomcats

ASHLAND, Ky. – For the second night in a row, Ashland’s 1980-84 team’s 1-2 punch of Jeff Tipton and Chuck Cantrell was devastating.

They combined for 47 points and the 80-84 Tomcats became the first team in the Tomcat Shootout to sweep a decade rival in two games, swamping the 85-89 Tomcats 114-93 Saturday night.

They built a 24-point lead in the first half because the 85-89 Tomcats’ strategy of shooting from behind the 3-point line backfired. They were a woeful 4-for-31 behind the arc and it led to a lopsided loss.

Jeff Tipton (above) and Chuck Cantrell shared the MVP award.

“We thought eventually something was going to start falling,” said 85-89 coach Craynor Slone. “But they never did. We’re better shooters than we showed.”

Cantrell struggled from the field too but he made 15 of 21 free throws on the way to a game-high 25 points with 12 rebounds. Tipton collected 22 points and 13 rebounds.

“Glad those guys are on my team,” said 80-84 coach Ernie Simpson. “But we had a lot of good performances. When you score 114 points, how can you not be pleased?”

Tipton and Cantrell shared the MVP award.

Charlie Scott, who dressed up like Grandma in the opening game, played it straight this time and scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Doug Smith lit it up for 21 points and Jon Webb added 10 points and six assists.

Like in the first game, the 80-84 Tomcats built a big first quarter lead. They were up 31-20 and then outscored the 85-89 Tomcats 28-19 in the second quarter for a 59-39 lead.

“We shot ourselves out of it,” said Rece Ryan, who scored 16 but missed all eight of his 3-point attempts. Jason Williams, who had 17 points, was also 0-for-8 behind the arc.

“I could have sworn those shots were right on target,” Ryan said. “I don’t know what happened. I’ve never missed that many shots.”

Meanwhile, with the 3-point game floundering, the big 80-84 team was pulling down rebound after rebound.

The third quarter featured both teams on target and the fans loved it. They both scored 31 points.

“The defense was missing to start the third quarter for both of us,” Simpson said. “Did either one of us miss a shot? It looked like we were on the AAU circuit.”

Brothers Greg and Shawn Conley got into a minor altercation after colliding under the basket. The referees called a charge on Shawn and Greg began clapping in his face. The brothers each got in a shove before their father Herb was stepping between them on the floor. He was out there faster than Usian Bolt.

Let’s just say order was restored rather quickly.

It was reminiscent of when the boys were younger going at each other, in uniform, on the sidelines at Putnam Stadium as Herb coached the Tomcats to another football victory.

Greg scored nine points and Shawn had seven while guarding each other most of the game.

For the second game in a row, Dew Foley led the 85-89 Tomcats. He scored 22 and Mark Salyers added 12 points. The 85-89 Tomcats were able to launch 98 shots but they made only 35.

“They didn’t want to have anything to do with coming inside,” Tipton said.

And when they shot outside, it didn’t work.

“You know, I wasn’t disappointed with those shots we took,” Slone said. “Rece hits from there at least half the time in practice and Jason is a pure shooter. Those guys were 0-for-16? I would never have believed it.”

1985-89 ASHLAND (93) – Ryan 5-16 6-8 16, Johnson 3-11 0-0 8, Williams 6-22 5-6 17, Foley 8-10 5-6 22, Avila 2-4 0-0 4, Salyers 5-13 2-3 12, Conley 3-8 0-0 6, Gifford 2-3 0-0 4, McCallister 0-3 0-0 0, McKenzie 1-8 1-1 3. FG: 35-98. FT: 9-25. 3FG: 4-31 (Ryan 0-8, Johnson 2-7, Williams 0-8, Foley 1-1, Avila 0-2, Salyers 0-1, Conley 1-2, Gifford 0-1, McKenzie 0-1). Rebounds: 43 (Ryan 5, Johnson 5, Williams 5, Foley 8, Avila 9, Salyers 4, Conley 1, Gifford 3, McCallister 3). Assists: 22 (Ryan 5, Johnson 1, Williams 3, Foley 2, Avila 2, Salyers 3, Conley 5, McKenzie 1). PF: 29. Turnovers: 18.

1980-84 ASHLAND (114) – Webb 5-11 0-0 10, Smith 7-13 5-5 21, Tipton 10-16 2-5 22, McCauley 4-10 1-5 9, Cantrell 5-15 15-21 25, Crank 3-4 0-0 6, Scott 6-7 0-0 12, Stewart 1-2 0-0 2, Conley 3-3 1-1 7, Farrow 0-2 0-2 0, Daniels 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 44-83. FT: 24-39. 3FG: 2-5 (Smith 2-3, Cantrell 0-2). Rebounds: 53 (Webb 4, Smith 4, Tipton 13, McCauley 9, Cantrell 12, Crank 5, Scott 5, Conley 1). Assists: 20 (Webb 6, Smith 3, Tipton 2, McCauley 2, Cantrell 1, Crank 1, Scott 2, Stewart 2, Farrow 1). PF: 16. Turnovers: 21.

1985-89 ASHLAND         20         19         30         24      –       93

1980-84 ASHLAND         31         28         31         24      –      114

 

Big, balanced and too much Grandma in 1980s battle

ASHLAND, Ky. – Too big, too balanced and … Great Scott!!!

The 1980-84 Tomcats put six players in double figures and dominated inside for a 92-76 victory over the 1985-89 Tomcats in the first of a best-of-3 series Friday afternoon at Anderson gym.

Jeff Tipton and Chuck Cantrell both had double-doubles and the 80-84 Tomcats broke free from a tight game in the first quarter to build a 29-19 lead.

Tipton had 13 points and 14 rebounds and Cantrell 13 points and 10 rebounds. Greg McCauley had 15 points, Doug Smith 14, Jon Webb 12 and Jerry Farrow 10 for a team that didn’t have to look far for scoring.

Charlie Scott sparked the 1980-84 Tomcats win with a gimmick.

“Tip and Cantrell are hard to handle,” said 80-84 coach Ernie Simpson. “Those guys are bangers. Greg did his thing too. Fifteen points and seven assists? He’s a freak out there.”

The 85-89 team was formidable and took a 36-35 lead when Mark Salyers went on a personal 6-0 run, including a pair of free throws. Those Tomcats were 10 for 10 at the foul line for the game. The game remained tight and the 1985-89 Tomcats trailed 42-41 after Jerry Johnson laid in a basket among the trees. They trailed 45-41 at the half.

“I thought we were in good shape,” said 85-89 coach Craynor Slone. “They jumped out on us in the third quarter but we toughened up on them. Everybody was feeling good at the half.”

But something, uh, strange happened to start the second half.

Charlie Scott, who played sparingly in the first half for the 80-84 team, came out dressed in his Grandma costume and put on a show while warming up much to the delight of the 2,500 who had come to Anderson gym. It was learned later that Scott took a dare from Bill Bradley about wearing the Grandma Gear. Bradley now has to give him unlimited hamburgers and hot dogs at all future CLEM events.

Bradley was awed that he met the dare. “I bow down to my man,” he said. “He can eat all he wants at our CLEM this year and every year.” The 39th annual CLEM – an Ashland tradition – will be played in August (virus or not).

“I didn’t know what Charlie was doing,” Simpson said. “He said he had to go to the bathroom and then, the next thing I know, he’s out here warming up in that Grandma outfit. I thought, if he’ll do that, I’ll play him!”

Scott scored all five of his points in the first two minutes before coming out and exiting to the bench. He never got back in the game.

“What in the world was that all about?” asked Shawn Conley. “And how did he jump so high with that dress on?’

The stunned 85-89 Tomcats never recovered from Scott’s spark. The 80-84 team outscored them 29-14 and built a lead of as much as 21 points in the third quarter. It was all but over.

Dew Foley, who scored 16, tried to rally the 85-89 Tomcats with some dazzling inside moves against the giant frontline. Jason Williams scored 14 but was only 7-of-22 shooting while Rece Ryan scored 13 and Johnson had 10.

Slone said besides Scott’s “sideshow,” the difference in the game may have come at the foul line. While the 85-89 Tomcats were 10 of 10 the 80-84 Tomcats made 19 of 27.

“They got to the line a few more times than us,” he said. “It happens. They were the aggressor tonight and if we don’t become that tomorrow, we’ll be going home early.”

Simpson said Scott wasn’t the most unusual thing that happened in the game.

“Tip and Jamie Stewart hit 3-pointers,” he said. “That’s like Haley’s Comet coming twice in the same day.”

The 80-84 team was deadly from behind the arc, hitting 7 of 15 triples.

“Practice makes perfect,” Simpson said. “I need to go find Charlie. Has anybody seen him?”

Scott was in the lobby buying hot dogs for about two dozen kids he had gathered up who circled around him.

“Listen to me! Listen to me!” he said. “Grandma said you all need to be in church on Sunday. Am I going to see you there?”

“YESSSSSSS!!!!!!” they screamed back.

With that Charlie nodded his head in the direction of Cal Bradley, who nodded back and applauded his friend.

Game 2 will be Saturday night.

1985-89 ASHLAND (76) – Foley 5-10 5-5 16, Salyers 2-6 2-2 6, Conley 3-6 0-0 6, Johnson 4-9 2-2 10, Williams 7-22 0-0 14, Ryan 5-9 1-1 13, Gifford 1-2 0-0 2, McKenzie 2-5 909 5, McCallister 0-4 0-0 0, Avila 2-4 0-0 4. FG: 31-77. FT: 10-10. 3FG: 4-12 (Foley 1-2, Salyers 0-2, Conley 0-1, Ryan 2-4, McKenzie 1-2, McCallister 0-1). Rebounds: 37 (Foley 3, Salyers 3, Conley 5, Johnson 10, Ryan 3, Gifford 2, McKenzie 2, McCallister 1, Avila 6). Assists: 20 (Foley 3, Salyers 4, Conley 8, Johnson 1, Williams 2, McCallister 2). PF: 23. Turnovers: 14.

1980-84 ASHLAND (92) – McCauley 3-6 3-4 15, Smith 5-9 2-2 14, Webb 5-12 1-1 12, Cantrell 5-7 3-4 13, Tipton 4-13 5-8 13, Stewart 1-2 0-0 3, Farrow 3-7 2-2 10, Conley 2-6 0-0 5, Daniel 1-2 0-0 2, Crank 0-4 0-0 0, Scott 1-1 3-6 5. FG: 33-72. FT: 19-27. 3FG: 7-15 (Smith 2-3, Webb 1-5, Tipton 1-1, Stewart 2-3, Farrow 1-3). Rebounds: 44 (Smith 3, Webb 2, Cantrell 10, Tipton 14, Stewart 5, Daniel 6, Crank 2, Scott 2). PF: 16. Turnovers: 16.

1985-89 ASHLAND       19         22         14         21       –         76

1980-84 ASHLAND       29         16         29         18       –         92