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.

Kentucky moves on to Sweet 16; top seed Dayton upset

ASHLAND, Ky. – How sweet it is!!!

East No.3 seed Kentucky overwhelmed East Tennessee State 87-57 in the second round of the MARK MADNESS NCAA Tournament. The Cats are headed to the Sweet 16.

Nick Richards collected 16 points and 11 rebounds against East Tennessee. (Tammie Brown photo)

EJ Montgomery scored 17 and Nick Richards collected 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead five in double figures. The game was never in doubt as the third-seeded Wildcats became the highest seed remaining in the East bracket.

Top-seeded Dayton and No. 2 seed Villanova were both stunned. Marquette defeated Dayton 69-59 and Illinois shocked Villanova 70-63.

Kentucky will play Illinois in the Sweet 16 game.

The Cats were a sizzling 58 percent from the fiel and held a whopping 37-28 rebounding advantage. Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley and Keion Brooks Jr. scored 11 apiece.

Kentucky led 49-27 at the half.

Elsewhere in the tournament, top overall seed Kansas crushed USC 80-42, Duke defeated WVU 81-63, and Rutgers upset high-scoring and second-seeded San Diego State, 63-60.

Below is a complete list of second-round scores and the schedule for the Sweet 16.

(Games are being played through Dave Koch Sports computer game. It’s computer vs. computer except for Kentucky when I’m stepping in for Coach Cal.)

Second-round scores

MIDWEST

Kansas 80, USC 42

Stanford 58, Liberty 40

Creighton 94, Iowa 92

Duke 83, West Virginia 71

EAST

Marquette 69, Dayton 59

Maryland 69, Akron 53

Illinois 70, Villanova 63

Kentucky 87. East Tennessee State 57

SOUTH

Baylor 80, St. Mary’s 75

Auburn 79, Bradley 69

Florida State 76, Providence 63

Texas Tech 77, Michigan State 74

WEST

Gonzaga 83, Houston 68

Penn State 83, Oregon 72

Rutgers 63, San Diego State 60

Michigan 73, North Texas 54

SWEET 16 SCHEDULE

Midwest

Kansas vs. Stanford

Creighton vs. Duke

East

Marquette vs. Maryland

Illinois vs. Kentucky

South

Baylor vs. Auburn

Florida State vs. Texas Tech

West

Gonzaga vs. Penn State

Rutgers vs. Michigan

 

Kentucky defeats Hofstra; Louisville stunned

With the help of a computer game, Dave Koch Sports, the 2020 NCAA Tournament is being played on Holt Street in Ashland, Kentucky.

It’s computer vs. computer except when Kentucky plays and that’s when yours truly becomes Coach Cal. The Cats were a No. 3 seed in an East bracket where Dayton was No. 1 and Villanova was No. 2.

Ashton Hagans was MVP of the win over Hofstra. (Tammie Brown photo)

Kentucky was matched against Hofstra in the opening round and came away with a 61-48 victory. Nick Richards had two fouls in the first 45 seconds and was rendered ineffective. The Cats still led most of the way and looked like they might pull away, but then Hofstra fought back to keep it close (sound familiar?) before falling.

UK’s Immanuel Quickley scored 13 and Tyrese Maxey added 10. Ashton Hagans, the game MVP, had nine points and eight assists. UK shot only 38 percent and went 2-for-12 on 3-pointers – a bad overall shooting game. But the Cats defended well and especially on the 3-point line, where Hofstra was 3-for-21.

Quickley was hot early, scoring nine, as Kentucky took a 22-7 lead, matching the largest margin in the game. The Cats maintained a double-figure advantage most of the game.

Kentucky plays 11th seed East Tennessee in the second round. The Bucs shocked No. 3 seeded BYU 90-76.

Elsewhere in the tournament, Bradley stunned Louisville 89-81, North Texas shocked Seton Hall 74-67, Texas Tech pummeled defending champion Virginia 71-39. Akron upset Ohio State 82-74 and West Virginia edged Indiana 74-73.

In the SEC, Auburn advanced but LSU and Florida both fell in the opening round.

Looks like MARK MADNESS has as many surprises as they real thing. Tune in tomorrow for the second-round games.

First-round scores

EAST

1-Dayton 67, 16-Boston U. 62

8-Marquette 81, 9-Colorado 73

4-Maryland 66, New Mexico State 42

12-Akron 82, 5-Ohio State 74

2-Villanova 79, 15-Northern Kentucky 60

7-Illinois 66, 10-Cincinnati 62

3-Kentucky 61, 14-Hofstra 48

11-East Tenn. State 90, 3-BYU 76

MIDWEST

1-Kansas 73, 16-NC Central 57

8-USC 85, 9-Florida 55

13-Liberty 64, 4-Wisconsin 53

12-Stanford 61, 5-Butler 55

2-Creighton 84, 15-Eastern Mich. 69

7-Iowa 85, 10-Arizona State 76

3-Duke 94, 14-UC Irvine 57

6-West Virginia 74, Indiana 73

SOUTH

1-Baylor 87, 16-Winthrop 79

8-St. Mary’s 70, 9-LSU 65

13-Bradley 89, 4-Louisville 81

5-Auburn 80, 12-Yale 67

2-Florida State 82, 15-North Dakota State 46

7-Providence 70, 10-Utah State 64

3-Michigan State 102, 14-Belmont 80

11-Texas Tech 71, 6-Virginia 39

WEST

1-Gonzaga 89, 16-Sienna 72

8-Houston 75, 9-Oklahoma 68

4-Oregon 84, 13-Vermont 57

5-Penn State 64, 12-Stephen F. Austin 59

2-San Diego State 82, 15-Arkansas-Little Rock 79

10-Rutgers 85, 7-Arizona 74

14-North Texas 74, 3-Seton Hall 67

6-Michigan 73, 11-UCLA 64

33-0 Tomcats stuff of legends and banner-worthy

Ashland’s forever undefeated basketball team may be the most beloved in Tomcat history. They took on the very spirit of the community, lifted us when we needed it the most, gave us hope and encouragement and became a shining light during some of our darkest days.

It’s not only because of how they played basketball, which was almost poetic, but how these young men handled themselves.

Ashland’s starting five: Ethan Sellars, Ethan Hudson, Justin Bradley, Colin Porter and Cole Villers. (Kimberly Phillips photo)

Call Coach Jason Mays the maestro for what he has put together. He’s now deeply a part of the Tomcat legacy that he embraced from the moment he was hired.

Coach Jason Mays has won back-to-back regional titles. (Kimberly Phillips photo)

You can count the ways they were different. It was the players handing the ball back to the referee without attitude after being whistled for a suspect call, or a Tomcat extending a hand to an opponent who has crashed onto the floor on a hard play, or the team making a prayer circle after games. It was these young men using their volunteer time and basketball gifts to lift the less fortunate on Saturday mornings instead of choosing to sleep an extra couple of hours.

Colin Porter, the freshman point guard. (Kimberly Phillips photo)

That’s why they are beloved, that’s why a community was behind them in masses, and that’s why we are still talking about them and will be for years to come. They have etched their names in Tomcat lore.

There was a certain romanticism that has evolved with the way everything has apparently ended, with the Sweet 16 indefinitely suspended and with the Tomcats unable to complete the journey that they destined for themselves. But if this is the end, then they did complete that journey, and did it in perfect fashion.

Cole Villers, a sophomore, led the team in scoring. (Kimberly Phillips photo)

They have chased Tomcat ghosts since December, battled arch-rivals to the bitter end, even overcome in some games when they weren’t at their best. No one can take away the simple fact that they played 33 games and won every single one of them.

Ethan Hudson is one of three seniors. (Kimberly Phillips photo)

Here’s something else that played into the perfect season: The school board and administrators made a wise decision to allow a local company to Facebook telecast home games starting with the Ashland Invitational Tournament. While there is no replacing the unflappable voice of Dicky Martin over the radio in his unique style of delivering a game broadcast, the Facebook television broadcasts brought this Tomcat team to our living rooms in Ashland and throughout world, for that matter, over the last three months. It made everybody appreciate them more and served as a connection to this most magical of seasons. And when there was no Facebook broadcast, Dicky Martin always was, through every one of the 33 incredible games.

Ethan Sellars, only a sophomore, came up big in several games. (Kimberly Phillips photo)

We could call them state champions given that sparkling record but there’s no way to ever quantify that title officially. Fifteen other teams are feeling as badly as the Tomcats about not being able to play for the right to wear the crown. All these teams are forever linked to the dreadful coronavirus that brought the sports world – all the world, for that matter – to its knees.

Officials talked about trying to play the Sweet 16 later, when all of this virus clears up, but it doesn’t seem likely given the current scenario. Everybody is resigned to that by now.

Justin Bradley was the defensive ace.

If the last game for these Tomcats was the 16th Region championship game against Lewis County then – WOW! – what a way to go out. It was the best game they played all season, a poetry-in-motion performance that was one of the best in regional tournament history. It only adds to the legacy of this one-of-a-kind team.

Hunter Gillum provided a spark off the bench.

To that end, when teams achieve what these Tomcats did, celebration is a must. We can’t do it now while in the grips of the unforgiving virus, where a 3-on-3 game is considered too big of a crowd, but it needs to be done in the future when a sense of normalcy returns to our lives.

Nolan Phillips was a good rebounder and inside presence. (Kimberbly Phillips photo)

Ashland may never have another undefeated team in our lifetime – the last one was 92 years ago in 1928. The community celebrated that great team with 11,000 greeting them at the train station on 11th Street upon their return home. A parade through downtown proceeded with a celebration party at the end of it. They have a banner hanging in the gymnasium named after their coach.

When it comes time to celebrate, whenever that happens to come, let’s raise a banner in James A. Anderson Gymnasium for the 2020 Tomcats, who are forever that undefeated team that will be talked about for years and years to come.

It seems the least we could do.

Below is an artist rendition of the banner-raising by Joe Bevins, a Tomcat himself, who I asked to help me share the vision. He did a fabulous job, as I’m sure you’ll agree . Feel free to share.

Joe Bevins put together this cartoon of the Tomcat raising the banner.

Tomcats best days and Halley’s Comet

Tomcats soak up the moment with another regional title.

Embrace what just happened with Ashland’s basketball team because 33-0 is a Halley’s Comet moment. Take a lot of photos. Remember them. Maybe get an autograph.

How did Ashland’s remarkable team make it through to the Sweet Sixteen without a single blemish?

These players are as rare as their record, good boys who make the Ashland community – and their parents – proud. They all must have had “plays well together” on their elementary school report cards because that’s a trait that runs through them. I’ve never seen a better passing team.

They spent many Saturday mornings throughout the season not sleeping until noon but working with children who have disabilities. They are good students, leaders in the school, role models.

They like each other and they like to win more than anything.

Justin Bradley scrambles for a loose ball.

Most of them have been doing that together for a long time. Kimberly Phillips, the team photographer, shared a Facebook memory on Tuesday from seven years ago when the Ashland Wildcards were playing together in a tournament.

They have a history together, a background and are well-grounded when it comes to spiritual matters because good people of Ashland have been put in their path. I personally love that spiritual angle about them. It goes back to their parents and the inspirational coaches who had a part in making them great players and even better people.

“They were given an opportunity to play a game they all love and enjoy and were taught that if you put your faith in God … anything can be accomplished,” Phillips wrote in the 2013 post.

How fitting that it popped up on the day these Tomcats made more history and kept making a community button-popping proud. They’ve been the good story in Ashland among a lot of sad ones.

Jason Mays is 6-0 in two regional tournaments.

Ashland blistered Lewis County 84-60 in the 16th Region championship with a clinic of a shooting display that set a record for 3-pointers. They were splashing them in all around Ellis T. Johnson Arena. The score could have been much worse, maybe double that margin, but that’s not how Jason Mays coaches. He’s class too and Ashland is lucky to have him.

It has been a season of incredible performances from these Tomcats who are sure to be remembered forever. They have the potential to be remembered not only in Ashland, which is already secured, but in state lore as well. The last undefeated team in state tournament history was when Brewers went 36-0 in 1948.

The Tomcats are the eighth team to enter the state tournament undefeated since Brewers became only the third team to win it all with an unblemished record.

Fans may well get behind Ashland when they play Elizabethtown in Rupp Arena to try and extend that undefeated streak and, if they shoot like they did in the regional tournament, anything is possible. It would be a mistake to count them out.

We’ve been witness to something special with this team and losing doesn’t seem to be an option, even if a 60-foot heave at the end of the game is needed.

Enjoy the moment because Halley’s Comets only come around about every 70-75 years.

Let’s see, Brewers undefeated championship season was, uh, 72 years ago?

Hmmmmm?