ASHLAND, Ky. – In a game that was shaping up as a shootout in the opening quarter went south in a hurry Tuesday night during the Tomcat Shootout best-of-3 series between the 1970s all-star teams.

The 1970-74 Tomcats exploded in the second quarter and went on to a surprising 105-97 victory over the 1975-79 Tomcat All-Stars at Anderson gym.

The game was tight until the pivotal second quarter when the 70-74 Tomcats outscored the 75-79 Tomcats decisively 28-8 for a 60-33 halftime lead. It was a stunning margin that nobody saw coming, especially the coaches of the two teams.

“They overwhelmed us in the second quarter,” said 75-79 coach Paul Patterson. “I’ve never had a team give up 60 points in a half and certainly not 105 in a game. These All-Star games are hard to figure. Where is the defense?”

It didn’t show up much, but the offense was especially lacking in the second quarter for the 75-79 Tomcats, made up largely of players from the 1977 final four team.

“Eight points,” lamented Patterson. “That’s it. Eight points.”

Defense was the difference for the 70-74 Tomcats, said coach Steve Gilmore.

“These guys like to shoot but they can get down and dirty on defense when they want to,” he said. “We did that in the second quarter.”

The 70-74 Tomcats zoomed ahead 82-53 with two minutes to play in the third quarter, expanding on the big halftime advantage and essentially putting the game out of reach.

Five players scored in double figures led by Johnny Mullins with 21 points and four assists. Rough-and-tumble Jeff Cooksey battled Jeff Kovach inside and came away with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ronnie Griffith had 15 points, six assists and seven rebounds while Dale Lynch added 14 points and Danny Evans 13.

“We just outplayed these guys badly tonight,” Evans said. “I don’t know how else you can paint it. That second quarter took them out of the game.”

A huge fourth quarter from the 75-79 Tomcats showed some promise. They scored 42 points in that quarter alone and hope it catapults them in game 2 of the best-of-3 series.

“Like Coach Patterson said, it was an embarrassing night,” said forward Mark Swift, who scored a dozen points. “It won’t be this way in Game 2. I guarantee it.”

Kovach had 24 points and six rebounds, Greg Swift collected seven points and 11 assists and Jim Harkins had 15 point and nine rebounds.

“Kovach is a handful,” Gilmore said. “They did a good job of isolating him in the second half. That’s something we’re going to have to watch going forward.”

What pleased Gilmore the most was the 26 assists that were accumulated on the 43 baskets.

“These guys are so unselfish,” he said. “No matter who we had in the game, they were looking for the open shooter. We had five in double figures and another with nine (Steve Dodd, who also had five rebounds). You get that kind of balance from good passing.”

The 70-74 Tomcats shot 54 percent from the field and held a 39-36 rebound advantage. Neither team had much luck from the 3-point line. The 75-79 Tomcats were 4-of-13 and the 70-74 Tomcats were 0-for-3.

“We’re not used to taking shots from behind the arc,” Gilmore said. “We’ll come around with that in future games.”

1975-79 ASHLAND (97) – Collins 4-9 3-3 11, M.Swift 5-11 0-0 12, Harkins 6-13 2-2 15, G.Swift 3-6 1-1 7, Kovach 11-21 2-4 24, Welch 3-6 2-2 8, Smith 2-4 0-0 5, Dummit 3-6 1-2 7, Allen 1-3 0-0 2, Mann 2-5 0-0 4. FG: 41-87. FT: 11-14. 3FG: 4-13 (Collins 0-1, M.Swift 2-5, Harkins 1-2, Kovach 0-1, Smith 1-3). Rebounds: 36 (Collins 3, M.Swift 2, Harkins 9, G.Swift 3, Kovach 6, Welch 2, Smith 3, Dummit 2, Mann 4, Allen 2). Assists: 23 (Collins 1, M.Swift 3, Harkins 4, G.Swift 11, Kovach 1, Smith 2, Allen 1). PF: 22. Turnovers: 14.

1970-74 ASHLAND (105) – Lynch 6-9 2-2 14, Mullins 9-13 3-4 21, Cooksey 7-16 3-4 17, Griffith 6-9 3-4 15, Dodd 3-7 3-3 9, Evans 6-7 1-2 13, Farrow 1-5 0-0 2, Williams 1-7 2-2 4, Hixson 2-3 2-2 6, Smith 2-3 0-0 4. FG: 43-80. FT: 19-23. 3FG: 0-3 (Lynch 0-1, Farrow 0-2). Rebounds: 39 (Lynch 1, Mullins 4, Cooksey 10, Griffith 7, Dodd 5, Evans 2, Farrow 1, Williams 4, Hixson 3, Smith 2). Assists: 26 (Lynch 1, Mullins 4, Cooksey 3, Griffith 6, Dodd 2, Evans 6, Farrow 3, Williams 1). PF: 18. Turnovers: 12.

1975-79 ASHLAND        25         8          22       42       –          97

1970-74 ASHLAND        32         28       22        23        –        105

 

ASHLAND, Ky. – Larry Conley’s encore performance was enough to drop the curtain on the 1965-69 Tomcat All-Stars in Friday night’s Tomcat Shootout.

Coming off a 40-point performance in a Game 2 loss, the star of the 1960-64 Tomcat All-Stars put up 43 points in a 111-106 victory at the old Ashland High School.

The game belonged to the 1960-64 Tomcats from opening tip to final buzzer. They held a lead of 19 points and were never seriously threatened despite the game coming down to a five-point margin.

“That’s a load of talent on our roster,” said 60-64 coach Bob Wright. “When you have Larry, you have enough, but we had a lot more than just him. His teammates also saw he was still hot, so they fed him the ball. They did that well. At times, he was just unstoppable.”

Ditto Sparks scored 22 and Harold Sergent collected 19 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in a complete effort.

“Sarge is a floor leader,” Wright said. “Best in the business.”

Conley was remarkable for the third consecutive game in the series, this time making 18 of 23 attempts from the floor and 7 of 10 free throws. His performance upstaged 65-69 big man Clint Wheeler, who collected 27 points and 16 rebounds.

Bobby Lynch, coming off a 50-point outburst in Game 2, scored 19 and never got back in the groove, making only 8-of-26 attempts.

Harold Cole, coach of the 65-69 Tomcats, said he was proud of how his team hung with the ultra-talented 1960-64 Tomcats.

“I tell you what, I’m not sure who is going to beat them two out of three,” he said. “I think our Game 2 took a lot out of us. We had dead legs and they were all over Bobby. They weren’t going to let him go off for 50 again.”

But Ashland’s own “Larry Legend” wrote another chapter in his championship book. When the 60-64 Tomcats needed a basket, they looked to Conley. He scored from inside and outside, using his long arms to great advantage. No defensive matchup seemed to work against him.

“I didn’t do anything special, my teammates put me in good position to be successful,” Conley said. “I love getting the chance to play with these guys again. Those guys are tremendous and this 65-69 team is fabulous. Bobby Lynch is one of the most pure shooters I’ve ever been around and what a game for Clint Wheeler.”

A fast start by the 60-64 Tomcats put the 65-69 team in a big hole from which they could never recover. Conley scored eight during a 22-14 start to the game. They had piled up a 36-23 lead at the end of a high-scoring first quarter.

It looked like they were going to coast in for the victory, leading 85-66 after three quarters. A late burst from the 65-69 Tomcats cut the deficit under double figures with four minutes to play. Wheeler’s hook shot over Gene Smith made it 109-106 with seven seconds remaining but they never got the ball back. Sergent sank a pair of free throws with 1.3 seconds to play to set the final margin.

“We ran out of time,” Cole said. “I’d love to have had about 45 seconds more to play. But we didn’t get the job done earlier. Good luck to those guys moving forward.”

Five players scored in double figures for the 60-64 Tomcats, including 11 apiece from Parkie Beam and Smith.

Benny Spears scored 17 with 10 rebounds and Tim Jackson had 16 points.

“We were fortunate to come away with the win and look forward to representing the 1960s,” Wright said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt in my mind that the 1960s is the best era of Ashland Tomcat basketball. I realize I’m a little biased, but it’s hard to imagine anybody being much better or having anyone quite like Larry. How great was it to have Larry going against Bobby? This could have easily been the championship round.”

1965-69 TOMCAT ALL-STARS (106) – Lynch 8-26 2-2 19, Spears 8-16 0-0 17, Baldridge 1-3 4-4 6, Wheeler 13-15 1-2 27, Jackson 6-10 4-4 16, M.Griffith 2-6 0-0 4, Williams 3-4 0-0 6, Kleykamp 3-4 1-1 7, Owens 2-3 0-0 4, Conley 0-2 0-0 0. FG: 46-89. FT: 11-12. 3FGs: 3-10 (Lynch 1-4, Spears 1-4, Jackson 0-1, Kleykamp 1-1). Rebounds: 43 (Lynch 2, Spears 10, Baldridge 7, Wheeler 16, Jackson 1, M.Griffith 1, Williams 3, Owens 2, Conley 1). Assists: 24 (Lynch 4, Spears 2, Baldridge 4, Wheeler 2, Jackson 2, M.Griffith 5, Williams 1, Kleykamp 1, Owens 2, Conley 1). PF: 20. Turnovers: 22.

1960-64 TOMCAT ALL-STARS (111) – Sergent 5-11 7-7 18, Smith 5-11 1-2 11, Sparks 1-19 9-9 22, Beam 5-7 1-4 11, Conley 18-23 7-10 43, Cram 2-3 0-0 4, Wright 0-4 0-0 0, McKenzie 0-1 0-0 0, Branham 0-1 0-0 0, Hilton 1-2 0-0 2. FG: 47-82. FT: 16-23. 3FGs: 1-8 (Sergent 1-4, Sparks 0-3, Wright 0-1). Rebounds: 28 (Sergent 6, Spears 5, Beam 6, Conley 4, Cram 4, Branham 1, Hilton 2). Assists: 28 (Sergent 11, Smith 5, Spears 2, Conley 3, Cram 1,  McKenzie 4, Branham 1, Hilton 1). PF: 18. Turnovers: 22.

1965-69 TOMCATS       23       29       14         40          –        106

1960-64 TOMCATS       36       24       25        26          –         111

ASHLAND, Ky. – Even after the champion is crowned in the inaugural Tomcat Shootout, they will be talking about this game.

It will immediately be a part of Tomcat lore, an instant classic. Years from now, people will say they were there because the story had been told so much.

Dicky Martin, the defacto voice of the Tomcats, couldn’t have found the words to describe it and neither could his father Dick, who called the game on WCMI.

“Speechless,” he said in a raspy tone after the game.

Even the fans shuffling out of the gym after it was over could do nothing but whisper to each other about what they had seen because it had never happened before and would never happen again.

“Did that just happen?” they asked.

It was a game within a game, a scoring duel between two Tomcat stars and a battle of all-stars made up of the great 1960s era. It was the second of a best-of-3 series between the 1960-64 Tomcats and the 1965-69 Tomcats.

There were signs something big was going to happen.

“Hey, Bobby,” teammate Benny Spears said to Bobby Lynch during warmups. “Are you ever going to miss one?”

It was an elimination game for the 1965-69 Tomcats, who dropped the opener in the series 111-106 in a game where they trailed by 18 points. The favored and ultra-talented 1960-64 Tomcats wanted to end the series and move on. They had allowed the 1965-69 Tomcats to get close after scoring 102 points in three quarters.

“That game should have never been that close,” said Ditto Sparks. “We started lollygagging around and let them back in. We’re going to blow them out of the gym tonight. Wait and see.”

This game would be different. It was tied 16 times and had 17 lead changes. The biggest lead of the night belonged to the determined 1965-69 Tomcats at 15 points. But that’s not what was most memorable.

Bobby Lynch and Larry Conley put on a spectacular scoring show, an unending display of basketball fireworks that had fans in the stands looking at each other with wide eyes. There were short shots, long ones, reverse layups, behind-the-back moves, deep corner 3s and everything else imaginable.

“You just started watching them,” said Lynch’s teammate and Conley’s brother, Joe Conley. “I’ve seen them both hot but never hot like this. We all wanted to just go over to the stands and join the fans in watching and cheering.”

Lynch, taking a page out of Pete Maravich’s book, scored 50 on 15-of-26 shooting. He swished three triples and was 17-for-17 at the foul line. Lynch also claimed seven rebounds and even had three assists.

Conley matched him practically basket for basket, scoring 40 points on 16-for-23 shooting and 5-of-7 free throws. He had 11 rebounds and seven assists.

They both played every second of a pulsating game and it was Lynch’s 1965-69 Tomcats who came out the victor, 131-128, in overtime. The extra period belonged to Lynch too with 13 of the 16 points scored.

“Bobby Lynch,” said 1965-69 Tomcat coach Harold Cole shaking his head. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The absolute best individual performance I’ve ever seen. To do that against these guys?” his voice trailed off. “I’m not sure who else in Tomcat history could do it. When he got hot, they couldn’t stop him from scoring. They tried everything. He was unstoppable tonight.”

Bob Wright, the 1960-64 Tomcat coach, said even with the defense focusing on Lynch, it didn’t seem to matter.

“He scored against everything we threw at him,” Wright said. “And so did Larry for us. Watching those two guys go at it like gunslingers made me want to go buy a ticket. We were witness to basketball greatness tonight.”

Cole made a lineup switch, putting Randy Williams at point guard and it reaped dividends and took pressure off Lynch. Williams collected 10 points and 12 assists. Roger Baldridge also started in Game 2 and had 14 points and 13 rebounds, battling fiercely with the 1960-64 frontline.

“Big game for those two guys,” Cole said. “There’s nobody on this team I’m afraid to put in the game. Whatever five you put out there, they’re all All-Stars and they’re all going to perform like it.”

The game trended toward a blowout early when the 1965-69 Tomcats raced ahead 40-25 by the first minute into the second quarter. But by halftime it was almost all equal, with the 65-69 Tomcats leading 58-57.

“They came at us with everything they had in the first half,” Conley said. “We had to get up from a wheelhouse punch.”

The 1960-64 Tomcats got up and punched back. Ditto Sparks and Harold Sergent, who scored 26 and 22 respectively, got them back in the game.

Late in the third quarter, Spears scored from 15-feet for an 82-76 lead. But an 8-0 run gave the 1960-64 Tomcats an 84-82 advantage and the game remained tight to the end.

Spears drove for a basket to make it 111-108 with 2:09 remaining but Sparks and Sergent answered with baskets and Conley made one of two free throws for a 113-111 lead for the 1960-64 Tomcats.

Spears again had the answer, tying it at 113, and Lynch was knocked to the floor after getting a steal. He dusted himself off and hit two free throws with the net barely moving to put the 1965-69 Tomcats in front 115-113.

After a timeout by Wright, the 1960-64 Tomcats went to Conley who, after being double-teamed, dished it out to Hilton in the corner where he nailed a 12-footer at the buzzer to tie it up and force overtime.

“That was so discouraging to have the game there,” Spears said. “But Hilton hit a clutch shot and Conley showed unselfishness with that pass. We had three people collapsing on him. He didn’t force it. The guy must have eyes in the back of his head. I don’t know how he could see Bob was open in the corner.”

Lynch and Conley had a similar dual in the overtime with Lynch holding a 13-11 edge.

“You’d think they would have cooled down by the overtime,” Joe Conley said.

Neither did.

They tried fouling Lynch in the overtime, but he never missed. His 17^th consecutive free throw made it 128-120 with 2:06 left in overtime. Conley scored six to cut the deficit to 130-128 but they could get no closer. Williams hit a free throw with .05 left to set the final margin, setting off a celebration where Lynch was carried off the floor on the shoulders of fans.

“Well, that was a tough one to lose but what a performance to witness from two of the greatest Tomcats ever,” Wright said.

The fans agreed and the buzz was already starting for Game 3.

“I can’t wait,” said Joe Conley, who was eating from a bag of popcorn on the way out of the gym. “I’m ready now.”

1965-69 TOMCAT ALL-STARS (131) – Williams 2-14 5-6 10, Jackson 4-5 0-0 9, Lynch 15-26 17-17 50, Spears 6-9 2-4 14, Baldridge 6-16 3-3 16, Kleykamp 1-2 2-3 4, Wheeler 3-5 0-0 6, M.Griffith 2-7 2-2 7, Owens 4-7 0-0 9, Conley 2-4 2-2 6. FG: 45-95. FT: 33-37. 3FG: 8-25 (Williams 1-6, Jackson 1-2, Lynch 3-7, Baldridge 1-3, Wheeler 0-1, M.Griffith 1-3, Owens 1-3). Rebounds: 44 (Jackson 5, Lynch 7, Spears 3, Baldridge 13, Kleykamp 4, Wheeler 6, Owens 1, Conley 1, M.Griffith 4). Assists: 26 (Williams 12, Jackson 2, Lynch 3, Spears 1, Baldridge 2, Kleykamp 3, M.Griffith 3). PF: 23. Turnovers: 13.

1960-64 TOMCAT ALL-STARS (128) – Sparks 10-25 6-6 26, Hilton 4-10 2-2 11, Conley 16-23 5-7 40, Sergent 8-15 4-6 22, Smith 1-5 0-4 2, Beam 5-7 1-1 11, Branham 0-3 2-2 2, Cram 2-5 2-2 6, Wright 0-1 2-3 2, McKenzie 3-7 1-1 8. FG: 49-101. FT: 23-31. 3FG: 7-26 (Sparks 0-7, Hilton 1-4, Conley 3-5, Sergent 2-5, Beam 0-2, McKenzie 1-2). Rebounds: 52 (Sparks 3, Hilton 5, Conley 11, Sergent 10, Smith10, Beam 2, Branham 1, Cram 5, Wright 3, McKenzie 2). Assists: 27 (Sparks 7, Conley 7, Sergent 3, Smith 3, Beam 2, Branham 1, Wright 1, Cram 2, McKenzie 1). PF: 27. Turnovers: 16.

1965-69 TOMCATS    38      20      30      27       16       –         131

1960-64 TOMCATS    25      32      34      24       13        –       128

 

ASHLAND, Ky. – It took only three quarters for the 1960-64 Ashland Tomcat All-Stars to flex their considerable basketball superpowers.

Led by unflappable Larry Conley’s 34 points, the 1960-64 Tomcats piled up 102 points before the start of the fourth quarter and then had to hold on for an 111-106 victory over the 1965-69 Tomcats in the first game of a best-of-3 series between 1960s teams at Ashland High School gym.

With Conley, Ditto Sparks and Harold Sergent taking turns dominating play, the 60-64 Tomcats led from nearly start to finish and once had an 18-point advantage. The 65-69 team’s only lead was 2-0.

“That was some kind of shooting display from those three,” said 65-69 coach Harold Cole of Conley, Sparks and Conley. “They didn’t miss much.”

The trio went a combined 28-for-46 from the field with Sergent scoring 23 and Sparks added 20 points. Jim McKenzie wasn’t far behind them with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

Larry Conley and his little brother Joe went after each other like they were playing in the driveway in the first quarter. When Joe intentionally pushed his brother in the back as he was going in for a layup it nearly became more than brotherly love.

Joe Conley was called for an intentional foul and technical and it ended up a seven-point play that took the lead to 34-22. Larry Conley made the basket, then swished three free throws – one for the foul, two for the technical – and the 60-64 Tomcats inbounded it to Gary Wright, who sped in for a layup for the 12-point bulge.

“You don’t see seven-point plays very often,” said 60-64 coach Bob Wright. “In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it. Joe was just having some fun with Larry. But when he plastered him into the mat on the wall, they had to do something. I hated that it happened and hope it doesn’t affect other games in the series.”

The 60-64 Tomcats scored 36, 30 and 36 in the first three quarters to build the 102-85 advantage.

“These guys are All-Stars,” Wright said. “I didn’t expect them to back down.”

They came back with a fury behind Bobby Lynch, who scored eight consecutive points on an assortment of baskets. He finished with 32 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, practically matching Larry Conley stat for stat.

“I’ve never seen more of a competitor than Lynch,” Wright said. “That boy could play for me anytime.”

It took nearly the entire fourth quarter for them to catch up but they were within 108-105 after Clint Wheeler tipped in a shot. The 60-64 Tomcats turned it over but Benny Spears’ 3-pointer from the deep corner ticked off the rim and Gene Smith pulled down the last of his nine rebounds.

“We came all the way back and had a chance to tie,” Cole said. “That’s a good sign for the rest of the series. Our backs are to the wall but if we can play defense like did in that fourth quarter, we can beat those guys.”

Both teams used the 3-pointer with the 65-69 Tomcats hitting 10 of 28 and the 60-64 Tomcats making 7 of 25.

“I’m still not sure about the 3-pointer,” Larry Conley said. “I need a little more practice at it.”

Larry and Joe Conley were laughing off the brotherly push in the back that triggered the seven-point play.

“You better push a little harder next time little brother,” Larry said.

“Don’t worry,” Joe shot back with a snicker. “That was just a love tap. You won’t get up the next time.”

Game 2 in the series will be Thursday night.

1965-69 TOMCAT ALL-STARS (106) – Lynch 11-23 7-7 32, Jackson 5-13 0-0 12, Spears 9-22 1-4 21, Conley 3-12 2-2 9, Wheeler 5-11 3-3 13, Owens 3-5 1-1 8, Williams 2-3 0-0 5 , Kleykamp 0-1 0-0 0, M.Griffith 2-2 0-0 4, Baldridge 1-2 0-0 2. FG: 41-95. FT: 14-17. 3FG: 10-28 (Lynch 3-6, Jackson 2-7, Spears 2-4, Conley 1-6, Owens 1-2, Williams 1-2, Kleykamp 0-1). Rebounds: 47 (Lynch 7, Jackson 4, Speaks 6, Conley 7, Wheeler 12, Owens 3, Williams 1, M.Griffith 5, Baldridge 2). PF: 25. Turnovers: 13.

1960-64 TOMCAT ALL-STARS (111) – Sparks 7-15 1-2 20, Smith 0-8 0-0 0, Conley 10-15 13-17 34, McKenzie 7-12 1-2 16, Sergent 11-16 1-2 23, Beam 1-4 4-4 6, Branham 1-5 0-0 2, Cram 0-6 2-2 2, Hilton 0-3 1-2 1, Wright 3-3 1-1 7. FG: 40-87. FT: 24-33. 3FG: 7-25 (Sparks 5-11, Conley 1-3, McKenzie 1-2, Sergent 0-2, Beam 0-2, Branham 0-1, Cram 0-3, Hilton 0-1). Rebounds: 45 (Sparks 7, Smith 9, Conley 7, McKenzie 4, Sergent 9, Beam 2, Branham 2, Cram 2, Hilton 3). Assists: 21 (Sparks 4, Smith 1, Conley 6, McKenzie 2, Sergent 4, Beam 3, Branham 1). PF: 18. Turnovers: 13.

1965-69 TOMCATS     28         32         25         21      –      106

1960-64 TOMCATS     36         30         36          9       –      111