ASHLAND, Ky. – It was back to the Ashland High School gym for the deciding game between the 1950-54 and 1955-59 Ashland Tomcat All-Stars.

The teams had split two previous games in the best-of-3 series and the winner will advance in the Tomcat Shootout featuring the best of the best Tomcats from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s.

The game was supposed to be at the Ashland Armory again, but 1950-54s coach George Conley balked at the venue. He said George Carroll had an unfair advantage playing in the gym with the fan-shaped backboards.

“That boy must sneak in there and play all the time,” Conley said after Carroll scorched his team for 37 points in a Game 2 victory. “No way we’re playing that game where he has such an advantage. We’re moving it back to the high school.”

They agreed to the switch but it seemed as if the 1955-59 Tomcats, who were decided underdogs when the series began, had at least gotten in the heads of the 1950-54 Tomcats.

Earl “Brother” Adkins, one of the stars on the 1950-54 team, wasn’t completely healthy after spraining his ankle in the Game 2 loss. But he was going to play.

“We weren’t sure we could play with them when this series started,” said Larry Castle, who is the second-leading scorer for the 55-59 All-Stars. “Now we know we can.”

It was bold talk.

The game was all the buzz in Ashland with a big buildup. The lines were long at the ticket booth even before the teams arrived for a pre-game shootaround. Nobody had seen this kind of crowd in years. The radio talk shows couldn’t get enough of it either. Dick Martin, who had called the first two games, said the third game would be epic and “I like those young kids from 1955-59.”

That statement started a fight in the barber shot on Greenup Avenue.

“They shouldn’t have won that second game,” one fan said.

“That’s bullcrap, what do you mean? Carroll lit them up,” came the answer.

After some pushing and shoving, they rolled out the door and into the street before it was broken up. Emotions were running high, to say the least.

Both coaches said the team that plays the best defense will come out on top.

“I’ve never had a team give up 100 points and we’ve done it twice in a row now,” said an agitated Conley. “I know we’re playing more minutes but giving up 100 points is something that I’ll ever get used to happening. And its not happening tonight.”

This was different with both teams loaded with great shooters. The 1950s era championship was going to be decided most likely with offense.

For the first time in the series, the 1955-59 Tomcats were the aggressors, jumping ahead 22-21 in the first quarter and 49-41 at the half. The lead was 13 points at one time with Castle’s 15 points leading the surge before intermission.

“We had a lot different feeling going in ahead at halftime,” said 55-59 coach Bob Lavoy. “We may have started celebrating a little too soon.”

The message on the other side of the court was loud and with some fury as the fiery Conley let his players have it for the first 10 minutes. He did settle down and made some changes that worked almost immediately.

Adkins was struggling on the bad ankle, but he remained in the game. He gutted out a 22-point performance, practically playing on one foot, but was only 8-for-23 shooting. He also committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers.

The third quarter was dominated by Jerry Henderson and Bob Emrick. They not only erased the eight-point deficit but went ahead 54-53 on Bill Gray’s 18-footer from the corner. Henderson and Darryle Kouns seemed to bring down every rebound in sight. Henderson’s two free throws pushed the lead to 58-54 with five minutes to play in the third quarter and took momentum into the last quarter with a 70-64 lead.

“We needed something to happen for us,” Lavoy said. “And then it did.”

The 1955-59 Tomcats had been outscored 29-15 with nobody able to find the range in the third quarter. Carroll’s shots weren’t falling and Castle was off the mark too. Humphreys’ shooting and Dale Griffith’s rebounding kept it close.

They were still trailing 72-68 when Adkins drove to the basket and collided with Griffith, who was standing his ground. The officials called a charge and Conley went into a rage. He ran onto the floor contesting the call and was given a technical foul. Conley returned to the bench, still angry, and then turned around, going after the referee again. The second technical foul meant he was tossed from the game with the help of a police escort.

Conley was able to give some quick instructions to his manager, Jim Host, who had to take over the coaching duties. Host was no ordinary manager. He was more like an assistant coach who knew the game well. The 1950-54 Tomcats huddled around him and his instructions were clear: “We’re going to win this for Coach Conley,” Host said. “He fought for you guys now it’s time to fight for him.”

When the game resumed, though, momentum had clearly shifted.

It took another three minutes, but the 1955-59 Tomcats regained the lead when Humphreys banked in a 12-footer for a 79-78 lead. Humphreys played a key role with 18 points. Bill Kazee followed that basket with a steal and breakaway layup for an 81-78 advantage.

The 1950-54 Tomcats had another empty possession and Castle came down and scored on a slick drive to the basket and, just like that, the margin had swelled to 83-78.

“When we got the lead to five, we started feeling like this could really happen,” Castle said. “But we knew they were coming after us.”

Playing with urgency and some good bench strategy from Host, who employed a 1-3-1 press, they pulled within 85-84 on John Eggleston’s score from 5 feet. The 1950-54 Tomcats had three chances to regain the lead, but Emrick had a jumper spin out, and two point-blank putbacks fell off the rim, too.

Adkins scored on a 15-footer to get them within 87-86 but Carroll was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three attempts for a 90-86 lead with only 22 seconds remaining. Gray scored from outside to make it 90-88, but Carroll hit another free throw and the 1950-54 Tomcats missed a pressured 20-footer at the buzzer.

The improbable had happened. The 1955-59 Tomcats had won the game 91-88 in a shocking upset that clinched the series.

“I can’t believe it,” said Carroll, who scored 25 but was only 8-for-19 shooting. Castle scored 24 and Griffith pulled down 10 rebounds. David Patton had four points and six rebounds in a key reserve role.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Lavoy said. “Nobody gave them much of a chance against these guys and maybe for good reason. We were fortunate. Defense won this game. These guys played their (butts) off in all three games.”

Adkins scored 22 with seven assists to lead five in double figures. Gray scored 17, Emrick 14 and Henderson and Darryle Kouns 12 apiece. Henderson and Kouns also collected a combined 38 rebounds – 20 for Henderson and 18 for Kouns.

However, the 1950-54 Tomcats were forced into 27 turnovers and shot only 38 percent from the field.

“It wasn’t our best effort,” Adkins said, his ankle wrapped in ice. “Those 55-59 guys came at us hard. This was the toughest game of the three as far as being physical. We wish them the best.”

Castle said Adkins wasn’t himself because of the sprained ankle. “He didn’t have that extra gear, like he normally does, because of the ankle. That was a break for us.”

Host was given kudos from both teams for filling when Conley was thrown out.

“I tell you what,” Humphreys said, “when he had them go to that 1-3-1 trap it really bothered us. That was a good move that almost won it for them. They didn’t lose because Coach Conley got tossed.”

Conley agreed, giving the 55-59 Tomcats their due. “What a great team,” he said. “Castle and Carroll can shoot with anybody. They can win this thing.”

Carroll was named the Most Outstanding Player. The 1955-59 Tomcats advance to the quarterfinal round of the Tomcat Shootout.

1955-59 ASHLAND (91) – Humphreys 8-17 1-1 18, Kazee 4-8 0-0 8, Castle 10-18 3-4 24, Griffith 3-7 0-0 6, Carroll 8-19 9-12 25, Meeks 0-2 2-2 2, Wright 0-3 2-2 2, Church 0-1 0-0 0, Campbell 0-2 0-0 0, Patton 2-2 2-3 4. FG: 35-80. FT: 19-24. 3FG: 2-7 (Castle 1-5, Humphrey 1-1, Carroll 0-1). Rebounds: 38 (Humphreys 3, Kazee 1, Castle 7, Griffith 10, Carroll 4, Meeks 2, Wright 1, Patton 6). Assists: 18 (Humphreys 3, Kazee 3, Castle 2, Griffith 2, Carroll 4, Meeks 1, Wright 2, Campbell 1). PF: 22. Turnovers: 22.

1950-54 ASHLAND (88) – Adkins 8-23 4-6 22, Gray 7-16 1-1 17, Emrick 5-17 3-4 14, Henderson 4-12 4-6 12, Kouns 6-10 0-4 12, Lowe 0-1 0-0 0, Rice 1-2 0-0 3, Jennings 2-7 0-0 4, Eggleston 1-2 0-0 2, Jones 1-2 0-0 2. FG: 35-92. FT: 12-21. 3FG: 6-18 (Adkins 2-7, Gray 2-4, Emrick 1-4, Rice 1-1). Rebounds: 61 (Adkins 6, Gray 4, Emrick 6, Henderson 20, Kouns 18, Lowe 1, Rice 1, Jennings 3, Eggleston 2). Assists: 16 (Adkins 7, Gray 2, Emrick 2, Henderson 1, Kouns 1, Jennings 2, Eggleston 1).

1955-59 ASHLAND       22         27         15         27      –         91

1950-54 ASHLAND       21         20         29         18       –         88

ASHLAND, Ky. – The second game of the Tomcat Shoot between 1950s era All-Stars was supposed to be played at Ashland High School but it was moved to the Ashland Armory to accommodate more fans.

The only problem: The Rattling Brothers Circus was in town the day before and the elephants, uh, left their signature behind. The court was a mess, including some sticky spots from where sno-cones had been split and not cleaned up.

The All-Stars came in for the shootaround and found the mess.

“What the heck is this?” shouted 1950-54 Coach George Conley. “My team can’t play in this pig sty!”

“Uh, Mr. Conley, sir, uh, we’re going to be cleaning it up,” said one of the workers at the Armory.

“You’ll clean it up or I’ll use your head as a mop!” Conley shot back.

It was only two hours before tipoff and one side of the court still needed a lot of work. All 20 players – each of the 10-man rosters – had a shootaround on one side of the court. The 50-54 players noticed that George Carroll never seemed to miss.

“What’s with this guy?” asked Brother Adkins.

Carroll had one of the best games ever at the Armory in 1956 when he scored 52 points in a win over Carr Creek. Larry Castle, an All-Star teammate, remembered watching the game with his father. When Carroll’s long bombs would scorch the net, it would flip up and get caught on the rim. Coach Bob Lavoy, who was also the 1955-59 All-Star coach, went out onto the court and fixed it every time. He was 6-foot-9.

The net was flipping up again every time Carroll put up a patented bomb.

“We better watch this guy,” Adkins said. “I never thought anybody could shoot like that.”

“Except you,” said teammate Jerry Henderson.

The stage was being set for another shootout in the Tomcat Shootout. The 50-54 All-Stars had won the opener 116-109 the previous night. A standing-room-only crowd watched the action from start to finish and they were already lined up to get inside.

Most of them had their money on the 1950-54 All-Stars to finish the sweep.

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

Three more bombs from Carroll found the bottom of the net. It was hard to believe.

“We’ll see once the game begins,” said Jim Meeks, a 50-54 All-Star. “If he shoots like that during the game, Coach Conley will have all our (butts).”

The game started with a rush as both teams hurried it up and down the floor. Adkins pulled up and buried an 18-footer to put the 50-54 Tomcats in front, 19-10. But by quarter’s end, the 55-59 Tomcats had recovered and led 28-27.

“We were teetering there in the first quarter,” Lavoy said. “George and Larry kept us in the game right there.”

Carroll knocked down a 3-pointer from about 25 feet out to put the 55-59 Tomcats in front for the first time at 21-19.

The 50-54 All-Stars went on a rampage in the second quarter, outscoring the 55-59 All-Stars 29-17 to hold a decisive 56-45 lead. Much like the first game in the series, they had taken control.

Carroll was doing his part, scoring 14, but it only kept the 55-59 Tomcats close. But something happened in the third quarter and it had everything to do with Carroll. He caught fire, scoring 21 points in the quarter with some textbook shooting. No matter who they tried guarding him, he scored. Carroll was automatic and there was nothing anybody could do about it.

“He was hotter than a pistol,” Conley said. “I stopped being mad about it and just watched him. But, by gawd, he wasn’t going to do it to us in the fourth quarter.”

Carroll wasn’t effective in the fourth quarter but still finished with a game-high 37 points in an incredible performance. The 50-54 Tomcats essentially double-teamed him but Castle picked up the slack, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.

“When you have two shooters like those guys, it’s hard to lose,” Lavoy said. “I hadn’t seen Carroll shoot like that since that ’56 game here against Carr Creek. It was a similar kind of game, too.”

Carroll put the 55-59 Tomcats ahead for the first time in the second half at 74-73. The game was tight the rest of the way. Adkins missed about five minutes of the fourth quarter after slipping on the sticky spot where the sno-cone spilled. It seemed the janitors cleaned up the elephant mess, but not the mess from the kids.

“I was able to come back in and play, but it’s bothering me now,” Adkins said.

After the 50-54 Tomcats regained the lead at 104-103 on Bob Emrick’s jumper off the baseline, Dale Griffith came up with the play of the game. He rebounded a miss from Carroll with one hand, gathered it in and did a drop-step dunk to put the 55-59 Tomcats in front 105-104. Howard Humphreys stole the inbounds pass and flipped to David Patton for another basket and a 107-104 advantage with 42 seconds remaining. Castle finished it off with a free throw after another turnover for a 108-104 victory.

“Two turnovers inside the last minute,” fumed Conley. “That’s not winning basketball.”

Humphreys collected 15 points and eight rebounds and Bill Kazee had 10 points and 13 assists.

Five players were in double figures for the 50-54 Tomcats, led by Adkins with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

The 50-54 Tomcats were 0-for-8 on 3-pointers while the 55-59 Tomcats shot 3-for-16 from behind the arc.

Game 3 in the series will be Wednesday.

1950-54 ASHLAND (104) – Henderson 4-9 6-6 14, Gray 5-14 3-4 13, Eggleston 4-14 3-4 11, Adkins 11-20 3-3 25, Emrick 9-23 0-2 18, Kouns 3-5 0-0 6, Lowe 2-11 2-2 6, Jennings 2-5 0-0 4, Jones 1-3 1-2 3. FG: 43-107. FT: 18-23. 3FG: 0-8 (Henderson 0-3, Adkins 0-4, Lowe 0-1). Rebounds: 54 (Henderson 12, Gray 2, Eggleston 8, Adkins 6, Emrick 3, Kouns 13, Lowe 6, Jennings 2, Rice 2). Assists: 24 (Henderson 8, Gray 4, Eggleston 4, Emrick 3, Kouns 1, Lowe 1, Jennings 2, Jones 1). PF: 15. Turnovers: 20.

1955-59 ASHLAND (108) – Humphreys 5-12 5-6 15, Carroll 15-30 4-4 37, Griffith 2-14 0-0 4, Kazee 4-16 2-2 10, Castle 8-20 4-8 20, Patton 4-11 0-0 8, Wright 2-7 0-0 4, Meeks 2-4 2-2 6, Campbell 1-1 0-0 2, Church 1-3 0-0 2. FG: 44-118. FT: 7-22. 3FG: 3-16 (Humphreys 0-4, Carroll 3-11, Wright 0-1). Rebounds: 73 (Humphreys 8, Carroll 4, Griffith 9, Kazee 13, Castle 1, Patton 1, Wright 1, Church 1). PF: 18. Turnovers: 24.

1950-54 ASHLAND    27         29         17         31     –            104

1950-59 ASHLAND    28         17         33         30      –           108

 

 

ASHLAND, Ky. – The 1950s Ashland Tomcats not only rocked around the clock, they rocked around the court in the inaugural Tomcat Shootout.

Shootout described it well as the 1950-54 Tomcats All-Stars defeated the 1955-59 Tomcats, 116-109, on Monday night in sold-out Alumni Gymnasium with Earl Adkins, Bob Emrick and Jerry Henderson combining for 72 points in the first game of the best-of-3 series.

It was shown on My Town TV in Ashland after the game was declared a sellout and color analyst Chris Pullem lost his voice from excitedly screaming into the microphone three minutes into the second half and had to be replaced.

He wasn’t the only one feeling the effects of an All-Star event that had everybody on their feet.

“I’m exhausted from chasing Henderson up and down the floor,” said David Patton of the 55-59 Tomcats. “I was proud of our guys even though we came up a little short. That’s a lot of talent over there.”

Adkins scored 26, Emrick 24 and Henderson 22 in a game that featured offensive fireworks.

The 50-54 Tomcats came out firing, building a 31-15 lead by bombing in shots from everywhere. That early surge put the 55-59 Tomcats on the defensive and in a big hole.

“We fell behind there but bounced back pretty quickly,” said 55-59 coach Bob Lavoy. “I wondered for a few minutes there if they were going to blow us out. Our guys were on their heels. They were playing against their heroes, so I think that had something to do with it. Once they settled down, they played right with them.”

A large crowd showed up early at Ashland High School to watch the All-Star showdown of Tomcat greats from the 1950s. It was an electric atmosphere, with cheerleaders from both sides lining both end zones and not a folding chair remaining in the stage area, which it was a bit rowdy.

Up and down the floor they went with these talented Tomcats able to score almost at will.

“I love this brand of basketball,” said 50-54 coach George Conley. “These guys were there to play basketball. I knew it was going down to the wire and it did. I ran the legs off these guys getting ready for this series because I knew what it was going to be like.”

Conley’s brutal practices were made even tougher for his All-Stars, who complained privately of having “dead legs” following back-to-back sessions of four hours that was mostly running.

“No comment,” Adkins said when asked about the pregame preparation.

The second quarter belonged to the 55-59 Tomcats, who gradually gained some confidence outscored their opponent, 39-25, to trail only 56-54 at halftime.

Larry Castle scored 14 of his 25 points before intermission to ignite the effort to draw within a basket. George Carroll led the 50-54 Tomcats with 27 and Howard Humphreys collected 18 points and 15 rebounds.

“Those three guys gave us a lot of trouble,” Conley said. “We’re going to have to do something about them before the next game. What was Humphreys doing shooting 3-pointers? I don’t remember him having that kind of range.”

The 3-point shot is also in play for the Tomcat Shootout but only the 55-59 Tomcats took advantage of it, making 12 of 29 shots from long range. All of Patton’s 12 points came from the 3-point shot while Carroll also hit 3-of-6. Humphreys fell in love with the stripe, making 2-of-8 attempts.

“We embraced it,” Carroll said. “I think it can be a weapon for us. I just don’t want ‘Brother’ to start loving it for them. It’s like taking candy from a baby for him.”

Adkins and Emrick were each 1-for-2 from downtown and nobody else attempted a 3-pointer.

“I’m still not sure if that shot is a good one for us or not,” Conley said. “I know we have some shooters but we put up 116 points with only two of those dang 3-pointers. Hard to argue with that.”

It looked like the 50-54 Tomcats were going to coast to an easy victory, leading 98-83 when Squirt Jennings find an opening and drove in for a layup with 10:20 remaining in the game.

But the 55-59 All-Stars kept pecking away, trailing 99-90 at the 7:40 mark. However, seven consecutive points made it 99-97 and anybody’s game. Bill Kazee missed a 3-pointer that could have given them the lead when the shot, which looked dead on, spun out.

“Great comeback to get back in the game,” Lavoy said. “These guys showed that pride and heart of a Tomcat. The problem was, we were playing other guys with that same kind of spirit.”

Trailing 101-97, Castle scored six consecutive points to put the 55-59 Tomcats in front for the first time since the first quarter. He left Emrick flat-footed with a behind-the-back dribble and 15-footer leaner that he banked in.

The crowd erupted after the big move that put the underdog 55-59 Tomcats in front 103-101.

“No way he makes that move on me again,” Emrick said. “That was really something, wasn’t it? I didn’t know Larry had that in him.”

“That’s my teammate,” Humphreys said. “Larry is such a good ballplayer. He kept us in the game.”

The 50-54 Tomcats quickly recovered with a 15-footer from Emrick putting them ahead to stay at 107-105. John Eggleston, who had nine points and 12 rebounds, and Henderson wrapped it up with three consecutive free throws.

“I laid down on the floor in the dressing room after this game was over out of exhaustion,” Eggleston said. “I didn’t know how tough it was going to be and we have to beat them again. Those guys can play.”

In the other locker room, the 55-59 Tomcats were pondering what if and looked ahead to the next game in the series.

“I tell you what, I didn’t know if we could match up with them when they released the rosters,” Humphreys said. “I know better now. We can beat them.”

Game 2 will be played Tuesday night.

1950-54 ASHLAND (116) – Emrick 11-8 1-1 24, Adkins 10-24 5-6 26, Henderson 11-15 0-0 22, Gray 6-8 3-5 15,  Eggleston 4-9 1-2 9, Kouns 3-5 4-4 10, Lowe 0-0 1-2 1, Jennings 2-4 2-2 6, Rice 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 1-3 1-2 3. FG: 48-87. FT: 18-24. 3FG: 2-4 (Emrick 0-2, Adkins 0-2). Rebounds: 40 (Emrick 2, Adkins 2, Henderson 8, Gray 9, Eggleston 12, Kouns 3, Jennings 2). Assists: 26 (Emrick 7, Adkins 7, Henderson 2, Gray 3, Eggleston 2, Kouns 3, Rice 1). PF: 15. Turnovers: 9.

1955-1959 ASHLAND (109) – Carroll 11-24 2-3 27, Kazee 3-5 0-0 7,  Castle 10-26 3-3 25, Humphreys 6-16 4-4 18, Griffith 4-5 0-0 8, Patton 4-7 0-0 12, Meeks 2-2 0-0 4, Wright 2-3 9-9 4, Campbell 0-3 0-0 0, Church 2-5 0-0 4. FG: 44-96. FT: 9-10. 3FG: 12-29 (Carroll 3-6, Kazee 1-2, Castle 2-6, Humphreys 2-8, Patton 4-6, Wright 0-1). Rebounds: 45 (Carroll 3, Kazee 1, Castle 6, Humphreys 15, Griffith 9, Patton 4, Meeks 2, Wright 3, Campbell 2). Assists: 21 (Carroll 6, Kazee 2, Castle 6, Humphreys 1, Griffith 2, Patton 2, Campbell 2). PF: 17. Turnovers: 14.

1950-54 ASHLAND    31       25       38            22       –           116

1955-59 ASHLAND    15       39       27            28       –           109