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

 

 

ASHLAND, Ky. – A coaching assist and the high-scoring Villers brothers powered the 2015-20 Tomcats to a sweep of the 2010-14 Tomcats, advancing them to the quarterfinals of the Tomcat Shootout.

Much like in the opener of the best-of-3 series, the Villers’ trio was too much to overcome. But, also like the opener, the 2010-14 Tomcats blew a double-figure lead.

The 2015-20 Tomcats carved out a 106-96 at Anderson gym in front of a large crowd that came for some offensive fireworks.

Christian, Chase and Cole Villers combined for 61 points with the youngest brother, Cole, scoring 34 points. Christian had an off-shooting night, going 5-for-16, but added 16 points and Chase scored 11. Justin Bradley was also in double figures with 10 points and nine rebounds.

“The Villers are killers,” said 2010-14 coach Buddy Biggs. “No matter where you turned, one of them was open and shooting. I thought I was seeing double, or maybe even triple!”

The 2015-20 Tomcats started bombing from the start and connected on 13-of-33 from 3-point range. They limited the 2010-14 Tomcats to 2-of-8 from downtown. That 39-6 advantage on triples was easily the difference in the game.

“We like our threes,” said 2015-20 Tomcat coach Jason Mays. “Those guy can shoot ‘em all day long. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel for them.”

However, much like the opener, the 2010-14 Tomcats were leading late in the game. They took their largest lead at 54-43 when Tyler Stewart stroked a 17-footer from the corner with 53 seconds to play in the first half on the way to a 54-47 halftime advantage.

They lost the lead for good when Nick Miller drained a 3-pointer at the close of the third quarter to put the 2015-20 Tomcats ahead 78-76.

“Huge shot from Nick right there,” Mays said. “We needed that one to take some momentum into the fourth quarter.”

In an unusual turn, Mays was not on the bench for much of the fourth quarter after suffering from a stomach virus (his wife, Lori Beth, said it wasn’t from her cooking but something Dicky Martin made for the family). He turned the coaching duties over to Luke Maze, who got the most out of the 2015-20 Tomcats after getting in their faces a little.

“I wasn’t sure they were going to listen to me at first so I had to knock some heads together,” Maze said. “Then they listened.”

He called three timeouts in the fourth quarter and each time the team answered with a spurt, the last one allowing them to pull away for the win.

“I’ll have to watch the video to see what he did, but the kid is born to coach,” Mays said afterward. “It’s good to have a backup head coach, too. The Tomcats are fortunate to have Luke with us. He’s as much a part of this program as anybody.”

The 2015-20 Tomcats were practically flawless with only eight turnovers. Point guard Colin Porter had nine points and nine assists.

“With the way those guys shoot the ball and with the Villers brothers out there, they have a chance to win this thing,” Biggs said. “I thought we did all we could do. That three at the end of the quarter and the one to start the fourth quarter (by Ethan Hudson) put us in a hole.”

Hudson bombed one in from 25 feet and nobody blinked to make it 81-76. The 2015-20 Tomcats gradually began to pull away and led by as much as 15 points toward the end before settled for the 10-point win.

“I wanted a 20-point win,” Maze said. “But I’ll take it I guess.”

The game featured six lead changes and was tied nine times.

Three free throws from Porter, who was fouled while shooting one from 22 feet, made it 100-89 with 2:41 remaining.

“When I came back out, there was only about a minute to play,” Mays said. “I let my boy Luke finish it off. Give him the game ball for this one. He pulled us through as much as anybody.”

Corey Gregg was superb in the loss with 31 points and 18 rebounds. He also made 11 of 11 free throws. Dikembe Dixscon collected 25 points and nine rebounds, Ryan Whetsel scored 11 and Dylan Delaney 10.

“It was great playing with these guys again,” Delaney said. “They were good. Give them credit. But I love my guys too.”

A blind draw will determine the quarterfinal pairings on Saturday. Seven decades will be represented and one team will get a bye to the semifinals. It will be determined in the draw.

 

2015-20 TOMCATS (106) – Christian Villers 5-16 4-4 16, Hudson 2-6 0-0 6, Cole Villers 12-19 7-9 34, Chase Villers 4-6 2-4 11, Bradley 5-9 0-0 10, Miller 2-6 0-0 5, Mays 1-3 3-4 5, Porter 2-8 3-3 9, Robinson 1-4 2-2 5, Sellars 2-5 0-0 5. FG: 36-82. FT: 21-26. 3FG: 13-33 (Christian Villers 2-8, Hudson 2-6, Cole Villers 3-3, Chase Villers 1-1, Bradley 0-1, Miller 1-3, Porter 2-6, Robinson 1-4, Sellars 1-1). Rebounds: 38 (Christian Villers 6, Hudson 3, Cole Villers 6, Chase Villers 4, Bradley 9, Miller 1, Mays 5, Porter 1, Robinson 3). Assists: 16 (Christian Villers 2, Hudson 1, Cole Villers 2, Chase Villers 2, Porter 9, Robinson 1). PF: 27. Turnovers: 8.

2010-2014 TOMCATS (96) – Skaggs 1-3 1-3 3, Whetsel 4-7 2-3 11, Stewart 2-11 0-0 6, Dixson 9-14 7-11 25, Gregg 10-19 11-11 31, Delaney 4-6 2-2 10, C.Johnson 0-2 2-2 2, Friley 2-4 0-0 4, Salow 2-6 0-0 4, Withrow 1-3 0-0 2. FG: 35-75. FT: 24-31. 3FG: 2-8 (Whetsel 1-2, Stewart 0-3, Delaney 1-2). Rebounds: 47 (Skaggs 3, Whetsel 4, Stewart 5, Dixson 9, Gregg 18, Delaney 2, C.Johnson 3, Salow 1, Withrow 2). Assists: 21 (Skaggs 6, Whetsel 2, Stewart 1, Dixson 1, Salow 5, Withrow 1, Delaney 5). PF: 25. Turnovers: 13.

2015-20 TOMCATS      24         23         31         28        –      106

2010-14 TOMCATS      24         30         22         20        –     96

ASHLAND, Ky. – One of the highest-scoring games in the Tomcat Shootout series that featured a record 62 3-point attempts came down to a triple-V attack.

The Villers brothers – Christian, Chase and Cole – combined for 74 points and the 2015-2020 Tomcats defeated the 2010-204 Tomcats 118-113 in a game that had fans waiting in line for tickets hours before tipoff.

Part of the allure was the Villers’ brothers and they didn’t disappoint, scoring 38 (Christian), 26 (Cole) and 10 (Chase). The other attraction were members of the 2020 undefeated Tomcats. Ethan Sellars, Justin Bradley, Ethan Hudson and Colin Porter combined for 20 of 22 assists.

The 3-point shot was active for both teams: the 2010-14 Tomcats firing up 15 of 33 and the 2015-20 Tomcats making 9 of 29.

The idea that these teams would score a lot put some butts in the seats and put a smile on Athletic Director Mark Swift’s face. “I selfishly hope this series goes the full three games,” he said. “This place is all maroon-and-white on both sides. I love it! Maybe I can retire a few days earlier if we have two more crowds like this one.”

Buddy Biggs, who was the losing coach in the last series between the 2000-2004 and 2005-2009 Tomcats, fell to 0-3 in series games.

“Surely there is something in the rulebook that says that all three of the Villers’ brothers can’t play at the same time,” Biggs said. “I mean, come on, how fair can that be? That kind of brotherly love can bring you down in a hurry. We honestly couldn’t do much with them but we let it slip away in the fourth quarter. We still should have won. It’s frustrating.”

True enough. The 2010-14 Tomcats led 34-24 at the half and took a two-point lead into the fourth quarter. Dylan Delaney was on fire, making 9 of 10 shots and scoring 22. He was one of five in double figures.

At one juncture, the 2010-14 Tomcats led by 14 points at 96-82 with nine minutes remaining in the game.

“You can’t lose games like this one,” Biggs said. “We only scored 17 points in the last nine minutes. That’s horrible.”

Cole Villers scored 10 in the last nine minutes for the 2015-20 Tomcats and he also pulled down 11 rebounds. The Villers were a combined 25-for-55 from the field, 6-of-16 on 3-pointers and 18 of 21 on free throws. Christian Villers made 12 of 13 free throws. None of the three had an assist.

“That’s funny,” Porter said. “Those guys don’t pass too much. You throw it into them, it’s probably not coming back.”

2015-20 Tomcat coach Jason Mays just shrugged. “They combined for 74 points, so I’m not complaing. We can throw it into them a few more times tomorrow night.”

Devaunte Robinson managed to score in double figures too with 10 points and Sellars scored nine.

“You get 118 points and if three players get most of it, so what?” Mays said. “We scored 118. I don’t care how it came.”

Once it was 96-82, the 2015-20 Tomcats came to live with a 12-0 streak to get back in the game at 96-94. Cole Villers and Miller combined for eight of those points.

“We gave up some offensive rebounds during that streak,” Biggs said. “You have to box out and we did a poor job of it.”

It was 99-94 when Sellars scored on a drive to make it 99-96 and Hudson hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the 2015-20 Tomcats ahead 102-99. Cody Withrow tied it with a triple at 102. An 8-2 run, fueled by triples from Christian Villers and Miller, made it 110-104.

The game was tied at 111 after Dikembe Dixson, who had 19 points and nine rebounds, scored on consecutive inside moves. Cole Villers scored and Christian Villers made two free throws for a 115-111 advantage with 41 seconds remaining.

The 2015-20 Tomcats held on for the five-point victory and 1-0 edge in the series.

Corey Gregg had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Ryan Whetsel scored 17. Will Skaggs collected 11 points and nine assists for the 2010-14 Tomcats.

“We can play better,” Gregg said. “I’m not sure what happened to us down the stretch. We had them gasping for breath. We’re going to have to beat them two in a row now.”

 

2015-2020 TOMCATS (118) – Christian Villers 12-25 12-13 38, Chase Villers 3-9 1-2 10, Cole Villers 10-21 5-6 26, Porter 1-6 5-6 7, Sellars 3-4 3-4 9, Robinson 5-10 0-0 10, Hudson 2-3 0-0 6, Bradley 3-4 0-0 6, Miller 2-5 0-0 5, Mays 0-1 1-2 1. FG: 41-88. FT: 27-33. 3FG: 9-29 (Christian Villers 2-8, Chase Villers 3-7, Cole Villers 1-3, Porter 0-1, Robinson 0-5, Hudson 2-3, Miller 1-2). Rebounds: 45 (Christian Villers 3, Chase Villers 3, Cole Villers 11, Porter 3, Sellars 6, Robinson 4, Hudson 2, Bradley 9, Miller 3, Mays 1). Assists: 22 (Porter 7, Sellars 3, Robinson 2, Hudson 5, Bradley 5). PF: 19. Turnovers: 15.

2010-2014 TOMCATS (113) – Skaggs 3-6 3-3 11, Delaney 9-10 0-0 22, Gregg 5-22 6-11 18, Whetsel 6-10 2-2 17, Dixson 8-15 3-3 19, Stewart 1-6 0-0 2, Friley 1-6 2-2 4, Salow 2-5 0-0 5, Withrow 3-6 0-0 9, C.Johnson 3-6 0-0 6. FG: 41-92. FT: 16-21. 3FG: 15-33 (Skaggs 2-4, Delaney 4-5, Gregg 2-9, Whetsel 3-3, Dixson 0-1, Stewart 0-2, Friley 0-2, Salow 1-2, Withrow 3-5). Rebounds: 45 (Skaggs 6, Delaney 2, Gregg 6, Whetsel 7, Dixson 9, Stewart 3, Friley 5, Withrow 1, C.Johnson 6). Assists: 28 (Skaggs 9, Delaney 1, Gregg 5, Whetsel 2, Dixson1, Stewart 2, Friley 4, Salow 4). PF: 26. Turnovers: 19.

2015-2020 TOMCATS     24        25        33        36         –      118

2010-2014 TOMCATS     34         17        33        29        –       113