Miranda H. Lewis
Carter County Times
No matter the records or experience level, the East Carter vs. Elliott County rivalry always brings out the crowds and the passion in the players.
The Lions set the tone early and managed a furious push from tipoff up until the four-minute mark of the final stanza on Monday evening at East Carter High School.
The Raiders did enough to hold on for a 70-61 win as Ty Scott scored a game-high 21 points to edge the Raiders over the Lions to finish regular season district play (5-1).
Blake Hall added 18 points, and Evan Goodman had 17 as East Carter (15-9 overall) swept the district series from Elliott County.
“How we played tonight, that’s not our identity,” said East Carter coach Cole Brammer.
Kyler Fannin led the Lions (2-22) with 17 points.
The Senior probed the three-point line with tenacity to the tune of four three-pointers.
He broke the ice with his first triple at the 7:04 mark in the first quarter to give the Lions a quick 3-0 lead.
The two teams then traded baskets over the next seven minutes.
Izack Messer hit a bunny at the buzzer to give East a two-point advantage to close out the first at 16-14.
Elliott’s Ryland Brickey’s back door cut at the top of the second frame tied the game 16-all.
Goodman and Scott capitalized on back-to-back Lion turnovers with uncontested layups.
Brickey responded with a deuce from the corner to recompose Elliott County’s offense, bringing the Lions back within two.
Fannin, shooting beyond the volleyball line, hit the back of the iron to finish a tough triple; edging Elliott County back to a one-point lead, 23-22.
The Raider’s clapped back with inside out action from Messer to Tate Scott for a trey.
On the other end of the court Nick Parker was left all by himself out of transition where he easily tied the game 25-all.
On the ensuing possession, Gavin Sexton canned a three from the corner to give East Carter a three-point advantage with 5:20 minutes of play remaining in the second quarter.
The Lions countered with the next six points, featuring back-to-back three-pointers from Brickey and Fannin.
Ty Scott stopped the bleeding with a triple of his own with under a minute remaining in the first half.
Scott’s 15 first half points kept the Raiders afloat.
Goodman’s jumper ushered the teams into intermission with East Carter holding a slight three-point lead, 42-39.
It was imperative for the Raiders to try to make separation in the second half, but the Lions were not bowing out easily.
Elliot County connected on consecutive triples to open the third frame, starting an 8-0 burst.
Elijah Faulkner’s three tied the game out of the gate directly followed by a trey from Lake Adkins to retake the lead, 46-42.
East Carter showed incredible poise during this Lion run, remaining calm in a high-pressure situation.
Scott took advantage of a turnover to revitalize the Raiders and trim the gap to 47-44.
Goodman had nine points coming out of halftime. Fortunately for the Raiders, he found his stoke late in the third quarter to tally eleven more points for the night – including a jumper to give the teams their fourth tie of the contest 47-all.
Connor Skaggs was troubled by fouls early in the affair, but he still made his presence known in the post.
Displaying his dominance in the paint with an emphatic block on the run to turn away a fast break by Elliott County’s Sturgill at the 1:45 mark in the third stanza.
The Lions outscored the Raiders 10-9 in the third quarter.
Though the Lions aforementioned early second-half scoring stretch seemed to give them an edge, the Raiders stayed within striking distance.
Every time it looked like one of the teams was going to pull away, the other always rallied back.
The epic, nailbiter game was back and forth up until the final stanza.
The Raiders switched to a zone defense, tilting momentum into their favor for good.
Although Elliott County was getting more open looks, the Raiders zone disrupted their offensive rhythm – and East Carter capitalized.
With the one-two punch of Goodman and Tate Scott, the Raiders embarked on a crucial 6-0 fourth quarter run.
Goodman mounted a comeback in transition to take the lead to 61-56.
Tate Scott intercepted a pass and went coast to coast at the 3:07 mark.
On the next possession, Scott claimed a loose ball and shuttled a pass to Goodman for an easy basket increasing the gap to 65-56.
The Raiders run quickly turned East Carter’s lead to 11 points.
The scoring sequence epitomized one of the Raider’s most balanced offensive showings yet, igniting the Harold L. Holbrook Complex crowd and giving the East Carter squad enough cushion to seal the deal at home.
Brammer said his team needs to play with more intention and to better approach the games that remain in this season.
“We gotta get that cleaned up, we got plenty more games this week,” said Brammer of his Raider team, “I told them if you don’t have the same approach night in to night out, things can be hard on you.”
The Raiders will host the Boyd County Lions to close out regular season play on Thursday.
East Carter 16 26 9 19 – 70
Elliott Co. 14 25 10 12 – 61
East Carter (70) – Ty Scott 21, Hall 18, Goodman 17, Tate Scott 7, Sexton 3, Skaggs 2, Messer 2. FG Pct: 45.3. FT Pct: 59.3. 3-Pointers: 6-20 (Ty Scott 3-7, Hall 1-3, Sexton 1-5, Goodman 1-5). Fouled out: Skaggs. Turnovers:18
Elliott County (61) – Fannin 17, Martin 10, Sturgill 9, Adkins 8, Brickey 8, Barker 6, Faulkner 5. FG Pct: 40.0. FT Pct: 50.0. 3-Pointers: (Fannin 4-6, Brickey 1-1. Adkins 1-1). Fouled out: Faulkner.
