Big Weekend of High School Basketball at Memorial Gym in Hazard
HAZARD – December 9, 2019 – Harold Brashear – BSN
A new event in local high school basketball occurred over the weekend at Memorial Gym in Hazard as the 1st Annual D.J. Begley City/County Classic was held. The event was named in honor of long-time local high school fan and supporter, D.J. “Chief” Begley. Begley, a Buckhorn High School graduate, was seen for many years at local sporting events, and on many road trips to watch sporting events far and wide. The event was made possible by a joint effort of Hazard Coach Al Holland, Perry County Judge Executive Scott Alexander, Hazard Mayor Donald “Happy” Mobelini, as well as the Hazard City and Perry County School Systems.
Game 1 – Hazard vs. Floyd Central (Friday, December 6)
The first game of the event featured the host Hazard Bulldogs (1-0) taking on Floyd Central (1-1) from the 15th Region. Hazard was able to take care of business and won going away by a score of 80-55. Wade Pelfrey had a big game for the Bulldogs, leading all scorers with 24 points. Blake Slone tried to keep the Floyd Central Jaguars in the game with his team-high 23 points, which included four 3-pointers.
Hazard jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead a little over 3 minutes into the game behind strong inside-outside play from Rydge Beverly and Logan Hall. Blake Slone’s first 3-point basket pulled the Jaguars to within 5 at 10-5 with 4:21 to go in the first quarter, but that was as close as Floyd Central would come all night. A Logan Hall 3-point play and two Jake Johnson free throws extended the lead out to 15-5 with 3:33 to go in the 1st. The Bulldogs ended the quarter on an 8-3 run behind two baskets from Rydge Beverly in the final 12 seconds of the period to lead 23-10 going into the second quarter.
Hazard blew the game open with a 17-2 run to start the 2nd period behind the hot shooting of Wade Pelfrey and Jarrett Napier to extend their lead to 40-12 with 3:38 to go in the first half. Floyd Central answered with their own 12-2 run behind three 3-pointers from Blake Slone and one from Brady Buck to cut the lead to 42-24 with 0:45 left in the half. Two buckets in the final thirty seconds of the first half staked Hazard to a 46-24 halftime lead.
Blake Slone’s hot shooting continued into the 3rd quarter as Floyd Central started the second half on 12-3 run to cut the Hazard lead to 49-36 with 4:28 to go in the period. Hazard came back with 6 consecutive points to extend the lead back out to 19 at 55-36 with 3:25 to play in the third. Back to back baskets by Brandon Little brought the Jaguars closer at 55-40 with 2:22 to go in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs ended the third on and 8-1 run that was capped by a Wade Pelfrey 3-pointer at the buzzer. Hazard took a 63-41 lead into the final quarter of action.
Hazard was leading 69-45 with 6:27 to play when Floyd Central scored 7 in a row to cut the lead to 69-62 with 4:54 remaining. Hazard scored the next eleven points behind the strong play of Reece Fletcher to extend the lead to 80-52 with only 0:16 showing on the clock. A late Jaguar basket gave the final score of 80-55.
Wade Pelfrey led 4 Bulldogs in double figures and was named Hazard’s Player of the Game. The Bulldogs were 20-27 from the free throw line and made five 3-ponters for the game. The Player of the Game for Floyd Central was Blake Slone. He scored 23 points while making five 3-pointers of his own.
Scoring
Hazard 23-23-18-16 80
Pelfrey 24, Napier 10, Beverly 10, Johnson 8, Hall 10, Fletcher 9, Jones 2, Niece 4, Turner 4
Floyd Central 10-14-19-12 55
Thacker 11, Slone 23, Little 10, Hall 4, Buck 4. Sammons 3
Game 2 – Perry County Central vs. Harlan County (Friday, December 6)
The second game of the event was between Perry County Central (1-0) and the Harlan County Black Bears (1-0) from the 13th Region. Harlan County was able to prevail by a score of 83-71 in a hard-fought physical basketball game. Taylor Spurlock of Harlan County led all scorers with 29 points. Dawson Duff led the Commodores with 18 points; 15 coming in the second half.
Two quick buckets by Jacob Wilson gave Harlan County an early 4-0 lead. Perry cut the lead to 6-5 with 5:07 to go in the first quarter, before back-to-back Black Bear buckets extended the lead back to 10-5 with 4:29 to go in the period. A Perry jumper by Tyler Day cut the Harlan County lead to 13-10 with 3:01 to go in the first quarter. Harlan County then went on a 8-0 run behind 6 points from Taylor Spurlock to take 21-10 lead with 1:17 to go in the first. Two free throws from DeAndre Reed with 0:02 on the clock made the score 21-12 at the end of 1 period. Taylor Spurlock and Tyler Cole led the Black Bear attack with 8 and 7 points respectively. Cameron Fugate led the Commodores with 5 points in the quarter.
Harlan County opened up their largest lead of the game at 29-16 with 5:18 to go in the 2nd quarter as foul trouble started to take its toll on Perry Central. DeAndre Reed scored 8 of the next 10 points for Perry, but Harlan County maintained a 34-26 lead with 2:25 to go in the half. The teams played evenly and Harlan County had a 38-29 lead with 1:41 to go in the second quarter. Perry ended the half on a 6-0 run to cut the halftime lead to 38-35. DeAndre Reed scored 10 in the quarter for the Commodores. Mel Hazell made a big contribution off the bench with 8 points in the 2nd.
Dawson Duff opened the third quarter for Perry County Central with back-to-back 3-pointers to give Perry a 41-38 lead only 24 seconds into the half. Five quick points by Harlan County gave them the lead back at 43-41 with 7:05 to go in the 3rd quarter. Dylan Brock quickly tied the game at 43 with 6:49 to go in the 3rd. The third quarter was a back and forth affair that included 2 ties and 7 lead changes. Harlan County ended the period on top by a score of 59-55. Spurlock and Cole combined for 17 points in the quarter, while Dawson Duff came to life for Perry, scoring 10 points.
Two baskets by Taylor Spurlock to open the 4th quarter, extended the Harlan County lead to 63-55 with 6:36 to go. The teams traded baskets over the next 4 minutes and Harland County maintained a 73-66 lead with 2:38 to play. Three points from Jackson Huff gave Harlan County a 76-66 lead with 2:01 to play. From there, the Black Bears lived at the free throw line and Perry wasn’t able to make a run. Harlan County prevailed 83-71. Harlan County made 11 of 20 free throws in the final quarter.
Taylor Spurlock of Harlan County led all scorers with 29 points and was named their Player of the Game. Tyler Cole played well and was a force on the offensive glass and scored 18 points. Trent Noah made 10 of 13 free throws and finished with 16 points. Harlan County finished the game 23 of 34 from the free throw line. Dawson Duff was the Player of the Game for Perry County Central. He led the way with 18 points. DeAndre Reed had 15, but was held to only 2 in the second half due to foul trouble. Perry County Central finished the game 15 of 24 from the free throw line.
Scoring
Perry County Central 12-23-20-16 71
Reed 15, Fugate 7, Cornett 2, Brock 12, Duff 18, Day 6, Hazell 11
Harlan County 21-17-21-24 83
Huff 13, Wilson 5, Cole 18, Noah 16, Spurlock 29
Game 3 – Hazard vs. Bryan Station (Saturday, December 7)
In the first game of the Saturday session, Hazard (2-0) hosted Bryan Station (1-2) out of the 11th Region. Despite trailing most of the game, Hazard was able to come back and then pull away in the 4th quarter to prevail 57-46. Logan Hall and Wade Pelfrey combined for 35 points to lead the Bulldogs to victory. Bryan Station made nine 3-pointers for the game, but only 1 field goal in the 4th quarter.
Bryan Station scored the first 8 points of the game behind 2 long 3-pointers by Myles Morones. Jake Johnson scored 2 baskets in the point for the Bulldogs to cut the lead to 8-4 with 3:55 to go in the 1st quarter. Bryan Station went on a 7-0 run over the next 1:14 behind 5 points from James Lindsay to take a 15-4 lead. Bryan Station maintained a 17-6 lead with 1:27 to go in the 1st. Wade Pelfrey scored the final 5 points of the quarter including a shot at the 0:01 mark to cut the lead to 17-10. Lindsay and Morones combined for 13 of the 17 Bryan Station points in the quarter. Hazard stayed in striking distance despite missing 9 of their first 12 shots and both of their free throws. Bryan Station was 3 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc.
A Jarret Napier 3-pointer brought the Bulldogs to within 3 points at 17-14 with 6:56 to go in the 1st half. Trent Grundy capped a 7-2 Bryan Station run with a 3-pointer to give the Defenders a 24-16 lead with 4:22 to go in the 2nd quarter. Grundy knocked down 2 more 3-pointers to help extend the Bryan Station lead to 32-19 with 2:25 to go in the first half. Hazard went back to the paint and scored the final 5 points of the first half to cut the lead to 32-24. Trent Grundy led the Defenders with 11 points. Logan Hall, Jake Johnson, and Wade Pelfrey scored 20 of the 24 points for Hazard. Bryan Station was 6 for 12 from 3-point range. Hazard missed several easy shots and only shot 2 for 6 from the free throw line.
Logan Hall opened the 3rd quarter with 2 baskets that extended the Hazard run to 9-0 and cut the lead to 32-28 with 6:36 left in the period. A James Lindsay jumper gave Bryan Station a 39-32 lead with 2:00 to go in the 3rd quarter. Jake Johnson nailed a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 39-35 with 1:47 remaining in the period. Pierre Petite Frere answered with a 3-pointer of his own. Then a steal and assist by Reece Fletcher to Wade Pelfrey as time expired in the quarter cut the lead to 42-37 going into the 4th quarter. Logan Hall dominated the post, scoring 8 of the 13 points for the Bulldogs in the quarter.
Frere opened the scoring in the last period with a 3-pointer to give Bryan Station a 45-37 lead with 7:15 to go. From that point on, it was all Hazard. Tyson Turner made a shot to cap a 8-0 run and tie the game at 45 with 4:06 to go. Trent Grundy made 1 of 2 free throws to give Bryan Station their final lead at 46-45 with 3:18 to go in the game. Wade Pelfrey scored and was fouled at the 2:57 mark. Coach Hammons did not like the call and was assessed a technical foul. Pelfrey made all 3 free throws and then Reece Fletcher scored under the basket to complete a 7 point trip and give the Bulldogs a 52-46 lead with 2:38 to go. Two more technical fouls and 5 free throws down the stretch gave Hazard a 57-46 win. Bryan Station only had 1 field goal and scored 4 points in the 4th quarter. They were 1 for 8 from the field. Hazard ended the game on a 20-1 run despite making only 10-17 free throws in the final period. The Bulldogs were 5 of 6 from the field in the 4th quarter.
Logan Hall led the Bulldog attack with 18 points and 6 rebounds going 8 for 12 from the field. Hall was name the Player of the Game for Hazard. Wade Pelfrey added 17 points for Hazard. Reece Fletcher finished with 8 points, while leading the Bulldogs with 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Hazard shot 51.2% (21-41) from the field while shooting only 50.0% from the free throw line (12-24). They were able to out-rebound the defenders 25-24 for the game. Bryan Station was led by their Player of the Game Trent Grundy with 15 points. He was 4-6 from the 3-point line. James Lindsay added 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists for the Defenders. Bryan Station was 18-43 (41.9%) from the field, including 9-22 (40.9%) from 3-point range. The Defenders were only able to make one trip to the foul line going 1-2.
Scoring
Hazard 11-13-13-20 57
Pelfrey 17, Napier 3, Johnson 9, Hall 18, Fletcher 8, Turner 2
Bryan Station 17-15-10-4 46
Petite Frere 8, Jamorious Lindsay 2, Grundy 15, Holland 2, James Lindsay 11, Morones 6, Yocum 2
Game 4 – Perry County Central vs. Paintsville (Saturday, December 7)
In the final game of the D.J. Begley City/County Classic, Perry County Central (1-1) took on the Paintsville Tigers. This was the first game of the season for Paintsville, who is one of the top teams in the 15th Region. Perry County Central was able to come away with an 80-73 win, despite 43 points from Paintsville Sophomore Colby Fugate.
Perry Central got on the board first with a DeAndre Reed free throw 10 seconds into the game. Colby Fugate answered with his first bucket before Perry went on a 6-0 run to give them a 7-2 lead with 6:19 to go in the first. Back-to-back baskets by Nick Keeton of Paintsville cut the Perry Central lead to 9-7 with 3:30 to go in the first quarter. Perry County Central ended the first quarter on a 9-0 run to end the period with an 18-7 lead. DeAndre Reed scored 10 of the 18 points for the Commodores.
Naz Welch scored the first basket of the 2nd quarter to give Perry a 20-9 lead with 6:55 to go in the half. Perry Central extended the lead to 23-11 with 4:40 to go in the 2nd quarter. Colby Fugate scored 8 points in the next 1:15 to cut the lead to 23-19 with 3:25 to go in the half. Austin Boggs knocked down a 3 for Perry before Colby Fugate scored 7 more in a row to tie the game at 26 with 1:16 to go in the 2nd quarter. Perry scored the last 4 points of the half, including a basket as time ran out by Dawson Duff to take a 30-26 lead into the locker room. Colby Fugate scored 15 points in the second quarter to get Paintsville back into the game.
The scoring pace picked up for both teams in the 3rd quarter as Perry Central outscored Paintsville 28-23. Cameron Fugate scored 5 of Perry’s first 7 points to give them a 37-28 lead with 6:49 to go in the 3rd quarter. The teams traded baskets back and forth and Perry maintained a 47-38 lead with 4:39 to go in the period. A Dawson Duff basket gave Perry Central a 52-40 lead with 3:57 to go in the quarter, but a 9-2 run by Paintsville book ended by Ryan Gibson’s only 2 buckets cut the lead to 54-49 with 1:58 to go in the 3rd quarter. Dylan Cornet scored the final 4 points of the period to give Perry Central a 58-49 lead going into the 4th quarter. Perry County Central started the quarter 8-8 from the field and finished 11-15 (73.3%). Colby Fugate scored 10 more points for the Paintsville Tigers.
A put back by Nick Keeton cut the Commodore lead to 58-54 with 6:57 to go. The teams traded baskets until another score by Keeton cut the lead to 64-62 with 4:43 remaining in the game. Dylan Cornett and Dawson Duff led Perry Central on a 10-2 run to extend the lead to double digits at 74-64 with 1:41 to play. A 3-point play by Colby Fugate cut the lead to 74-67 with 1:26 to go. Fugate was able to make a couple more shots, but Perry mad free throws to finish the game with an 80-73 victory. Colby Fugate scored 16 points in the final quarter for Paintsville. DeAndre Reed and Dawson Duff combined for 15 points for the Commodores.
DeAndre Reed was name the Player of the game for Perry County Central. He finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and was 8-10 from the field. Dawson Duff added 17 points for the Commodores and Dylan Cornett led them with 8 rebounds. Perry Central finished 29-62 (46.8%) from the field including 8-19 (42.1%) from 3-point range. The Commodores were 14-21 (66.7%) from the free throw line. Colby Fugate was the Player of the Game for Paintsville. He had a huge game with 43 points and 8 rebounds. Nick Keeton was a force in the paint with 18 points and 17 rebounds. The Tigers shot 29-63 (46.0%) from the field, but only 4-20 (20.0%) from the 3-point line and 11-24 (45.8%) from the free throw line. They were able to out-rebound the Commodores 38-34.
Scoring
Perry County Central 18-12-28-22 80
Reed 25, Fugate 8, Cornett 10, Brock 7, Duff 17, Day 4, Boggs 7, Welch 2
Paintsville 7-19-23-24 73
Tharp 3, Fugate 43, Gibson 4, Watts 1, Ratliff 2, Castle 2, Keeton 18
NEXT GAMES
Hazard takes on Phelps in the WYMT Mountain Classic at Knott County Central on 12/11.
Perry County Central plays at Cordia on 12/10.