Marshall County

 

For the second time this season, Marshall County's quest for statewide respect takes its senior-oriented ballclub to central Kentucky.

 

Marshall established itself early on as far western Kentucky's best team, led by a fleet of strong, physical defensive-minded guards, and will face its toughest test in Scott County.

 

"Defense has been the most consistent part of this team," said coach Gus Gillespie, who has taken Marshall to back-to-back Sweet 16s and had some state tournament experience as a coach in Illinois before coming south in 2004. "These guys have had that mindset, and we're pretty balanced. If we're shooting the ball well, we can be pretty good. In our two losses, we shot the ball really poorly."

 

The Marshals (32-2) advanced to the quarterfinals a year ago, handling Bell County before falling to Bullitt East on Friday night. And while they start just one player — point guard Cole Nelson — that started in the Sweet 16 from that squad, several of his teammates played key reserve roles.

 

Nelson, a 6-3 senior, averages 13.4 points and four assists per game and has been the team's best 3-point shooter this season. Chase Clark (6-2 junior) and Chase York (6-1 senior) also average in double figures, with Clark at 14 points per game and York sporting an 11-point average.

 

Austin Rentfrow, a 6-6 sophomore, is the only post player and averages 9 points and 6 boards per game. Senior Chase Buchanan, a good defender and passer, surprised some with a 13-point outburst against Paducah Tilghman in the regional final.

 

The key could be reserve guard Peter Northcutt, who started last year and entered the season with the reputation as the Marshals' best shooter. He has struggled with his shot, and a return to form could give Marshall a chance to pull a surprise.

 

Marshall played in Montgomery County's Gateway Holiday Classic in late December, sandwiching comfortable wins over Harrison County and Bryan Station around a loss to the host school in which it went 5-for-33 from 3-point range. In a late-season loss to Graves County, they were 1-for-21 from beyond the arc but still had a chance to tie the score with a three in the final seconds.

 

 

Scott County

 

Billy Hicks' tenure at Scott County has produced a pair of state championships and a couple of Mr. Basketball award winners.

 

A third occurrence of each isn't out of the question for the Cardinals, the consensus favorite in the lower bracket of this year's state tournament.

 

If 6-5 senior Tamron Manning, a Marshall signee, can lead Scott to the state title, he will merit plenty of consideration for the award. Manning started for the Cardinals during the run to the semifinals two years ago, often deferring to older, more high-profile teammates.

 

This season, however, Manning is driving the bus. He averages 16 points and seven rebounds per game, leading the Cardinals (31-4) in the latter category, and shoots 38 percent from 3-point range.

 

Manning and Gardner-Webb signee Isaiah Ivey lead Scott's high-octane style, which relies as much on fullcourt-pressure defense and transition baskets as it does its plentiful scoring punch. Ivey, a 6-3 senior, averages close to 17 points per game and gives the Cardinals two bonafide scorers.

 

Both veterans can take the ball to the basket and turn opposition mistakes into points, and sweet-shooting Trent Gilbert feeds off of them. One of the state's most prolific 3-point shooters, Gilbert knocks down the long-range shot at a remarkable rate of 48 percent and averages 14.5 points per game.

 

Quinn Richardson is the Cardinals' primary playmaker, and 6-4, 190-pound senior Josh Harris is the closest thing Scott has to a post player in the starting lineup. Guards Jalen Haddix and Zach Bryant provide quality minutes off the bench, and Hicks can go with a bigger lineup on occasion with 6-8, 230-pound senior Matt Peterson and 6-7, 250-pound junior Andrew Short.

 

Few teams play tougher schedules than the Cardinals, who went 3-1 at the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina and navigated the tough 11th Region waters, winning their five postseason games by an average of 27.4 points.

 

Two of Scott's three in-state defeats were to Trinity and Ballard, who spent much of the season in the #1 and #2 spots in the BGP rankings. A rematch with Trinity, which beat the Cardinals 90-77 at Georgetown on Dec. 8, could be in the cards.

Seems like if Marshall can hit from the perimeter, they may have a fighting chance. Still think they'll have a tough time competing with Scott County.