Final

Congratulations Knott Central. Way to represent the 14th! The Pats have made it past the first round of the Sweet 16 the last two seasons. They'll have to play flawless game to be playing on Saturday.

Really good game for a half, and I was proud of the way Clay County battled. They won the 1st quarter in a fairly decisive fashion, and had plenty of momentum early in the 2nd before a combination of Knott Central’s defensive adjustments, Cam Justice finding his rhythm, and Knott’s being able to rely on their experience from last year’s trip to stay calm and collected instead of panicking after a slow start ended up giving them the momentum going into the half. After the break, Knott made enough plays to pad their lead and pace themselves for the rest of the game.

 

As for Clay County, there were PLENTY of times in the 2nd half when they could have thrown in the towel, BUT THEY DIDN'T QUIT (i.e., cutting it to 10 late when there wasn't LOTS of time, but ENOUGH time to make it just interesting enough). Proud of the effort. This group over-achieved and exceeded most people's expectations for them (myself included), and they have nothing to hang their heads about.

 

As a 7th grader, an 8th grader, and a Sophomore in high school, I saw 3 trips to Rupp in 4 years. If you'd have told me after our 2000-2001 season ended that 2012-2013 was the next time we'd be there, I'd have been shocked. There were plenty of other teams that might have had more talent than this group during that stretch, but this team was the one to end what probably has to be one of the longest regional title droughts in the history of our program. They will always have that to hang their hats on, and I'm glad they got the chance to have their moment in Rupp because they took a big step toward restoring the "Tiger Pride" that past shortcomings had somewhat eroded over the years.

 

I'm sure the loss stings to the kids now because they looked like they were playing as a group that expected to win, but in time, the memories of their accomplishments from this run will carry on with them further than the sting of this loss.

 

Even if it was only for one night, it felt great to see the Tigers representing the Black and Gold in Rupp again.