The Tomcats nip the Highlanders to complete a 5-0 mark against out-of-state opponents. 

Big game against Fleming County coming up tomorrow night.

Ashland came up big despite a lot going wrong tonight. Preston Hoskins hit some huge three pointers to keep the team in the game. A lot of easy missed shots, and the team (minus Hoskins) mostly struggled shooting the ball from three until late. At times Zander Carter single-handedly kept them in it. 

Huntington High controlled the pace from start to finish. They wanted to have controlled posessions, and occasionally make the runout for the score. They are QUICK getting down the court but had trouble navigating after Ashland switched to a 2-3 zone. They ran some clock off and shortened the game, but for the most part would settle for an outside shot against the zone. That being said, they moved the ball side to side and didn't just throw something up, a major improvement that has been made from weeks ago.

Major cap tip to Huntington High for their fight. Not just tonight, all season this team has been tough as nails with the injuries they had to endure. Tayveon Wilson has been out with a foot injury and he is a big, physical player on the interior that can cause a lot of problems. Tayveon, a four-sport athlete, is committed to play football at Clemson. Tristan Hornbuckle and Avonte Crawford have endured injuries and at times the team has been short-handed. One of their struggles early on was with ball movement but tonight they did a good job working it side to side. I'm sure Ashland provided some looks that they will see from teams down the road.

You hear coaches all the time saying that defense spurs their offense. I totally agree, but with this Ashland team it seems offense spurs their defense. When it's raining threes their energy level explodes, especially on defense. When their shots aren't going in their minds don't seem to shift to defense, you can tell at times that their individual focus is on the shot they just missed. That's true of everyone to some extent because we're all human but with this team it seems to have exponential implications on their overall game. I'm not talking about effort, it's there. I'm talking about focus and mental clarity. Effort is the engine, focus is the steering wheel. When you have both it translates to consistency. If coach Bonner can get them through this, March will be fun.

 

Was nice to see Neel play. He will help the Tomcats in a BIG way to offset the loss of Jennings. Nice rotation with him part of it!