Russell Red Devils ? (14-13)
vs. 
Morgan County Cougars ?? (12-14)

?Ellis T. Johnson Arena in Morehead 

⏰️ 6:30pm, Wednesday (3/5)

? | The Cougs and Devils kick off what looks like a great slate of first round games, at least on paper. Both squads are young with bright futures, but one will sew up a region semifinal berth on Wednesday. The bulk of the talent for each team lies mostly in the sophomore classes. With so much youth on the floor, this game is wildly unpredictable and could go a number of ways. The two haven't met in the region tourney in twenty years.

If a close game is to be decided at the free throw line, Morgan holds a distinct advantage there. The Cougars rank 3rd in the state in free throw percentage at 78.9%, while Russell is, at best, average at the line, shooting 64%.

Players to watch
? | Caleb Rimmer (14.4 ppg/7.3 rpg) | Ryder Burgess (13.5 ppg/80 3s)

?? | Asher Gamble (16.2 ppg/89% FTs) | Parker Trusty (10.7 ppg/68 3s)

Live Streams

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DevilMayCare said it perfectly, "wildly unpredictable".  I have seen Russell's youth in person but I know little about Morgan County. Russell has shown they are capable of playing above themselves with a 66-64 victory over Fleming County...but...they have also played well below themselves in a 26-67 loss versus Raceland. I know a few of the Russell player families and have been friends with the Cooksey family for decades so my heart is with the Red Devils. Russell has played a slightly more difficult schedule and finished with a better record than Morgan. This shows up in Russell having a slightly higher RPI which tends to be a little better indicator at this point in the season. I'm going with the Devils in a tossup. 

Which style wins out? Morgan who wants to push and score quick or Russell who wants more of a grind it out? 
 

I’ll take Russell something like 52-46. 

13-6 Morgan 

2:20 1Q

Timeout on the floor. 

End of 1Q

Morgan County 13

Russell 10

Successful And-1 by Gabe Pridemore. 

16-15 Morgan 

6:30 2Q

Parker Trusty for 3.

19-15 Morgan 

6:00 2Q

Pridemore with another And-1. 

19-18 2Q

5:50 2Q

Hampton for 3. Cougars are heating up from long range.

22-18 Morgan

5:00 2Q

Pridemore for 3. He's carried Russell the last few minutes with 9 straight points.

24-21 Morgan 

3:45 2Q

Halftime 

Morgan County 28

Russell 25

And-1 for Rimmer. He went strong to the bucket.

28 all

7:10 3Q

Pridemore with another 3. Points are coming all in threes for the Devils right now.

31-28 Russell 

5:50 3Q

Pridemore finishes in transition/traffic.

35-30 Russell 

Timeout Morgan.

4:47 3Q

Hampton for 2.

Burgess completes a successful And-1. Russell's had four or five of those in the last quarter and a half.

38-32 Russell 

4:12 3Q