Pikeville junior guard Ryder Johnson was the hero for Pikeville tonight, as he drained a three pointer from the top of the key with 8 seconds left in a back and forth thrilling basketball game. In the first half, the Panthers and Hornets both settled into their offenses and traded the lead numerous times….until the the last 8 seconds of the basketball game.
The Magoffin County Hornets Jaren Lovely hit a jumper from the corner with 18 seconds left, which seemed like the nail in the coffin for Pikeville, putting them down by two points 64-62. The momentum clearly had shifted the Hornets way after trailing closely the entire game. Pikeville called a 30 second timeout to setup a play that was executed to perfection.
The Panthers Ryder Johnson came off of a screen at the top of the key with 8 seconds left to hit a 3 pointer, which proved to be the dagger that solidified the Panthers victory over the Hornets. Ryder Johnson ended his evening with 15 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals. The Panthers were led in scoring by Zack Huffman, who finished with a double double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Panthers also had a strong showing from Dalton Meade who had 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Hornets were lead in scoring by Trenton Russell, finishing with an impressive 23 points.
Magoffin County also had a strong showing from Jaren Lovely, hitting 3 threes and finishing with 15 points. Junior Jacob Isaac, a 6’3 force in the middle finished with 13 points.
For most of the game, the Panthers held the edge, but never led by more than 8 points at any point in the game. Magoffin County found themselves in foul trouble and Pikeville was in the double bonus quickly in the second half. The Panthers shot 13/19 from the free throw line, while the Hornets shot 3/9 from the line. The Panthers have shown strong free throw shooting in their last two games, shooting a combined average of 75%.
The Panthers hit 4 three pointers, but Magoffin County out shot them with 6 threes. The Panthers stout defense and presence in the middle with offensive rebounding helped them stay in position to win the game. After leading most of the game, the Panthers only outscored the Hornets in the first and second quarters, but that did not prove to be enough to defeat the Panthers, even with Lovely’s jumper from the corner with 18 seconds left in the game.
In the end, the clutch shot of Ryder Johnson proved to be the dagger that propelled the Panthers to victory and left the Hornets with a heartbreaking loss.
The keys to the Panthers victory was strong field goal shooting. The Panthers shot a high percentage of 59% (20/34) from the field. The high field goal percentage and rebounding kept the Panthers ahead most of the night and the Panthers were able to lead after each quarter, although they were outscored in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Pikeville had a total of 22 rebounds and had lots of second chance opportunities with a heavy offensive rebounding presence.
The Panthers move on to win their 3rd game of the year (3-2) and will travel to Boyd County tomorrow to face Ashland at 2:00. The Hornets of Magoffin County drop to 1-3 and will play Paintsville on Tuesday.
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