The Campbell County High School boys basketball team defeated Jellico 56-46 at home on June 12.
“Early in the morning so you don’t get all-out effort from them,” Campbell County assistant coach Brandon Clawson said. “I thought we started slow, and then we picked it up. This group can play fast, we are going to play hard, but I didn’t think we had it to start out. Give Jellico a lot of credit, they’re a very good basketball team.”
Campbell County got off to a slow start, but it used great hustle plays to get into a rhythm as the first quarter went on.
Will Croley was the maestro for Campbell County as he directed play on both ends of the court.
Sam Sexton, Koalton Cupp and others also provided great hustle plays for Campbell County, who outworked Jellico in the first quarter.
Campbell County led 21-14 at the end of the first quarter.
The Jellico offense came to life in the second quarter as it handled the pressure defense of Campbell County and spaced the floor extremely well.
“I thought our effort was good,” Jellico head coach Mike Reynolds said. “We have some kids that keep taking strides to be where they need to be. Overall, we’ve got to be more consistent, but the effort was good.”
Trey Vann and Gavin Dabney made multiple tough shots for Jellico, which sparked the team on defense.
Braydyn Teague was a force defensively as he used his great athleticism and timing to force turnovers and grab rebounds.
Jake Hatmaker and Hunter Dotson played well for Campbell County on offense and answered the Jellico offensive run with a run of their own.
Jellico cut into the Campbell County lead but still trailed 33-30 at halftime.
Jellico went ice cold offensively in the third quarter, thanks to the defense of Campbell County.
Campbell County forced tough shots and limited Jellico to one shot per possession.
Jack Sexton and Braydon Graham played great off the bench for Campbell County as they carried the intensity of the game into the second half.
Mason Ayers played well off the bench for Jellico and continued to show why his all-around maturity on the court will have him playing a lot of minutes as a freshman.
Campbell County led 44-36 at the end of the third quarter.
Campbell County created a 48-36 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Vann and Dabney reentered the game with around 5 minutes to go and immediately led a furious comeback that saw the Campbell County lead shrink to just 48-44.
That was as close as Jellico was able to get, however, as Campbell County locked in down the stretch and put the game away.
