Marshall County and McCracken County tipped off for the second time in seven days in Friday’s championship game of the FNB Bank Marshall County Holiday Classic. The Marshals trip to the championship game was accomplished with wins over Huntingdon, Tenn. and Douglass (Atlanta, Ga.). The Mustangs beat New Faith Christian Academy (Riverdale, Ga.) and Columbia Academy (Columbia, Tenn.) to reach the championship game.
The Marshals beat McCracken County at home 59-51 on December 15 which added fuel to the fire for the Mustangs coming into Friday’s game at Reed Conder Gymnasium. At the end of 32 minutes of play that saw 13 lead changes throughout the four quarters, it was the Mustangs who came out on top this time 57-51.
Logan Parker kicked things off with a basket to put the Marshals on the board first followed by an 8-1 run by McCracken County. The Mustangs finished out the quarter on a 13-8 lead behind three 3-pointers from Jay Martin, Conner Miller and Caden Fulcher.
Kyzer Phillip’s opened the second quarter with a three to trim the Mustangs lead to 13-11. Matthew Langhi scored the next seven points for the Marshals to give them an 18-13 lead. It was trimmed down to one at 22-21 on a field goal by McCracken County’s Jackson Klope.
Ryan Stokes snagged the rebound off a missed 3-point attempt and drove back in to score and the Marshals lead was 26-21. Jace Dawson hit a three for the Mustangs to cut the lead to two but Parker finished out the half with a field goal to put the Marshals up by four at halftime.
The Mustangs took the lead back at 33-32 on a basket by Klope in the third quarter. Alex Staples to Parker for the bucket gave the advantage back to the Marshals and it was the start of five more lead changes.
The quarter ended on three straight 3-pointers, two in a row by McCracken County’s Jay Martin and Conner Miller and a final three before the buzzer by Cash Henson to cut the Mustangs lead to one at 43-42.
Langhi kicked off the fourth quarter with a 3-point attempt that missed but the freshman charged toward the goal, grabbed his own rebound and put it up and in to put the Marshals back up by one. Four lead changes and a tie later, the game was knotted up at 49 before a 10-2 run by the Mustangs finished out the six-point win.
Parker and Staples each had 12 points to lead the Marshals scoring. Klope had 20 and Miller 18 to lead the Mustangs.
The Marshals will play at Madison Central Dec. 27-29 in the Richmond Car and Truck Holiday Classic.
Marshall 8 20 14 9 – 51
McCracken 13 11 19 14 – 57
Marshall (7-3): Logan Parker 12, Alex Staples 12, Matthew Langhi 9, Kyzer Phillips 6, Ryan Stokes 4, Cash Henson 3, Tommy Robertson 3, Kaden Mohler 2
McCracken (9-2): Jackson Klope 20, Conner Miller 18, Jay Martin 9, Jace Dawson 3, Caden Fulcher 3, Dylan Jackson 2, Grayson Parish 2
Marshall County vs. McCracken County 12-22-23
