Fort Harrod Classic Recap: Day 1

Mercer County, Bullitt East, Boyle County and Lexington Catholic all found themselves victorious in the main gym on day one at the Fort Harrod Classic. Seneca, Lincoln County and Union County all won games in the 9th grade gym on day one.

Game 1: Mercer County (62) vs. Christian Academy-Louisville (55)

Recap

CAL seemed in control after a strong second quarter. However, Mercer Count took control of the game in the third quarter behind a barrage of threes.

Both teams started out slow, struggling on the offensive end. Max Duff opened up the scoring and then Marcus Warren countered for Mercer County.

CAL built an 8-2 lead and then a 10-4 lead. However, Mercer County closed the quarter on a 5-0 run. Russell Sims hit 1-of-2 free throws to bring Mercer County within one points.

The teams battled back and forth to start the 2nd quarter. Tony Colley leveled the game at 19 points about halfway through the quarter.

Colley then hit a three and got a transition basket. Marcus Warren responded with a jumper for Mercer County. Mercer County didn't score again in the half and CAL took a 34-21 lead into the break.

Mercer County came out gunning. They hit 5 threes (three from Tommy Craig) and a combination of other baskets. Craig's third three cut the CAL lead to one point, 41-40. Will Hager then scored to give Mercer County their first lead of the half.

Tony Colley quickly answered, but then Hager scored again. D.J. Scott put CAL back up, but Alijah Mink answered for Mercer County with 6.3 seconds left in the quarter. CAL then turned the ball over and Will Hager nailed a baseline jumper to give Mercer County a 48-45 lead at the end of three quarters.

Back-to-back scores from Russell Sims and a Marcus Warren free throw gave Mercer County an 8 points lead, 53-45. CAL made a couple runs but could never get close enough as Mercer County won 62-55.

Mercer County will play Union County later today and CAL will play Shawnee later today.

Scorers

Mercer County: Hager 14, Craig 12, Trevon Faulkner 10, Louis Price 10, Sims 9, Mink 4 and Warren 3.

Christian Academy-Louisville: Colley 16, Duff 14, Talley 13, Scott 9 and Greg Frist 3.

Game 2: Bullitt East (85) vs. Apollo (72)

Recap

Bullitt East overcame a slow start and a late run by Apollo to win a battle of undefeated teams.

Caleb Coomes and Tyler Bacon opened up the scoring. Eli Wright then scored back-to-back baskets, with a one-handed dunk on a breakaway to put Apollo up 6-2.

Nick Wells hit two threes and Eli Wright got an old-fashioned during a stretch that saw Apollo take a 16-8 lead.

Bullitt East battled back and trailed by 4 at the end of the first quarter, 20-16. Apollo pushed their lead to 8 at the start of the second quarter.

Eli Wright scored 7 of Apollo's 11 points in the quarter as he tried to hold off a Bullitt East run. However, his last points came with over 4 minutes left in the half and Apollo never scored again from that point on. The Eagles saw a 4 point lead turn into a 10 point deficit at the half. Bullitt East led 41-31, Ezra Troutman led the Chargers with 13 points. Eli Wright led all scorers with 14 points.

Bullitt East saw their lead double in the third quarter. A Tyler Sharpe three late in the third quarter made it 64-44 Bullitt East. However, Eli Wright scored before the quarter ended on an easy layup to make it 64-46 after 3 quarters.

Bullitt East pushed their lead out to as many as 24 points. However, after back-to-back three point plays by Sam Sergeant and Eli Wright Apollo found themselves down just 12, 79-67.

Lex Smith hit a three shortly after to cut the Bullitt East lead to 10, 82-72. However, Apollo never scored again and Bullitt East won 85-72.

Bullitt East will play Lincoln County later today and Apollo will play University Heights.

Scorers

Bullitt East: Tyler Sharpe 23, Ezra Troutman 20, Bacon 15, Rhett Troutman 12, Jarred Farris 6, Bailey Rakes 5 and Blake Allen 4.

Apollo: Wright 29, Sergeant 14, Coomes 7, Wells 6, Chase Survant 6, Ryan Clark 4, Smith 3 and Nate Hopewell 3.

Game 3: Boyle County (58) vs. Butler (54)

Recap

Boyle County held on to beat Butler after building a first half lead and surviving a fourth quarter onslaught from Butler.

Butler struggled to score in the first quarter, Jalen Bradley had 6 of the Bears 8 points. Hagen Tyler also had 6 first quarter points as Boyle County led 15-8.

Foul trouble plagued Butler in the second quarter, the Bears were called for 14 fouls in the first half. This allowed Boyle County to build a 16 point going into the break, 32-16. Hagen Tyler led all scorers with 17 points at the half.

The Bears finally got things going in the second half. Jeremiah Bell scored 8 points early in the 3rd quarter and a Bryson Williams bucket with 3:17 left in the quarter brought Butler within 11, 39-28. A Josh Whetstone three a short while later got the Bears withing 8 points. Boyle County took a 45-36 lead going into the final frame.

Both teams battled each other early. Eddie Murphy and Bryson Williams scored back-to-back to get Butler within 6 with 4:41 left in the game. Boyle Co held firm for a while, but a Bryson Williams bucket with 1:20 left cut the Boyle lead to 5 points, 52-47. Butler got within three points on a Williams offensive rebound and putback with 6.5 seconds left. But Clayton Ray hit a free throw to clinch the game.

Boyle County beat Butler 58-54 behind 28 points from Hagen Tyler. Jeremiah Bell led Butler with 21 points. Butler's William Johnson a star junior guard didn't play for the Bears.

Boyle County will play Lexington Catholic later today and Butler will play the winner of CAL-Shawnee on Sunday.

Scorers

Boyle County: Tyler 28, Clayton Ray 14, Zach Leigh 6, Josiah Robbins 4, Keagan Hinkle 3 and Colton Elkins 3.

Butler: Bell 21, Williams 12, Murphy 8, Bradley 6, Kermit Malone 4 and Whetsone 3.

Game 4: Lexington Catholic (77) vs. Doss (75)

Recap

Lexington Catholic held onto a lead late as Tanner Johnson poured in 39 points in a win over Doss.

Johnson opened the game with a pair of free throws as Doss was assessed a technical foul for dunking in warm-ups. Lexington Catholic built an early 8-2 lead.

But back-to-back baskets from Montrell Little pulled Doss within one point. From that point on Doss and Lexington Catholic battled to a draw and the teams were tied at 15 after one quarter.

The second quarter was extremely even, with seven ties throughout the quarter. However, a anner Johnson double pump three at the buzzer gave Lexington Catholic a 38-34 lead at the half. Tanner Johnson had 19 points at the half for Lexington Catholic and Montrell Little led doss with 15 points.

Montrell Little missed most of the third quarter with an ankle injury. Lexington Catholic held their lead at 4-6 points for most of the quarter. But a Tay Weaver and-1 followed by a Terrell Gray basket cut the Lexington Catholic lead to 1, 48-47.

However, Tanner Johnson drained a three from NBA range right before the buzzer to give Lexington Catholic a 51-47 lead after three quarters.

Montrell Little had two and-1's that tied the game at 58 and 65 points. However, they could never take the lead and found themselves down 76-70 with 49 seconds left. Then Terrell Gray was fouled in the act of shooting and Reese Ryan was called for a technical foul. Doss hit 3-of-4 free throws, then Terrell Gray scored for the Dragons. Doss trailed 76-75 with 23.5 seconds left.

Michael Talbott hit one free throw to put Lexington Catholic up 77-75 with 9.4 seconds left. Doss tried to get the ball in Tay Weaver's hands, but a near turnover caused Montrell Little to force a deep three. It was off and Lexington Catholic beat Doss 77-75. Tanner Johnson led all scorers with 39 points and Montrell Little led Doss with 33 points.

This game doesn't factor into the tournament play as Doss and Lexington Catholic both had byes. Doss will play Seneca later today and Lexington Catholic will play Boyle County.

Scorers

Lexington Catholic: Johnson 39, Dancer 20, Ryan 9, Griffin 4, Morris 2, Hatton 2 and Talbott 1.

Doss: Litttle 33, Gray 19, Weaver 7, Jefferson 7, Maddox 6, Dukes 2 and Love 1

Game 5: Seneca (75) vs. Frayser (TN) (54)

Game 6: Lincoln County (70) vs. University Heights (53)

Game 7: Union County (73) vs. Shawnee (50)