RICHMOND – To say the Shelby Valley Wildcats have been battle tested the past week would be an understatement.
The fatigued Wildcats, playing their fourth game in six days, hit clutch free throws in overtime and rode the coattail of Cody Potter’s game-high 34 points and 10 rebounds to a heart-stopping 66-63 bin over Clinton County in the opening round of the All “A” Classic boys’ state tournament at EKU’s McBrayer Arena Thursday night.
Potter, who tied a tournament record with nine, three-point baskets, put Valley, now 19-3, ahead for good on a free throw with 3 minutes, 39 seconds left.
Seth Johnson’s four shot put the Wildcats up three at 66-63 with 9.8 seconds left. Clinton County’s Jackson Harlan’s three-pointer to tie bounced off the rim with time running out. The Bulldogs rebounded but couldn’t get another shot off in time.
Cameron Worrix added 13 in the win while Orbie McPeek added seven, including a short baseline jumper for Valley’s only field goal in overtime.
The Wildcats will face Danville (19-1) at 8 p.m. tonight in the quarterfinals. The Admirals eliminated Elliott County.
At Richmond
(All ‘A’ Classic opening round)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
SV (19-3)……16 17 17 10 (6) – 66
CC (16-6)……19 13 14 14 (3) – 63
Scoring:
Shelby Valley (66) – Cody Potter 2(9) 3-4 34; Orbie McPeek 3 1-2 7; Sam Stanley 3 0-0 6; Keian Worrix 0(3) 4-8 13; John Flanery 0 1-2 1; and Seth Johnson 0 1-4 1. Totals: 9(12) 12-22 66.
Clinton County (63) – Seth Stockton 5 6-8 16; Noah Pruitt 1 0-0 2; Caleb Guffey 2 0-0 4; Jackson Harlan 7(3) 5-8 28; Chase Stines 2 6-9 10; and Evan Dearborn 1 1-2 3. Totals: 18(3) 18-27 63.
Next up: Shelby Valley (19-3) vs. Danville (19-1), 8 p.m., tonight, 107.5 FM.