By Sam McClanahan
The Pendleton County Wildcats returned home on December 20 and were able to pull out a thrilling win over Paul Laurence Dunbar. The team looked to carry that momentum after Christmas while competing in the Swauger Holiday Invitational held at Bellevue. Unfortunately, the team would be defeated in opening round play by Ludlow.
The Wildcats got some last-second heroics by sophomore Kamden O'Hara in their 59-58 victory over Dunbar. Trailing 58-56 in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, O'Hara took a pass from senior Aden Merrill just in front of his team's bench to swish a corner three-pointer with five seconds remaining to give his squad the victory. The game was defined by big runs put together by both teams throughout the evening as the Wildcats lead 13-3 early in the first quarter only to see Dunbar battle back and trail by five at the half. In the third quarter, Dunbar produced a 10-0 run over the first four minutes of the quarter to grab a five-point advantage. Pendleton County sophomore Ja'Zi Grayson would come alive as he knocked down three triples to put the Wildcats back in front, 41-40. Dunbar would regain the lead 45-44 setting up for a great finish down the stretch. The two clubs traded the lead over the final eight minutes with the Wildcats getting clutch baskets from Merrill, Grayson and junior Dawson Nichols. Dunbar was able to knock down a three-pointer with 27 seconds left setting up the final possession for the Wildcats. Merrill calmly dribbled down the closing seconds before slashing to the basket and hitting O'Hara for the game-winning triple.
Ja'Zi Grayson led the Wildcats with 16 points (four made three-pointers), O'Hara finished with 14 and fellow sophomore Hunter Keeton chipped in with 12.
On December 26, Pendleton County took on Ludlow in opening round play of the Swauger Holiday Invitational. The Wildcats defeated Ludlow 87-60 back on December 14 and looked to make it two straight over the Panthers. However, Ludlow would be the aggressor early on as they took advantage of a slow start by the Wildcats to lead 14-8 after the first quarter. Ludlow would grow their lead to 10 points in the second quarter as turnovers and lack of execution on both ends of the floor plagued the Wildcats. In the third quarter, Pendleton County stormed their way back into the game as they opened the quarter with a 10-5 run to make it a 36-35 game while grabbing the lead for the first time. Back to back three-pointers by Merrill and Grayson enabled the Wildcats to maintain the lead as the Wildcats outscored Ludlow 24-13 in the quarter to take a 47-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The final eight minutes saw both clubs trade punches and the lead. The Wildcats fought hard but would not be able to take advantage of opportunities down the stretch as Ludlow came away with a 66-61 win. Merrill led Pendleton County with 21 points (20 in the second half) as Keeton added 12 and senior Luke Gregg finished with 10.
"This is a disappointing loss," Wildcats head coach Mason Monroe said. "Our effort and overall performance in the first half was bad and we still had chances to win the game but not finish. We turned the ball over 25 times and that's something that would be hard for any team to overcome. This is team that needs to play fast in order to be successful but we must take care of the ball," he explained.
Due to early press deadline, results of the remaining two contests at the Swauger Invitational will be found in next week's edition.