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Wildcat junior Luke Gregg fires a three from the corner during the team's home game against Nicholas County on Feb. 12. Photo by Sam McClanahan.
By Sam McClanahan
The Pendleton County Wildcats dropped two of three contests last week, however the team was able clinch its most successful season in six years.
With a 74-61 win at Feb. 15 at Paris, the Wildcats notched their 13th victory of the season. The last time that feat was accomplished was during the 2017-18 campaign. Pendleton County used a strong second half effort to pull away from Paris in closing out the win while getting solid contributions from multiple player's. Junior guard Aden Merrill was spectacular as he produced a season-best performance. Merrill narrowly missed a triple-double as he finished with 18 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Senior Alex Beyst posted a team-high 23 points while seniors Hunter Cox (14 points, six rebounds) and Hunter Jack (10 rebounds, seven rebounds) also played significant roles during the win.
Wildcats head coach Mason Monroe credited his squad's ability to shake off earlier losses in the week to bounce back in notching a must-needed win.
"Our guys are resilient. We just keep getting back up and fighting," Monroe explained.
"After our loss to Nicholas and Campbell, we had one of our best practices of the season Wednesday. An emphasis of playing faster, boxing out, and rebounding. Guys brought great energy and were very focused. That carried right into Thursday's win against Paris. There was an energy with us last night we haven't had since early on in the season. That's exactly what we need going into the final stretch of the regular season," he added.
Pendleton County dropped an important district matchup at home versus on Feb. 12 Nicholas County. After leading 18-6 midway through the first quarter, Nicholas County responded with a 12-3 run to pull within three to begin the second quarter. From there it would be all Nicholas County as they took advantage of a cold spell that would plague the Wildcats offense. Pendleton County would go nine minutes of play starting at the halfway point of the second quarter and into the third quarter without scoring a point. However, a three-point play from Cox would ignite the stagnant offense and the Wildcats jumped back into the game by getting baskets from Beyst, Merrill and Jack before the start of the fourth quarter. . .
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