-
Mason Askren
It has been a rough stretch for the Wildcats basketball team as they find themselves in the midst of a four-game losing skid.
This is the point in a season when you strive to be peaking just before the postseason gets underway and the club has four games remaining to turn things around before the start of the 38th district tournament.
Pendleton County has dropped games to Scott, Bishop Brossart, Calvary Christian and most recently, Robertson County, on Feb. 26. The Wildcats hosted the Black Devils in a crucial matchup with district seeding implications at stake. A Wildcats victory would’ve locked up the coveted number one seed and guaranteeing them a first round home matchup. However, a strong fourth quarter surge by Robertson County wiped out that possibility as they outscored Pendleton County 17-5 in a four minute span to seize control and come away with a 68-55 win.
Pendleton County pulled within six points at 49-43 following a driving layup by Jacob Redden, but Robertson County quickly countered by reeling off six points within a span of 40 seconds and knocked down another basket one minute later to suddenly go ahead by 14 points. The Black Devils lead would balloon to as much as 18 with two minutes remaining in the game. Robertson County now will have the opportunity to create a three-way tie for first place in district play if they can notch a win over Nicholas County this week. In the event of a tie, seeding for the district tournament will be decided via coin flip as stated on the KHSAA website.
Senior Tredyn Thomas led the Wildcats with 21 points while Braydon Kidwell and Jacob Redden added 10 each. The Wildcats close out the regular season with contests versus Augusta on March 1, Beechwood on March 2, Boone County on March 4, and Grant County on March 6. Head coach Sam Elsbernd remains confident that his team can shake off their recent struggles and be successful in the postseason.
“For us it’s about taking care of the basketball and not committing turnovers, rebounding and making open shots. When we do those things we’re a tough out. This team has faced a lot of adversity this season and they’ve toughed it out the entire time.”