19th CFIT

The 19th Annual Cumberland Falls Invitational may have one of its strongest fields ever according to tournament director, Terry Jo Martin.
“I think this is one of the strongest fields that we have had in the last several years,” said Martin. “You have Bell County, Barbourville and Corbin with very good teams. Greenup County and Perry Central have lost one game. The out of state teams that are coming appear to be very talented,” said Martin. “This is going to be a very strong field.”
The tournament kicks off Tuesday with the Eagles of Poinciana High School, out of Kissimmee, Florida, taking on the Barbourville High School Tigers of coach Dinky Phipps. That game will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Perry Central Commodores of the strong 14th region going against the Bell County Bobcats, who have knocked on the door to the state tournament for many years.
The Commodores and Bobcats will play in the second game at 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday’s action finds the St. James Sharks of Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina taking on the Greenup County Musketeers of the 16th region in a 6:30 p.m. showdown followed by the Carolina Forest Panthers and the Runnin Redhounds.
“They look like a big athletic team,” said Martin of the Carolina Forest Panthers. “They have been here before and they know what the level of competition is. I’m sure they have a good team or they wouldn’t be wanting to comeback.”
“I don’t know anything about their talent level or how they play,’ said Martin. “I don’t know how their guards play or how they shoot the ball.”
This tournament features not only some good teams but several talented players such as Dante Curry of the Poinciana Eagles. The 6-4, 175-pound senior averages nearly 20 points a game and has already signed with South Florida of the Big East.
Barbourville has a trio of outstanding players in Matthew Cox (6-1, senior), Aaron Grubb (6-4 senior) and Chris Good (6-3, senior). The Tigers will bring a 82.6 per game average into the tournament and should be able to get up and down the floor.
Perry Central features their offense around 6-3 senior Robert Amis who averages 15 points per game. However, senior Tyer Bailey, a 6-4 post player, can score inside for the Commodores.
Bell County can’t be overlooked with Ryan Whitaker taking control of an outstanding Bobcats basketball team. Whitaker, the coaches’ son, is averaging nearly 20 points per game as well. Jeremy Sanders is also a key to the Bobcats offense.
The mystery teams may be the St. James Sharks and the Greenup County Musketeers. Greenup County was 5-1 at this writing, heading into the Raceland Derby Classic. The have three dominate players in the likes of Corey Tharp, Joe Riley and Mitchell Brown. All very capable of having a big night.
The Redhounds, of course, want to showcase freshman Josh Crawford and his cast of teammates, Ryan Tate, Josh Hamlin, Ryan Swim and Kyle French, the normal starters. Crawford leads the area players in scoring with a 22 point per clip.
Corbin will face a veteran team that coach Eric Lyons says is one of the best ever at Carolina Forest High School. The Panthers are led by 6-8 junior Aaron Ellis, 6-0 senior Michael Strickland and 6-5 senior Nathan Ellis.
“Poinciana has a player that they are promoting as a Division One player,” said Martin. “He will be a very good player, one that is fun to watch.”
“Their coach, Jay Lunce, is from Williamsburg,” said Martin. “I’m pretty sure he played under coach (Brent) West and he has a lot of family and friends in the area. They have a very competitive team and should be a very exciting team to watch.”
This will be St. James first year in the Cumberland Falls Invitational. “He is a good friend of Carolina Forest coach Eric Lyons and contacted us about getting in the tournament.”
“I know absolutely nothing about St. James,” said Martin.