Colonels Win

Coach Mike Deaton has begun his career with the Whitley County Colonels on the winning side of the ledger. The Colonels pulled away from the pesky Jellico Blue Devils at Lawson Gym to win Monday night, 66-53.
Deaton felt it was his team’s conditioning that made the difference in game one of the season. “I think our condition was the difference-maker for us,” said the first year coach. “I think fatigue on their part let us get a couple of runs and separate ourselves from them.”
“It was just flat out ugly,” said Deaton. “It was a testament to our kids that they have put in the kind of work that they have. It enabled them to get a win here tonight.”
The Colonels (1-0) were led by freshman Zach Powers with 17 points. Powers hit five three pointers in the win including one with 1:40 in the third quarter that gave the Colonels the lead for good, 40-38.
Eighth grader Shawn Harris followed with a basket and 6-2 freshman Michael Crawford scored from close range as Whitley County took a 44-38 lead into the final eight minutes.
The Colonels quickly moved out to a ten-point (48-38) margin at the start of the fourth quarter and Jellico never recovered. Jared Roaden scored inside the paint and Harris scored off a rebound basket for the ten-point margin.
“Harris came in and did a good job for us,” said Deaton. “He did a good job for a kid that has never played in a freshman or JV game. I thought he handled himself really well.
“We were able to bring some kids off the bench that can come in and give you some solid minutes , just like Jared Roaden,” said Deaton. “He scored four points, but defensively he did a great job on their point guard and gave us a lot of ball pressure. That’s as much of a contribution as any bucket we could get.”
Positives from the game. “Number one, we got a win, for our program any win, we don’t give them back,” Deaton said. “Any win is a good win for us no matter how ugly it is. We have to learn how to win and we have to learn how to win some games that get tight. That’s all a part of the growing process of a program that’s trying to get itself up on its feet.”
“Again, I think the fact that our kids are in pretty good shape has to make them feel all that work has something to show for now,” said Deaton.
There were a lot of fouls in the game with the Colonels hitting 14 of 29 while Jellico connected on 15 of 19.
“First game of the year, there are a lot of dumb fouls,” said Deaton. “You don’t mind some hustle fouls, but some of these fouls that are way out in the floor, I think some of that will clean itself up, but I think it was typical of a first-game.”
“It’s a start,” said Deaton. “We’ll go back and start at the basics again. We have to get to point A from point B without the short-circuits that happen along the way.”
“Four of those kids we thought would be starting were sitting on the bench over there,” said Deaton, referring to Jamie Lebanion, Jordan McCumbers, Adam Teague and Ed Lawson.
Whitley County bolted out to a 6-2 lead behind Crawford and Jacob Lowrie but Ben Mitchell and Dexter Fitzpatrick took over the game for Jellico and pushed the visitors ahead, 9-6 with a 7-0 run. Mitchell’s three pointer gave the Devils a 7-6 lead.
Powers first three pointer of the game pushed the Colonels back on top 11-9, but a 7-2 run saw Jellico take a 16-13 lead at the first stop.
A three point play by Ben Prewitt with 6:31 in the second quarter allowed the Colonels to take a 19-18 lead. Powers followed with a three pointer and Jellico coach Alvin Evans called a time-out to get his team regrouped.
The Colonels actually scored the next four points as Powers hit a pair of free throws and Prewitt scored a basket from close range for a 26-18 lead. Whitley County closed out the half with a 30-26 lead.
The Colonels tried to pull away at the start of the third period when Greg Bargo connected on a three-point play and Prewitt hit a three pointer for a 36-30 score.
But, the Colonels went cold from the free throw line and opened the door for the Devils. Brent Johnson hit a basket for Jellico and Fitzpatrick scored the next six points as Jellico took a 38-36 lead.
However, the Devils failed to score another point in the final two minutes while Whitley County tossed in eight straight to close out the period for a 44-38 lead.
That led to back to back baskets by Roaden and Harris at the start of the final period as Whitley County began to pull away.
Evans said his team got tired down the stretch. “When I have to go to the bench I have to go to a freshman. My two freshman guards are going to get better, this is the first time for them. They don’t have a lot of varsity experience other than a minute or two here and there.”
“Fitzpatrick (Dexter) got tired, I kept him in there a little longer than I should,” said Evans. Fitzpatrick and Ben Mitchell kept the Blue Devils in the game, scoring 38 of the 53 Jellico points.
“Gabe Webb got in foul trouble and we had to keep him on the bench a lot,” added Evans.
“We’ve just got to get a little better play out of our bench,” said Evans. “They are young but we have to get a little better play. Right now it’s a learning experience for them.”
“I was pleased with the play, I just wasn’t pleased with the refereeing,” said Evans. “I wasn’t very pleased at all.”

Whitley County 66, Jellico 53
Jellico 16 10 12 15- 53
Whitley Co. 13 17 14 22- 66
Jellico (2-1) – Fitzpatrick 18, Mitchell 20, Johnson 2, Thompson 2, Marlow 3, Lamb 1, Sharp 7, Webb 2.
Whitley Co. (1-0) – Lowrie 8, Powers 17, Crawford 12, Bargo 3, Harris 9, Prewitt 13, Roaden 4.