Season comes to an end

The Corbin Redhounds saw its 2005 basketball season come to an end on the Rupp Arena floor Friday night in a 67-61 loss to the University Heights Blazers.
The Blazers, led by outstanding guard Joshua Mack, entered the tournament with a state title already under their belt and had won 23 of their last 24 games. The second region champions won the All “A” state tournament in February, beating Somerset in the title game, 61-52.
“I thought it was an up and down game,” said coach Tony Pietrowski. “We started out sluggish and never really got untracked. I was hoping there in the second half when (Joshua) Mack was on the bench we would make a little bit of a run.”
“We played a little bit harder in the second half but when you get behind to a team like UHA it’s really difficult to catch up,” Pietrowski. “We could never really seem to get over the hump. We could never find that one play that pushed us over the top.”
Free throws hurt the Redhounds in the early going as Corbin missed four in the first three minutes of the game and trailed 8-2 when Mack scored on a drive down the lane.
After Andrew Parks had cut the lead in half (8-4) the Blazers scored the next three points to go ahead 11-4.
Pietrowski called a time-out with 4:45 in the quarter and challenged the Redhounds to stay in the game. His three seniors answered the challenge and quickly outscored the Blazers, 6-1 and sliced the lead to two (12-10).
Corbin pulled even at 14-all when 8th grader Josh Crawford scored on a rebound basket late in the period. Patrick Metcalfe pushed the Blazers ahead at the end of the first quarter, 16-14.
The Redhounds battled UHA hard in the second quarter and tied the game at 18-18 on back to back baskets by Parks. The Blazers went on a 6-0 run but the determined Redhounds came right back.
Corbin went on a 6-3 run and trailed at the half, 27-26.
Lawson and Parks scored the first four points of the third quarter as Corbin took a 30-27 lead at the 7:09 mark. The ‘Hounds held onto the lead until the final seconds of the quarter when Phillip Whitaker hit a three pointer to push the Blazers ahead at the end of the quarter.
Whitaker’s basket was the spark the Blazers needed as UHA scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, including another trey. By the time Pietrowski could get a time-out the Blazers led, 49-42. with seven minutes remaining.
Corbin got the lead down to three on back to back baskets by Parks, 54-51. But another UHA run and a dry spell by the Redhounds proved costly for Corbin. UHA outscored the Redhounds 10-2 over a three minute spree and led 64-53 when Mack connected on two free throws with :42 left in the game.
Corbin, who finished the season 21-11, refused to quit and got the lead down to five (66-61) before losing 67-61.
The Redhounds connected on less than 50 percent from the free throw line, hitting 8 of the 19 free throws in a six-point loss. “That had hindered us at times throughout the year. You have to be able to step up and make foul shots. It would have made a big difference,” added Pietrowski.
Asked to wrap up their state tournament experience the three Corbin seniors said.
“It was crazy for me,” said senior Brad Lawson. “I had never been in Rupp before this tournament, like coach said I am a football player trying to play basketball. It was an experience of a lifetime.”
Noble said. “It was an experience I thought I would never have but we preservered a lot this season and came away with a regional championship that no one thought we could win.”
“It feels good to be a part of a team like this, a loss hurts but the experience here I will never forget,” said Noble.
“I couldn’t ask for more from my teammates and coach,” said Parks. “I will remember this for the rest of my life.”
Parks led all scorers in the game with 25 points and pulled down his second double-double with 15 rebounds.
Parks, a 6-4 forward, pulled down 34 rebounds in just two tournament games and finished second for the entire four-day event behind South Laurel’s Walt Allen. Allen, the tournament MVP had 41 rebounds in four games. Parks was first for the week in defensive rebounds with 25.

Corbin 14 12 16 19- 61
UHA 16 11 17 23- 67
Corbin (61) – Brad Lawson 4-5 1-3 9, Josh Hamlin 0-5 0-0 0, Ryan Tate 3-4 1-4 8, Andrew Parks 11-19 3-8 25, Jordan Noble 2-13 2-2 6, Josh Crawford 6-12 1-2 13, Josh Ware 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 8-9 61.
UHA (67) – Phillip Whitaker 4-7 1-2 12, Joshua Mack 6-20 11-13 23, Cody Stallons 1-6 1-4 3, Nathan Owen 6-11 2-8 14, Chris Evans 0-3 1-2 1, Patrick Metcalfe 4-8 1-2 9, Carson Rager 2-5 0-0 5, Logan Chesnut 0-4 0-1 0. Totals 23-66 17-32 67.
Three point shooting: Corbin 1-8 (Hamlin 0-3, Tate 1-1, Noble 0-4), UHA 4-14 (Whitaker 3-6, Mack 0-3, Stallons 0-2, Rager 1-3). Rebounds: Corbin 40 (Parks 15), UHA 48 (Metcalfe 8). Assists: Corbin 6 (Hamlin 3), UHA 9 (Mack 5). Turnovers: Corbin 16, UHA 15.