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Problem is, Milan and Camden probably had their best effort at the expense of MHS.

After Milan's 70-percent shooting clip, Camden came into the Rebel gym red hot and coasted to a 71-50 victory.

The Lions managed this effort despite the fact that the Rebels posted what is believed to be a school-record 12-three-pointer night.

"Two nights in a row we've played teams who had their best game of the year," said McKenzie coach Larry Joe Smith. "To be honest, we didn't play that badly."

True enough. The Rebels simply didn't have the manpower in the paint to battle the timbers of Jarrod Bain and Ben Reed.

"Second shots killed us," said Smith. "They probably had 20 second-chance points."

Bain continues to be a pain for McKenzie. He was 13-20 from the floor and hit his first eight shots without a miss to finish with 29 points.

"Bain is probably the finest player in the district," Smith said. "And he's coming back, too."

The hot hands of John French and Bryan Huffman helped McKenzie in the early going. French flushed a three in the first 30 seconds of the game while Huffman zeroed in with 3:19 to play in the first. But Camden was too strong inside and forged a 20-11 lead.

French hit two triples and John Craig Howell drained another but Bain and the Lions were too tough inside. McKenzie struggled to find solutions to the problems in the paint.

The Lions were 9-14 from the floor in the second frame, including a stretch with they hit seven of their first eight shots. At the half, Camden had a commanding 40-24 advantage.

That didn't deter McKenzie's perimeter efforts. Huffman tripled again as did Drew Hayes, but the Rebs drew no closer than 15.

Camden opened the fourth quarter with a 13-0 run and put the game well out of reach. Hayes and Jordan Trull each had three bombs in the final frame, but they came too little, too late.

"It was good to see Huffman and Hayes shoot the ball well," said Smith. "We didn't have the physicality and athleticism to stay with them."

Brock Martin had 13 and Kyle Harris had 10 to lead the Lions. Huffman deposited 12 to lead the Rebels. French and Hayes each had nine.
 

Last month at Camden, McKenzie put forth its best effort of the season, cruising to a 20-point lead early in the second half, only to watch Camden press the issue. MHS escaped that on with a 47-46 victory.

Friday night in their own gym, the district-leading Lady Rebels crafted perhaps their best total effort of the season, a 68-52 defensive marvel over a tough Lady Lion squad.

It was, to be sure, a defensive gem for McKenzie, who limited Camden to two field goals in the first half and a comfortable 32-16 lead. Speaking of comfort, it was comforting for Lady Reb coach Dan Ridley to see his veterans step up. Becky Toombs took over in the second half and finished with 16 points. Jennifer Johnson had a career night, connecting 10-of-14 from the free throw line to finish with 12.

"This was our best effort of the season for four quarters," said Ridley. "Jennifer stepped up tonight. She's sick, but she played real hard. I'm real proud of Toombs, too. She got hot when we needed it."

Another player who took over was Lady Rebel senior Kristen Wiggins, who finished with 12.

"Kristen plays with confidence and plays to take over a game," Ridley said.

McKenzie's defense was stifling, despite the officials' penchant for using the whistles. In all, 55 fouls were called and 79 free throws went airborne. Still, the Lady Rebels kept Camden from connecting from the floor for the first 13:15 of the half. In the meantime, Wiggins helped surge McKenzie to a 10- run to close the first quarter and extended it to a 21-2 run into the second.

And McKenzie was hitting from many different spots in the lineup. Hope Wyder and Renee Crawley connected and the Lady Rebs were 7-8 from the line in the first five minutes of the second frame. MHS led 25-8 at that point and finished the half with a 32-16 lead.

Camden tried to make things interesting and thoughts of another Lady Lion spurt danced in the mind of Ridley. The Lady Lions cut the margin to 12, 41-29 as the third frame ended.

"We had some breakdowns," Ridley said. "We had to make some adjustments and we didn't want them scoring with the clock stopped. We changed our press break and we executed the fool out of it."

McKenzie did have 27 total turnovers, "But we probably forced that many," Ridley said of the frenetic play. Ridley, by the way, was right. Camden had 26 turnovers.

In the final frame, Johnson was deadly from the line and Toombs took over inside as the Lady Rebels built the lead back to a comfortable margin.

And that was that.

"I was proud of the team and the way we played," said Ridley. "Depending what we do Tuesday night, we have a chance to clinch first place in the district."

Lacey Cagle led Camden with 16. Carmen Medina, Savannah Cox and Jenna Evans each had seven for the Lady Lions.

At stake: Huntingdon's unbeaten record in the district and a shot for both teams at the regular-season title.

It wasn't enough that it was a physical game. It wasn't enough that both teams had foul trouble. It wasn't enough that after the first, second and four quarters the game was still tied.

Yes, the Mustangs and Rockets needed an extra four minutes to settle the affair. And when the final horn sounded, Huntingdon had edged the host Rockets 64-61 in overtime to capture the regular-season district championship.

"I don't think I've ever had a team go 10-0 in the district," said Huntingdon coach Jason Morris, physically drained and suffering from a stress headache. "Right now, I need some aspirin and something to eat."

It was an emotionally draining game. There were lead changes and momentum shifts in each quarter. Clarksburg's largest lead was three points; Huntingdon started the overtime with five straight points, its largest lead of the game.

But the bottom line was the free throw line. In overtime, Huntingdon connected and Clarksburg didn't.

"That was the story right there," said Clarksburg coach Mike Limbaugh. "We missed some free throws and we threw it away a couple of times."

In the final minute of overtime, Huntingdon was 4-6 from the stripe. Clarksburg was a paltry 2-8.

"We hit our free throws and they didn't," said Morris. "They had every opportunity to beat us at the line, but they didn't hit them. But they hung in there."

Ironically enough, free throws helped propel the Rockets into OT. Triston Willis nailed two with 15.6 seconds to play in regulation, two big freebies that tied the game.

It was a valiant comeback in the final frame. Huntingdon had a monster third quarter and forged a six-point 35-29 lead.

In that frame, the Mustangs took control and Clarksburg stopped attacking the basket.

As the fourth began, Triston Willis deposited a triple then Ryan Cobb dumped in two more deuces and the Rockets closed within a point, 37-36. Robert Weathers scored to give the Mustangs a three-point cushion, but Dusty Boyd and Triston Willis combined for four points to boost the Rockets up by one, 40-39. From there it was a ping pong match to the end of regulation.

Huntingdon's John Thomas drained a three and was answered by C'burg frosh Justin Pierpoint's three ball. As time wound down, Terrance Bell threw up a long shot at the horn, but it didn't fall and the two combatants went to overtime.

Huntingdon broke from the gate with defense and five quick points for a 57-52 lead. Clarksburg struggled, but never entirely went away. Nick Cobb's three throw with 42.8 to play cut a five-point Huntingdon lead to two, 61-59. An immediate turnover gave the ball back to the Rockets, but they failed to convert.

"Nick hit a big three and we had plenty of time left," said Limbaugh. "I was pleased that we didn't get too excited and we held our composure."

Calvon Willis hit a shot with :27 to play, but the damage had been done.

"When we went into overtime, I thought we had a good shot," Morris said. "I've only lost one overtime game in my career, so I was feeling pretty good about it."

And now the Mustangs can enter the upcoming district tournament at Big Sandy as the No. 1 seed.

"I'm proud of the team," Morris said. "I don't think a 10-0 record in the district has ever been accomplished before by Huntingdon. I don't know but we hung in there and now we're regular-season champions."

Thomas led Huntingdon with 19 points and Kenneth Hillsman had 18., Bell scored nine.

Triston Willis led Clarksburg with 20 while Ryan Cobb scored 13. Calvon Willis and Nick Cobb each had 10.

The Fillies wanted to put an exclamation point on it and did so at Clarksburg's expense. The Lady Rockets ended the home portion of their schedule with a 79-23 loss to Huntingdon.

In the process, the Fillies captured the regular-season 13A title and will earn the top seed in the upcoming tournament at Big Sandy. As a result, Huntingdon captures an automatic bid to the Region 7AA tournament, which it will host.

The Fillies established dominance early and maintained it for the entire 32 minutes. They surged to a 38-13 lead in the second frame and held a 44-16 halftime advantage.

Transition basketball and rebounding proved to be the two big keys for the Fillies. Crystal Fuller did the damage from the inside while Waneca Melton had a career night, shaking and baking for 14 points. Kodia Tharpe had good aim, connecting for 12 points.
"We did a real good job on the boards on both ends of the floor," said Huntingdon coach Mike Henson. "I was worried that we hadn't played in a week, but I knew we'd be fresh."

Clarksburg's Glenna Tucker drained a three-point shot with 5:35 to play in the third quarter, but the Lady Rockets were silent for a while after that.

Huntingdon rolled to a 30-0 run and a 63-21 lead. Monica Burton marked out with seconds remaining in the third, but the Lady Rockets would not score the rest of the game.

"I think we kept the intensity up in the third quarter and that was a key for us," Henson said. "We did a good job in the fourth quarter. People came off the bench and did real well."

Huntingdon ran out the final frame with 16 unanswered points as Clarksburg struggled to find the mark. Shots simply wouldn't fall, but the good looks weren't so prevalent, thanks to Huntingdon's tough defense.

"We set some goals for this game and met all of them," Henson said. "I attribute that to the intensity we had the whole game."

Fuller led all scorers with 19 points. Lakeah Lockhart and Brooke Pritchard each had nine points for the Fillies. Jessica Carlton had seven points including a triple from the left baseline in the fourth quarter.

Kelli Sellers scored seven to lead Clarksburg. Tucker had five and Whitney Epperson added four. A.J. Lewis and Keri Grant each had three. Crystal Reed, Burton and Jamie Pritchard each had two for the Lady Rockets.

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