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Tigers Roar Back

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By Peter W. Zubaty
The Kentucky Standard
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RICHMOND - Jordan Hickman poured in 30 points Thursday to lead Bardstown to a come-from-behind 60-53 win in the first round of the "All A" Classic.
"He\'s really stepped up for us in the last couple weeks and shown what type of player he is," Tiger coach Gary Goode said of Hickman.
The junior dropped in 20 points in the second half, hitting all eight of his attempts after the break following a tough 4-for-12 first half.
"My teammates did a great job screening for me," Hickman said.
Bardstown (15-4) got off to a hot start thanks to a trio of three-pointers by Corey Hall. But as hot as Hall was in a 3-for-3 start, the Mountain Lions (19-3) were even hotter, knocking down 12 of their first 20 attempts from the field and taking a 29-17 lead at the 5:21 mark of the second quarter.
"I thought we played really well early," Pineville coach J.D. Strange said. "They made some defensive adjustments after that."
Pineville began to cool down, hitting only eight field goals the rest of the game. Meanwhile, after having a tough time early against Pineville\'s interior men that led to a 28 percent first half, the Tigers got rolling behind Hickman\'s hot hand.
The junior lefty scored nine straight Tiger points to open the third quarter, following up a three with a steal and finish at the other end, cutting Pineville\'s lead to 38-34.
Two more Hickman buckets trimmed the Pineville lead to 43-41, and the Tigers tied it just before the end of the third quarter on a short jumper by Rashaun Phillips.
"The Hickman kid caught fire," Strange said. "We had a tough time stopping his penetration, and when we did, he starting hitting outside."
Bardstown did a better job after halftime of attacking the interior, where the Mountain Lions held an advantage thanks to the play of 6-6 Dustin Day, who blocked four Tiger shot attempts in the first half. Day ended up with eight points and nine rebounds, but was limited in the second half. Phillips said Day was fatigued.
"I got physical with him on defense and ran the floor on offense," he said. "He was going for the pump-fake every time."
The Mountain Lions still had some fight, retaking the lead at the third quarter buzzer, and tying it again at 48 apiece when Dustin Warren\'s three answered Hickman\'s trey at the other end. Pineville had three more attempts to retake the lead, but couldn\'t capitalize.
That\'s when Hickman came up with perhaps the most important of his 11 rebounds, snaring the ball off the defensive glass and delivering a perfect outlet pass to a streaking Demarco Phillips on the right wing, who slammed home a two-handed dunk that ignited the Bardstown crowd and gave the Tigers the momentum they wouldn\'t relinquish.
"We had to make a spark off the rebound - we needed it," Demarco Phillips said.
The dunk helped the Tigers finish out the game on a 12-5 run.
"We feed off each other," Rashaun Phillips said. "That dunk put us above them and gave us the crowd."
Goode said the Tigers\' past experience at the "All A" - 8-1 in the tournament the past three trips - helped make a difference against a Pineville club making its first trip.
"I think it really showed in the second half," he said.
Bardstown hit 14-of-25 second-half attempts (56 percent), while Pineville limped home hitting only 6-of-19 overall and missed nine of 10 three-pointers after the break. The Tigers forced 16 turnovers while committing only five miscues.
"We played a good three quarters, but the shots weren\'t dropping in the fourth," Strange said.
Hickman dished out five
assists, and Demarco Phillips had eight points and eight rebounds. Corey Hall hit four treys in a 13-point afternoon.
James David Strange had a 20-point, 11-rebound effort for Pineville.
Bardstown was without starter Logan Edelen, who hurt his ankle last week against Campbellsville. He will not be available for today\'s matchup with 15th Region champ Paintsville (5 p.m. tipoff). Paintsville advanced with a 78-67 win over Louisville Holy Cross.

Peter W. Zubaty can be reached at 348-9003 Ext. 115 or by e-mail at pzubaty@kystandard.com.

"All A" Classic
First round at McBrayer Arena, EKU
Bardstown 60, Pineville 53
B 13 12 18 17-60
P 22 11 12 8-53
B (60) - S. Edelen 5, C. Hall 13, Hickman 30, D. Phillips 8, R. Phillips 4.
P (53) - Strange 20, Warren 9, Jeffrey 10, Lambdin 2, Widener 4, Day 8.

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