DRAFFENVILLE – Both teams are fresh off a trip to Panama City Beach and the Arnold Marlins Christmas Classic where the Marshals lost to Madisonville in the 5th place game and Cairo took 4th following a win over Oak Grove, AL then two close losses to Arnold and Breckenridge, KY.
Cairo overcame Marshall County leads of 13 points late in the first half and 11 points in the third quarter to win 73-71 behind 24 points by Dave Taylor and 21 from Demarius Taylor, all from 3-point range.
“We had a pretty commanding lead in the first half with 26 seconds to go, then we turned it over three times in those 26 seconds and they scored five points on us”, Marshals Head Coach Gus Gillespie said. “Got it back up to 11 again, then we just had some series where we played too fast, took a couple of ill-advised shots and three turnovers in a row led to three consecutive three’s and now the 11 point lead is down to two.”
D.J. Pigg opened the game with two straight three’s to give the Marshals a 6-2 lead but the two teams were tied up at 10 with two minutes left in the first quarter and tied again at 17 at the end of the quarter when Demarius Taylor closed the quarter out on a 3-pointer, his first of seven in the game.
The Marshals out-scored the Pilots 17-9 in the second quarter with scoring spread around by Brady Morgan, Dylan Walters, Dawson Jolley, Matthew French and Skyler Smith, for an eight point lead going into the halftime break.
Leading 40-35 in the third quarter, Dylan Walters scored the Marshals next eight points, highlighted by a slam from the sophomore point guard, that gave them a 48-39 lead. A basket by Aaron Reed put the Marshals up by 11 before a 10-0 run by Cairo cut the lead to one going into the fourth quarter.
Demarius Taylor closed out the third quarter for Cairo with two straight threes and added a third to open the fourth quarter to give the Pilots a 52-50 lead that would be followed by four ties between the two teams. Taylor put the Pilots up again on a three that was answered by Pigg to tie the game at 60-60.
Dave Taylor’s field goal gave Cairo a two-point lead, one they would hang on to and extend out to five before the Marshals cut it back to one at 67-66.
Still a one possession game with 54 second remaining, the Marshals missed a couple of opportunities to tie the game, cutting it to one point again on a long three by Pigg with 15 seconds to go.
Forced to foul with 3.5 seconds on the clock, Cairo’s Melvin Duncan missed the first of one and the bonus giving the Marshals a chance with 1.5 to go but a foul on Dave Taylor with .3 left on the clock, sent him to the line where he misses the first, makes the second and Cairo gets the 73-71 win.
Disappointed in the loss, Coach Gillespie said he found many positives from his team in the game. The 8-5 Marshals will play a district game on Friday at home against Calloway County. The Lakers are 5-8 and beat Mayfield Tuesday 54-52.
SCORING
Cairo: Field Goals 27/53, 3-pointers 7/21, Free Throws 12/21, Rebounds 25, Fouls 16, Assists 7, Turnovers 10
Marshall: Field Goals 23/48, 3-pointers 6/14, Free Throws 19/23, Rebounds 36, Fouls 20, Assists 10, Turnovers 13
Cairo: Dave Taylor 24, Demarius Taylor 21, Hollis 12, Woodson 5, Johnson 4, Brown 4
Marshall: Walters 20, Pigg 19, Smith 12, Jolley 6, French 6, Morgan 4, Reed 4
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Cairo | 17 | 9 | 23 | 24 | 73 |
| Marshall | 17 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 71 |
