Graves County had won the last 13 games against the Marshals and Friday they made it 14 straight in a 65-52 victory. The Eagles were coming off a big win over McCracken County on Tuesday, handing the Mustangs just their second loss of the season with a squad full of seniors who have played or started for the Eagles for four and even five years. The Marshals last win over Graves County came on Feb. 1, 2013 by three points in overtime.
Jacob Savage and Jordyn Naranjo gave the Eagles a quick 4-0 lead before a three from Bryce Flatt got the Marshals on the board. Free throws from Austin Riley gave the Marshals their first lead at 5-4 and they led 11-8 at the end of the first quarter, closing it out by scoring the final six points, four from Tyler Powell and two by Tyler Stokes.
The Eagles opened the second quarter with an 11-0 run, ended on a 3-pointer by Powell, closing the eight point lead to two after Powell’s three was followed by two straight baskets by Stokes. Prompting a time out by Coach Josh Frick, the Eagles re-grouped and scored the next six to go back up by eight points (25-17). Stokes scored, drawing the foul for three points followed by a free throw by Matthew Wooten to cut Graves County’s lead to 25-21 at halftime.
Powell scored the first six points for the Marshals in the third quarter but fueled by their trio of seniors, Naranjo, Ryan Mathis and Jacob Savage who combined for 15 of their 17 third quarter points, the Eagles took a 42-36 lead at the end of the quarter.
Mathis opened the fourth quarter with a three, one of four for the Eagles to come, to extend their lead to nine points. Free throws from Powell cut it to seven at 45-38 but that was followed by a 13-0 run for Graves County to amass a 20 point lead. The Marshals drought ended on a basket by Jay Nimmo but the Eagles would take their largest lead of the game at 65-43. Marshall County scored the final nine points of the game to cut the Eagles winning margin to 13 points.
The Marshals will play Downey Christian on Saturday at home, a team they recently played in Mustang Madness, as part of a showcase scheduled at Marshall County High School next weekend. Tip-off around 8:30 to 9:00.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Final | |
| Marshall | 11 | 21 | 36 | 52 |
| Graves | 8 | 25 | 42 | 65 |
Marshall: Powell 17, Stokes 15, Flatt 8, Nimmo 4, Ives 3, Smothers 2, A. Riley 2, Wooten 1
Graves: Savage 21, Mathis 18, Naranjo 13, Thomas 4, Shannon 4, Jackson 4
