Paducah Tilghman came into Reed Conder Gymnasium on a four-game win streak and record of 11-5, easily one of the top teams in the region. Aside from one late first quarter lead, the Marshals trailed Tilghman until 2:46 in the third quarter going up 46-45 on a 3-pointer by Tyler Powell which was the start of a change in momentum for the Marshals on their way to a 75-70 win.
That timely three in the third quarter by Powell did more than just give the Marshals the lead. It was Powell’s 1,000th career point, making the senior just the 18th in program history to achieve the milestone, joining an elite group of players that have worn the orange and blue.
“I actually did not know”, Powell said of reaching his 1,000th point Tuesday night. “I was clueless. I was just trying to get the team win and that was most important.”
Marshals Head Coach Terry Birdsong said Powell is one of the most productive players he has coached.
“It’s not easy to get a thousand points in a career”, Birdsong said. “You have to be on the court a lot and you have to be able to score. Over the three years I’ve coached him, he’s been very efficient. If you look at his stat line over the last two years, he shoots a high percentage from two, he shoots a high percentage from three and he’s about a 75 to 80 percent foul shooter.”
“It’s nice to have my name up there with Coach Birdsong and all those guys”, Powell said. I’m excited I got it, but the overall goal at the end of the year is the regional championship”
Eli Brown and Powell exchanged threes to open the game. Tyler Stokes tied it at 7-7 and a 3-pointer by Zion Harmon tied the game again at 12-12 with 2:00 to go, Tilghman finishing out the first quarter on an 8-2 run to lead 20-14.
The Marshals cut the Tilghman lead back to two points at 20-18 and again trailed by two at 26-24, their six points during that time coming from Stokes on an and-1 play and 3-pointer. Six of Tilghman’s final eight points in the half came from Michael Laster to give the Blue Tornado a 34-29 halftime lead.
Jahiem Concentine opened the second half for Tilghman with eight points, six from beyond the arc, and they led 45-39 following a three by Brown. Harmon gave the Marshals eight of their first 12 points in the third quarter before Powell’s three put them up for the first time since the first quarter. Tied up at 50, Harmon’s three to end the third quarter gave the Marshals a lead they held the rest of the game.
Four straight by Bryce Flatt on free throws and a nice put-back gave the Marshals their largest lead of the game at 66-52 in the fourth quarter, a 14-point lead Tilghman pulled back to seven (70-63) with two minutes remaining. The Marshals final five points came from the free throw line, going 5/8, enough to hang on to win by five.
Harmon led in the win with 29 points, Stokes had 23 and 16 from Powell. Tilghman was led by Concentine with 19.
The Marshals will play at home Friday against Graves County and two games in the CFSB Classic at Marshall County on Saturday against Prodigy Prep (FL) at 4:00 and Fulton City on Monday at 3:00.
Paducah Tilghman 20 34 50 70
Marshall County 14 29 53 75
Scoring:
Paducah Tilghman: Jahiem Concentine 19, Michael Laster 12, Mian Shaw 11, Eli Brown 11, Jackson Goodwin 9, Troy Williams 6, Camdon Marshall 2
Marshall County: Zion Harmon 29, Tyler Stokes 23, Tyler Powell 16, Bryce Flatt 5, Riley Smith 2
