PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WMDJ) – It happened just like they drew it up.
Since Alan Joe Moore was named the head coach of the boys’ basketball program at Floyd Central, the plan was to play as much youth as possible early on to rebuild the new consolidated school’s program and by the time his fourth season would arrive, his youth would be seniors and competing once again for a district title.
Then came Covid.
With that, a decision was made by a special group of young men to take their extra year of eligibility, allowed by the KHSAA because of the pandemic, in hopes of being strong enough to win it all by the end of their extra year.
Thursday night, seniors Brody Buck, Braden Moore, Dawson Moore and Ronnie Samons watched as the fruits of their labor came forth.
The Jaguars rallied from a 7-point deficit at the half to outscore Lawrence County 48-27 over the final two quarters to capture the Boys' 58th District Championship at Prestonsburg Fieldhouse.
Coach Moore credited a defensive switch from man-to-man in the first half, to a couple of different halfcourt zone traps starting in the 3rd quarter as the reason for the win.
“We knew that we couldn’t show them (Lawrence County) zone early because they could use halftime to make the proper adjustments. So we had to let them hold the ball for the final minute plus of the 2nd quarter, be patient and make the change starting after halftime,” said Moore.
The results were Floyd Central shooting 8-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arch in the 3rd period, while Lawrence County struggled shooting 3-of-11 and 0-5 from the outside as the Jaguars outscored the Bulldogs 22-9.
The Jags also owned the glass in the second half. Buck finished with a team-high 14 rebounds (11 offensive) while Samons grabbed 11 boards. Floyd Central enjoyed a +16-rebound advantage for the game, 47-31.
Samons led all scorers with 23 points. Braden Moore, who was named tournament MVP, scored 15 points and dished out six assists. Chris Spriggs tallied 13 points and gave out five assists for Floyd Central.
The victory gave Floyd Central its first district title since 2019 and the school’s third title overall.
Lawrence County had beaten Floyd Central in 13 out of their last 14 matchups prior to last night's championship game, including a pair of wins over the Jaguars during the regular season.
Floyd Central (16-13) will face the winner of Magoffin County and Prestonsburg in the quarterfinals of the 15th Region Tournament at the Appalachian Wireless Arena on Thursday, March 7th at 6:30 p.m.
Lawrence County (23-7) will host Paintsville on Saturday in the 2nd-round of Super-Regional play at 7:30 p.m. with the winner facing Pikeville on Wednesday, March 6th at 6:30 p.m.
FLOYD CENTRAL (71) – B. Moore 4 (1) 6-7 15. Boyd 2 (1) 2-2 7. Samons 9 5-8 23. Spriggs 4 5-6 13. Buck 3 0-1 6. D. Moore 3 (1) 0-1 7. Meade 0.
FG Pct.: 48.1. FT Pct.: 69.2 3-PT 3-17 (B. Moore 1-5, Boyd 1-5, Samons 0-1, Spriggs 0-1, Buck 0-1, D. Moore 1-4, Meade 0-2). PF 19. Fouled out: B. Moore. Turnovers 12. Assists 16.
LAWRENCE CO. (57) – Perry 6 (4) 1-3 17. Bloomfield 9 3-5 21. Marcum 1 (1) 1-2 4. Fetherholf 2 (2) 1-2 7. Ratliff 2 4. Woods 1 (1) 3. Scaggs 1-2 1. Davis 0.
FG Pct.: 33.3. FT Pct.: 50.0 3-PT 8-26 (Perry 4-9, Bloomfield 0-3, Marcum 1-1, Fetherholf 2-5, Ratliff 0-1, Woods 1-7). PF 21. Fouled out: none. Turnovers 5. Assists 16.
FLOYD CENTRAL. 15 8 22 26 - 71
LAWRENCE CO. 11 19 8 19 - 57
