Published: January 03, 2009 11:48 pm      

Hot West gets East

OLIVE HILL — West Carter’s impressive basketball start now includes a victory over its biggest rival.

The hard-working Comets turned away East Carter 54-50 on Saturday night.

Ace Puckett’s basket early in the third quarter broke a halftime tie and West Carter kept the lead the rest of the way in a tight contest.

“It means the world to us, especially the seniors,’’ said guard Taylor Webb. “Last year, we had an O-fer against East Carter. They have a lot of people back after being a region final contender last year.’’

Webb scored 18 points to double his season average and teammate Corey Oney sank two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to give the Comets a four-point margin.

West Carter is the winningest team in the 16th Region at 11-2. Coach Jeremy Webb called it a testament to his players’ attitude on the court.

“We have a bunch of kids that get after it for 32 minutes,’’ he said. “They don’t care how pretty they look. They just want to walk away after a game knowing they won.’’

The Comets overcame their own 34-percent shooting from the field by committing only eight turnovers and battling East Carter to practically a draw on the boards.

“I thought they played with a little more energy than we did,’’ said Raiders coach Brandon Baker. “They had a little sharper edge to their game. They beat us to the ball a lot.’’

West Carter showed no signs of fatigue despite playing its fourth game of the week.

Taylor Webb came up with three steals, one that led to his own layup for a 46-41 advantage with 5:30 left.

“Taylor has those kind of abilities,’’ his coach said. “He’s a kid with experience and quickness. That’s why we like to press with him on the floor. He puts constant pressure on the other team and has the ability to score in transition.’’

East Carter (4-4) pulled to within one point on two occasions in the final three minutes but committed a key charging foul and missed two free throws down the stretch.

Aaron Rayburn had 11 points and nine rebounds for West Carter, while Corey Oney provided a boost off the bench with nine points.

Defensively, Matt Logan and B.A. Oney helped hold East Carter guard Tyler Jackson scoreless. He came in averaging 13 points.

“I thought they did a really good job on Tyler, paying attention to him,’’ Baker said. “It’s always tough when that first one doesn’t go down.’’

Colt Barnhill led the Raiders with 18 points. Mark Pemberton finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Kyle Bair added 12 points.

West Carter plays host to 16th Region powerhouse Elliott County next Tuesday.

“We’ve got Elliott, then Greenup County and Fairview,’’ Jeremy Webb said. “We’re going to see how good a ballclub we are and how we stack up with the rest of the region.’’

East Carter travels to Russell on Tuesday.

ROCKY STANLEY can be reached at rstanley@

dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671.