By MELINDA ROBINSON — The Independent
SUMMIT
Sat, May 17 2008
—
It might seem strange to imagine a blue-clad audience in Boyd County Middle’s predominantly red gymnasium, but that’s exactly what happened Thursday night when the Kentucky Barnstorming Tour invaded the Ashland area.
“It was all blue in here,” UK senior Ramel Bradley said. “I saw maybe two or three specks of green but that was it.”
The Cats took on a group of Marshall All-Stars in the most intense game on this year’s tour. The teams took it to the wire with Kentucky topping the Herd 109-101 in overtime.
“That’s probably our toughest competition but it was fun and we still won,” Bradley said.
He poured in a game-high 41 points, much to the delight of the crowd of Big Blue faithful.
It wasn’t smooth sailing for “Smooth” Bradley and company. The Herd took the lead early, up by 13 at the end of the first quarter.
Kentucky battled back and tied it up at 45 late in the first half off Bobby Perry’s 3-point play. The Cats held a 52-49 edge at halftime.
“I think they thought they were going to come in and play against a bunch of old, fat guys,” Marshall alum J.R. VanHoose said. “I am an old, fat guy but I can still play a little bit.”
VanHoose, the 1998 Kentucky Mr. Basketball and former Paintsville standout, netted 17 points for the Herd. It was his first time playing for a Marshall team, where he’s second on the all-time rebounding list, since his graduation in 2002.
“I even had someone yell at me and ask my why I was wearing Chad Pennington’s number (10),” VanHoose, who normally sports No. 40, said. “It was just the first jersey I picked up. It’s always good to hear that trash talk. I miss how that sounds.”
Kentucky pulled ahead by 12 late in the fourth quarter, but Marshall closed out the game on a 15-3 run and knotted the game at 99 on Travis Aikens’ 2-pointer with about two minutes to play in regulation. Aikens finished with 21 points.
UK’s last-second shot was off the mark, sending the game into overtime.
UK senior Joe Crawford poured in 29 points and Perry finished with 20.
Marshall senior Mark Dorris paced the Herd with 23 points. Alum Joda Burgess added 15.
During the quarter breaks, area children were able to take on some of the Wildcats. Four youngsters went one-on-one against former Cat Lukasz “Woo” Obrzut before the 7-foot-1 center was taken down by a toddler. Four Boyd County High School basketball players also went up against the Cats in a 3-point shoot-out.
Fans also had the opportunity to purchase UK gear and collect autographs from the UK stars in attendance.
Heaven Wheeler, 11, of Ashland, was one of those fans. She even took on Obrzut in the one-on-one challenge.
“It was a wonderful experience and I hope to do it again,” Wheeler said.
About 300 people came out for the game. With most of them sporting blue and white, that may have given the Cats the advantage in the game.
“This crowd was awesome,” Bradley said. “They came out with a lot of energy. They had the chants going and were pulling for us”
“I’ve been in Ashland before and I like coming here. I made sure we made this stop.”
All in all, the event was a success, according to Frank Martin, one of the Marshall players and Boyd County Schools’ facility and events coordinator.
“You could see it was competitive out there and I think the people enjoyed it,” Martin said. “I wish we could’ve had more Marshall fans out here. The game was played in Kentucky so I figured we’d have more Kentucky fans out.”
Marshall was well represented, bringing eight players out for its team, although they knew their fanbase would be largely outnumbered by UK fans.
“It was good for some of the older guys and some of the younger guys to come out for Marshall and have that cohesiveness,” VanHoose said. “We’re just one big Marshall family.
“Being 15 minutes from Huntington and not really having any Marshall supporters, that just shows you how Kentucky basketball is. In Kentucky, basketball is king and it showed tonight.”
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