The two-time defending 16th Region champion Lions easily handled Russell, 88-61, in Saturday's opening round at Morehead State University's Ellis T. Johnson Arena.
Ashland will try to derail the Lions in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. Monday. The Tomcats needed an overtime to eliminate Rowan County, 73-65.
You can't tell Elliott County coach Rick Mays' emotions by his facial expressions. Turns out he saw lots of room to improve.
"I thought we was a little stale," Mays said. "You've got to give (Russell) a lot of credit. They shot the ball every time we made a mistake."
One thing was different: someone other than seniors Ethan and Evan Faulkner and Jonathan Ferguson led the team in scoring. Senior Chris Knipp was the leading scorer with 25 points.
"This is a first right here for me," said Knipp, who also had four assists and seven steals. "They were leaving me wide open all night. I just got hot and I was feeling it. I just kept on shooting it."
Ferguson was not far behind Knipp on the scoreboard with 24 points. He also had five rebounds, an assist and four steals.
"We played all right," Ferguson said. "We picked it up a little bit and got a lead and just maintained it the whole game."
The Faulkners contributed in other ways. Ethan grabbed 11 rebounds to go with his eight assists, six points and four steals, while Evan had eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Defensively, Elliott County forced 21 turnovers while surrendering only nine.
Though Elliott County was the heavy favorite, Russell (5-24) apparently didn't know it. After a little more than three minutes, the Red Devils held a 10-9 lead thanks to eighth-grader Kyle Skaggs' 3-pointer and junior Tanner Alexander's field goal.
"I think I should've called timeout and took a picture of the scoreboard," said Russell coach Merle Kidwell. "Our kids weren't intimidated. We had played them once before, but they're a great basketball team."
The Lions (28-2) put down the threat with a 13-2 run over the next three minutes. Chris Knipp led the outburst with a pair of 3-pointers and eight points altogether.
Russell didn't collapse. Alexander's four points pulled the Red Devils to within 31-20 a little more than two minutes into the second quarter.
From there, all Elliott County. The Lions outscored Russell, 24-9, the rest of the half and led 73-44 after three quarters.
Alexander led the Red Devils with 12 points.
Monday's obvious task for Elliott County appears to be containing Ashland senior Ryan Bonner and sophomore Chris Johnson. In beating Rowan County, Bonner scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Johnson added 18 points.
"They shoot the ball well," Mays said of the Tomcats. "They're a good young team, too. Bonner's a big strong kid. We've got to take care of all of them."
Photos
Elliott County's Timmy Knipp (21), blocks Grant McKenzie's shot during an opening-round 16th Region game against Russell. John Flavell/The Independent(Click for larger image)
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