Elliott cements supreme legacy

By ROCKY STANLEY — The Independent

MOREHEAD March 11, 2009 01:52 am

— The 16th Region has seen few boys basketball teams the likes of Elliott County.
In what shaped up as one of the tournament’s more anticlimactic title games, the Lions completed a regional three-peat Tuesday night with a convincing 83-61 victory over first-time finalist Lewis County.

The Elliott Express rolled to a 36-point margin late in the third quarter and then pulled back on the throttle in front of a Johnson Arena crowd of 3,001.
“It was kind of like playing against a college team to me,’’ said Lewis County center Chris Thompson.
Elliott County foes have been feeling that way for a while now. The team has been ranked at or near the top of the state since the season opened and blew many of their opponents off the court.
Lewis County stayed close early before Elliott’s ball-hawking defense forced seven second-quarter turnovers that paved the way for a
41-21 halftime lead.
“Lewis County is a very good team,’’ said Elliott County’s Evan Faulkner. “You can always count on (coach) Joe Hampton this time of year to pull an upset or two. We increased our defensive pressure in the second quarter and made some steals that got us going.’’
Elliott put the game away with a 13-0 run to open the second half. Senior guards Ethan and Evan Faulkner capped it with back-to-back 3-pointers. The lead ballooned to 67-31 later in the third quarter as 6-foot-7 sophomore Timmy Knipp scored off a spin move.
Knipp had 15 point and five blocked shots as the Lions improved to 30-2 with their 24th win in the last 25 games. Knipp said he was happy for the team’s seniors.
“They are great guys,’’ Knipp said. “We are all friends and I’m glad to see them win it again.’’
Elliott County became the first team to win three consecutive 16th Region championships since Boyd County in 1998-2000.
Ethan Faulkner, who was 8-for-9 from the field, summed up the moment.
“I wouldn’t want to go through this with anybody else,’’ said Ethan, who wrapped up his third consecutive regional MVP award with 17 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. “I’ve been with these guys since the eighth grade. We worked hard to get to this point. Hopefully we will go down next week and make more memories.’’
Elliott County returns to Rupp Arena next Thursday for an 8 p.m. first-round game against Anderson County, the Eighth Region winner.
“Elliott is the No. 2 team in the state,’’ Hampton said. “We have nothing to hang our heads about. I definitely think they can make a run in Lexington.’’
Coach Rick Mays is as ready as his players.
“What I’ve been telling them all the time is that we’re not playing a team, we’re playing for a situation,’’ Mays said. “That’s to get back to Rupp Arena. Now we have the opportunity.’’
Senior forward Jonathan Ferguson led Elliott’s attack with 19 points and became the regional tournament’s career scoring leader with 226 points. He surpassed Boyd County’s Tyler Zornes, who had 221.
Ferguson’s nine second-quarter points helped Elliott County take control. He also finished with 10 rebounds.
“Lewis County came out ready to play and we came out a little stale,’’ Ferguson said. “Then we calmed down and played like we should. Our goal has been to go to state and try to get a little down there. This was the win we needed to go back.’’
Evan Faulkner finished with 15 and connected on three of his four 3-point attempts.
Thompson racked up 28 points and 18 rebounds for a Lewis County coming off dramatic wins over Fairview and Bath County.
“This was a huge step for our program,’’ Hampton said. “We knocked on the door a few times and this year knocked it down so to speak. We don’t plan on it being 47 more years before we get back to the finals.’’
Koty Riley had 15 points and Terrence Smith 11 for Lewis (18-16).
ROCKY STANLEY can be reached at rstanley@
dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671.

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