Melodie Phelps, News Editor
Monticello — The Monticello Trojans met McCreary Central in the opening round of the
48th District Tournament, played at Southwestern High School on Monday,
February 22. The Trojans entered the game as the number four seed in the
district and faced a tough task of upsetting the top-seeded McCreary Central
Raiders.
And making it even more difficult, the Trojans were without their
leader, senior forward Derrick Peyton, who was injured in an automobile
accident the previous week. Peyton was on the bench to help support his
teammates.
The Raiders came out on fire and built an early double digit lead on
their way to an 86-46 win and a berth in the district championship contest.
"McCreary Central has a good ball team and they presented a lot of
matchup problems for us," said Monticello coach Trevis Upchurch. "I was
pleased with the effort that our kids gave. They gave all they had until the
buzzer went off."
The Raiders led 23-5 at the end of the first quarter and then scored 7
straight points to open the second quarter and extend the lead to 30-5. The
Trojans scored 12 points in the second quarter and trailed 45-17 at the
half.
McCreary Central was up 63-29 at the end of the third quarter and
cruised on for the 40-point win.
"McCreary played well. They shot well, they were sharp and they played
with the mindset that they were going after a regional championship," said
Upchurch.
The Trojans were led by Chase Lowe with 17 points. Also in double
figures was Austin Foster who finished with 13 points.
McCreary Central was led by Jacob Dixon, who hit 4 3-pointers and
finished with a game-high 18 points.
The win by the Raiders put them into Friday night's title tilt against
Wayne County. See a related story in this edition.
