Rebels sweep season series with Somerset

The Rebels got their third district win of the season Monday night to finish 3-3 in district standings.
The Rebels hosted Somerset in a make-up boy-girl doubleheader that was postponed because of weather earlier this month. The Rebels forced the Jumpers to be a one-dimensional team and got the 52-37 victory.
Somerset’s one dimension was Clayton Stringer, who produced 15 of Somerset’s first 17 points. By the game’s end he had scored 28 of the team’s 37 points, with 16 coming at the free throw line.
“They dished it down into Stringer about every time and he managed to get his points. I think we were sound defensively and did a nice job in man defense,” Head Coach Todd Carman said.
Casey was locked up in a tight game early, clinging to a two-point lead, 9-7, after the opening frame.
“Somerset did a nice job in their zone. We didn’t move the ball around very well early and had four or five turnovers there in the first quarter. Just a few silly mistakes that made it close,” Carman said.
Casey found some breathing room in the second quarter when Jordan Ellison connected from downtown to extend the Rebel lead to four. Luke Carman followed that with an inside basket to build the Casey edge to six. Ellison connected again from three-point land as the Rebs took the 22-17 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Rebels continued to post points in the second half and pulled away for the 15-point win. Casey enjoyed balanced scoring as Tyler Johnson, Brad Jeffries, Jordan Ellison, and Luke Carman were all in double figures.
“We really played better in the second half. Tyler (Johnson) did a great job at the point and got 6 assists with his 10 points. We also did a good job on the boards as a team and got those rebounds we needed. It was a big win for us,” Carman said.
The win gives Casey the season sweep over the Briar Jumpers this season as the Rebs won at Somerset by 10 points earlier this season. The victory also gives Casey second place in the district behind only Pulaski County.

Chris Zollner

Casey’s Luke Carman (32) and Taylor Leigh (4) sandwich a Somerset player in a defensive stop during action at the Casey gym Monday night. The Rebels collected a 52-37 win, sweeping Somerset in the district battle and going 3-3 in district standings.

Marie James

Senior Brad Jeffries was honored before the start of Monday night’s game when Coach Todd Carman presented him with the ball from Casey’s Dec. 28 game in which Jeffries set a new school record for most 3-pointers made during a game. Jeffries hit 10 of the long shots, breaking his brother Chad’s record of 9, which was made in the 2007-08 season.

Rockcastle 66, Casey 62
The Rebels were also looking to sweep district foe, Rockcastle County on Friday night. The Rebels upended the Rockets earlier this month but couldn’t knock off Rockcastle a second time, losing 66-62.
Casey led most of the game with the help of big contributions from Ellison and Carman, who both poured in 16 points in the effort. Carman also led the team with 11 rebounds.
Casey built a 10 point advantage after three quarters, but had three turnovers in their opening drives of the final stanza. The Rockets capitalized on the Casey turnovers and stole the lead late. Rockcastle rallied to hold that lead and defeated Casey by four points.
“We made some silly turnovers there down the stretch of that game. Our effort was good the whole game though. We played hard and never quit. I just wish we could have come away with another win,” Carman said.

Pulaski 68, Casey 62
The Rebels suffered a 36-point defeat at the hands of Pulaski County earlier this season, but Casey played much better against Pulaski on Jan. 18 and came close to a major district upset.
The Rebels kept the game in single digits and trailed by only three at the half. The Maroons managed to hold that lead and win the matchup, 68-62.
The Rebels took care of the ball much more efficiently than in their first matchup against the Maroons. Casey had 31 turnovers in their first meet but only turned the ball over 13 times this time around.
“We took care of the ball much better at that was a major factor in the game. We also played much more physical and just played really hard. Our team is playing with a lot of intensity and it showed in that game,” Carman said.
The Rebs were aggressive offensively, getting to the charity stripe 37 times but only converted 24 of those attempts. Those 13 missed free throws had a major bearing in the outcome of the game.
“Free throws were without question the difference in the ball game. If we could have converted more of those, we would have gotten the win. But I was proud of our effort because we played this team much better than we did the first time around,” Carman said.
Jeffries led the Rebs with 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting. James Burton added 17 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.

Stats

Jan. 18 at Liberty
Casey                                 10   14   15   23 -- 62
Pulaski                               15   12   17   24 -- 68
Casey (4-13) —James Burton 17, 8 rebs; Brad Jeffries 16; Tyler Johnson 8; Luke Carman 8, 6 rebs; Jordan Ellison 7, 6 rebs; Clay Cannon 4; Cole Burke 2.
Pulaski (14-3) — Gulliver 21, Goins 15, Elmore 8, Eastham 8, Bales 6, Johnson 4, Ball 3, Abner 2, Laighn 1.

Jan. 21 at Mt. Vernon
Casey                                 16   19  15   12 --  62
Rockcastle Co.                     13  14   13   26 --  66
Casey (4-14) — Carman 16, 11 rebs; Ellison 16; Jeffries 14; Burton 10, 9 rebs; Burke 3; Johnson 2; Clark 2.
Rockcastle (6-12) — Carpenter 22, McKinney 12, Wilson 11, Arvin 10, McPhetridge 4, Noe 2, Brock 2, Allen 2.

Jan. 24 at Liberty
Casey                                     9   13  11  19 --  52
Somerset                                 7   10   7   1 3--  37
Casey (5-14) — Ellison 12, Carman 12, Jeffries 11, Johnson 10, 6 asts; Burton 7.
Somerset (6-12) — Stringer 28, McWilliams 3, Lang 2, McGargel 2, Cheuvront 2.