Yellow Jackets hold on for a home win over Campbell, 63-61

By Clayton Carroll

MIDDLESBORO, KY (WLAF) – Campbell traveled to the “Crater City” on Monday to face off against the Yellow Jackets of Middlesboro High School in a non-district, non-region game.

Things started off in a very interesting way as Campbell County trailed Middlesboro before time had elapsed off the clock. Why? Well, the reason was that Luke Browning was assessed a technical foul for dunking the ball during warm-ups. The Yellow Jackets sank the two free tosses. When the game actually started, it would be more than 90-seconds before Campbell would get on the board. Gavin Cox supplied the Cougars’ first two points by connecting on a mid-range jumper. Cox was not finished in the first quarter as he knocked down two 3 pointers to give Campbell its first lead, 8-7.

Gabe St. John also scored from deep and Gavin Cox tacked on more points throughout the remainder of the quarter. Cox and St. John were the only Cougars to score in the first quarter, and after one, it was 20-15 in favor of Middlesboro.

Luke Browning was responsible for the first five points of the second quarter, cutting the Yellow Jacket lead to 23-20. However, Middlesboro then exploded for a 8-2 run to increase the lead to 31-22 with 3:48 remaining in the first half, prompting a timeout from CCHS Head Coach Ernie Clawson. Campbell County snapped back with a 6-0 run of its own to cut the score to 31-28 at intermission.

In the third quarter, the Orange-and-Blue tied things up at 34, before Middlesboro ran off a 12-2 run. During this quarter, the Yellow Jackets pushed their lead out to 12, before the Cougars cut it to eight at the end of the third, 51-43.

Middlesboro built a 13 point lead on the Cougars at one point in the fourth quarter.  Though the Cougars had one more run in them. The Cougars slashed the Yellow Jacket lead down to six, before Luke Browning and Jordan Day hit two huge threes to knot the game at 61 with 1:08 to go in regulation. However, after drawing a foul, Middlesboro stepped to the charity stripe and knocked down two free throws, to gain the lead by a score of 63-61 with 15 seconds to go. Campbell was unable to score in its final possession, falling just short after the valiant comeback.

Gavin Cox led the Cougars in the scoring column with 20 points, and Luke Browning was close Cox’s high with 19. Jordan Day tallied seven points on the night. Cole Miller scored six. Gabe St. John had three points. Tyler Kitts, Logan Day and Gavin Owens each had two points.

The Cougars fall to 7 and 13 on the season and remain 1 and 3 in district play. Speaking of district play, Campbell’s next six games all come in District 3 (Class 4-A) play, beginning with a Tuesday night tussle at Powell. The Lady Cougars play at 6 pm and the varsity Cougars tip at 7:30 pm. Josh Parker sends you all of the live coverage over the WLAF Doyle’s Tire Sports Network which consists of AM 1450 FM 100.9 radio, TV Channel  1089, YouTube, Facebook, Roku TV, and Amazon Fire TV.

Tue., Jan. 30 AWAY Powell

Thu., Feb. 1 HOME Powell

Fri., Feb. 2 AWAY Oak Ridge

Mon., Feb. 5 AWAY Halls

Tue., Feb. 6 AWAY Central

Fri., Feb. 9 HOME Karns (Senior Night)

Mon., Feb. 12 AWAY District Tourney

Campbell broadcasts are made possible by these outstanding corporate partners:

Alco Builders & Realty

American Cable of La Follette

Be.You.Tiful Med Spa

Byrge Screen Printing

Clayton Homes

C & C Concrete

Cantrell Law Firm

C & L Furniture

Charley’s Pizza

C & L Metal Sales

Citizens Bank

Creekside Kitchen & Market

Cumberland Equipment Rentals

Attorney Jeffrey Coller

Community Trust Bank

Cumberland Gap

Local realtor Gage Dople

Doyle’s Tire Shop

Exterior Home Solutions

Hammer’s

Hill Insurance

First National Bank

Grace Rehab

Gray Insurance Group

Greeneview Farms Market

Hearthside Bank

Jacksboro GNC

Hensley Tire & Service

Holston Gases

La Follette Nutrition

LaFollette Medical Center – Tennova Medical Group

LaFollette Mine Supply

Litho-Craft Printing & Office Supplies

LUB

Peoples Bank of the South

PCUD

Rice Oil is your home for BP and Amoco

Robbins Guttering, Roofing & Siding

Smith Metal and Dock Sales

TCAT

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 01/30/2024 6AM)

Related