Pulaski rally falls just short against Henry Clay

Jan. 29—MT. VERNON — Coming off an emotional victory over their rivals Somerset on Friday, the Maroons of Pulaski County were back in action on Saturday, participating in the Rocket Classic hosted by Rockcastle County High School. With the Carson Fraley injury news, the game Saturday was going to be a tough one, even without considering the fact that they were squaring off with the Henry Clay Blue Devils, a team that came into the contest sporting a 17-2 record on the season.

It was a low-scoring affair between the two teams and after falling behind by double digits to close the third quarter, the Maroons almost made a unlikely comeback before eventually falling to Henry Clay 49-43.

Sophomore Jackson Stephan scored the first basket of the game before it was quickly answered with two made at the charity stripe by Will Blankenship. The Blue Devils made the first big run of the game after, scoring eight straight points on three-pointers from juniors Kayson Brown and AJ Dixon to take a 10-2 lead and force a quick Pulaski timeout. Right out of the timeout, four points from Zak Anderson and two made free throws from Blankenship following a technical foul allowed the Maroons to cut their deficit down to just 10-8.

A quick rip and two from Jalen Wooldridge tied the game up before the Blue Devils quickly retook the lead following a three from Jackson Stephan. Foster Fraley scored before the buzzer, although that was followed by a make from senior Isaiah Stephan as Henry Clay took a 15-12 lead after the first period.

Blankenship got the Maroons closer to taking their first lead after making the first bucket of the second quarter, although it was Jackson Stephan that stepped up and hit another shot from deep to extend the lead back to four. The second quarter featured a lot of defense and not much in the way of made shots as both teams combined for just 15 points. A Blankenship three-point basket made shortly before the break made the Pulaski deficit 23-19 heading into the locker room.

The Blue Devils extended their lead out to eight to open up the second half following baskets from Dixon and Isaiah Stephan. The Maroons answered back with four straight points from Ethan Idlewine to bring the score to 27-23. Henry Clay was threatening to blow the game open after scoring eight of the next nine points, with both Isaiah Stephan and junior Trevor Evans nailing shots from deep, as Pulaski was forced to take another timeout.

Things didn't get much better out of the timeout, as senior Cole Wicker had an offensive put-back to give Henry Clay a 13-point edge with time winding down in the period. A three-pointer from Kade Hargis gave the Maroons a sign of life heading into the final quarter as they were down 37-27.

Five straight from the Blue Devils, two on a put-back dunk from Wicker and a three from Brown, increased their lead to 42-27 as they had their largest lead of the game. The Maroons did not back down though, going on a 14-1 run over the next several minutes to cut their deficit down to just two points at 43-41. Everyone was contributing during the run for Pulaski, with Gavin Cook, Wooldridge, Anderson and Blankenship all scoring on shots from long range. A basket from Wicker was answered on the other end by Wooldridge, but eventually the clock proved to be the worst enemy of the Maroons. Four straight from Jackson Stephan sealed the deal for the Blue Devils late as Pulaski's six-game winning streak was snapped courtesy of their 49-43 defeat.

The Maroons were led in scoring by Blankenship with 14 points, as well as Anderson with eight and Wooldridge with seven. Other scorers included Cook with five, Idlewine with four, Hargis with three and Foster Fraley with two. Henry Clay was led by Jackson Stephan with 12 points.

Pulaski falls to 15-6 and will be back in action on Friday when they travel to North Laurel to take on the Jaguars at 7:30 p.m.

Jacob Pratt is the Sports Editor of the Commonwealth Journal and can be reached at jpratt@somerset-kentucky.com.