Murray Ledger & Times, March 15, 1974

 

Warren East Defeats Tigers 80-67

 

By Mike Brandon

​

Jackson Scores 30 Points in Tigers’ Freedom Hall Debut

 

Pick up a gun, pull the trigger and if there’s only a click, you win.

 

But even with each successful attempt, the odds are greater that the next time will be the one in which the fatal shot is fired and the game of Russian Roulette is over.

 

Each March, the deadly event is held in Freedom Hall:  it’s called the Kentucky State High School  Basketball Tournament.

 

And Thursday night, the fatal shot for Murray High came in their tournament debut as a determined Warren East grabbed an 80-67 win over the Tigers in the final game of the opening round.

 

Murray High, who had never played in the State Tournament before, won every single department of the contest, except one.

 

And that was turnovers.  Twenty-eight times the Tigers turned the ball over to Warren East, 17 of those coming in the first half.

 

But it was the first eight minutes of the contest that decided the fate of the Tigers, champions of the First Region who earned the berth in the State Tournament by defeating Paducah Tilghman last Saturday 67-65.

 

Time and time again in the first period, the pressure of being the first Murray team ever in Freedom Hall showed.

 

Although enjoying a height advantage over Warren East, the Tigers were not able to use it.  Because if the lightning quick Raiders from Bowling Green didn’t steal the ball before Murray High got it over the midcourt stripe, the Tigers would throw the ball away or be caught for a violation.

 

“They just got us down early in the game and we could never fully recover,” a dejected Coach Bob Toon said.

 

“If we could have just played close in the first half and not had so many turnovers, we would have won the game.”

 

Not once in the contest did Murray High ever manage to lead and only twice, the Tigers tied the score, those being deadlocks at two and four apiece.

 

Midway through the first period Warren East led just 8-7.  And then the Britt Family struck!

 

Marcus Britt, a 5-9 senior, hanged for a pass and stole the ball, drove the length of the floor and hit for a two-pointer.

 

Jerry Britt, a 5-8 junior, hit on a fastbreak layup and 6-2 sophomore Clinton Britt scored on a 15-footer and with 3:32 left in the opening period, Warren East led 16-7.

 

A large group of Murray Hight fans roared to their feet in support of their team following consecutive baskets by Hudspeth and Lane which trimmed the gap down to three points.

 

But Warren East struck for three baskets in the final 36 seconds and at the end of the opening quarter, held a 26-11 bulge.

 

Hudspeth opened the second period scoring by hitting from under and Murray trailed by seven.

 

But striking like a thief in the night, Warren East blitzed for eight unanswered points and suddenly, with 5:32 left in the half the Raiders were embarrassing Murray High 28-13.

 

Murray could never get any real momentum going in the remainder of the half, but Warren East could not pull any farther away from the Tigers.

 

And in the final three minutes, the Tigers began to take a grip on the rope and the tug of war began to take a grip on fans from both ends of Freedom Hall as the teams began to trade baskets.

 

Ray Lane’s free throw at the 1:27 mark of the half cut the lead to 10 at 36-26 and it appeared Murray High might cut the deficit even farther before intermission.

 

But again, as it was in the entire contest, Warren East would watch the Tigers get within striking distance and then come up with the clutch play to extend the working margin.

 

The Raiders hit for the final four points of the half and took a 45-36 cushion into the dressing room for halftime.

 

Glenn Jackson, whose three-point play provided the win over Tilghman last week in the Regional finals, scored eight points in the first two periods to lead the Murray High scoring.

 

And in the second half Jackson almost single-handedly pulled the Tigers to within striking distance.

 

Jackson, who along with his teammate Ray Lane is among the best guards in the tournament, scored 12 points in the third period.

 

The largest lead of the entire contest for Warren East came at the 5:56 mark of the third frame when Jerry Britt scored from 15 feet away to boost the Raiders to a whopping 46-38 bulge.

 

And then slowly but surely, the Tigers began regrouping and the Warren East lead began to dwindle as Jackson started hitting from all over the legendary floors of Freedom Hall.

 

By the time the 5-11 senior guard scored his 10th point of the third with 1:24 remaining, Warren East led only 52-46.

 

Just 12 seconds later, Clinton Britt hit a pair of charity tosses to increase the margin to 10--only to have Jackson smack in an eight-footer with 1:02 remaining, to whittle the count to 54-46.

 

On two separate occasions, Murray High had the opportunity to pull within six points but the Tigers could not get the shot to fall.

 

Warren East spurted in the final seconds and entering the last frame, the Raiders led 58-46.

 

A minute into the fourth canto, Warren East led 64-50 and it seemed as if Murray High might well fold and buckle under the Raiders’ attack.

 

But like a boxer who refused to give up, the Tigers slammed the special punch again at Warren East.

 

And again, the special punch was Jackson.

 

At one point, covering part of the third period and part of the fourth, Jackson hit six consecutive shots from the floor.

 

Two consecutive shots by the surging Jackson followed by a fastbreak by Lane left just 4:36 showing on the gigantic scoreboard and left Warren East with only a 66-59 lead.

  Ronnie Watt, a 5-8 senior guard, traded baskets with Hudspeth before 6-2 senior Tyrone McCuiston stepped to the line for Murray High with the bonus opportunity at the 3:12 mark.

 

But McCuiston’s shot fell off and the Raiders scooted down floor and stretched the lead to nine on a fastbreak by Watt.

 

The closest Murray could come the rest of the way was eight, 73-65 with only 3:19 left when Jackson hit from 15 feet.

 

And then with 1:56 left in the game, Jackson picked up his fifth foul and walked off the floor for the final time as a Tiger.

 

But Jackson didn’t hear the cheers of fans across Freedom Hall.

 

He only heard the sound of a pounding heart in his ears, and felt only the stinging tears of defeat, but he left a mark on 12,500 people who were in attendance.

 

Jackson finished with 30 points in his last game.  He hit on 15 or 24 shots from the floor in a shooting display and an all-around type of game which should earn him All-Tournament honors.

 

Danny Hudspenth ended his brilliant career with 17 points and nine rebounds.  He hit on eight of his 10 shots from the floor.

 

Ray Lane, who shot only eight times in the contest, had seven points and picked up five assists, one of which was a behind-the-back fastbreak pass in the first quarter that resulted in a bucket and earned the senior guard a loud ovation.

 

Tyrone McCuiston, who missed his entire junior season because of a leg injury, tossed in 10 points and dominated the boards as he finished with a game-high 12 rebounds.

 

The other starter, and the only one who will return next season, scored just one point.

 

But that man, 6-5 sophomore Bob Wilder, grabbed 10 rebounds and played an outstanding inside game in a gut performance from a first-year starter.

 

Murray High out-rebounded Warren East 29-25.  The Tigers shot 32 of 62 for a .516 clip while the Raiders hit on 33 of 64 for a .515 mark. 

 

But in the turnover department Warren East had 15 and Murray High an unbelievable 36.

 

Clinton Britt, who finished with 10 rebounds, paced Warren East with 22 points while Watt added 19, Marcus Britt 17 and Jerry Britt 15.

 

Warren East goes to 23-7 with the victory and will play at 2:30 p.m. today against Newport Catholic, a 76-72 winner over Monticello in the first game played Thursday.

 

The Tigers close their season with a 26-3 record, the best ever in the history of Murray High.

 

And although they were defeated in their first game ever at the State Tournament the team will always be loved and remembered by its fans.

  And that, in itself, is a trophy more valuable than any.