Sports Writer

CLAYTON – The Barbour County High School Holiday Classic was supposed to be a showcase for the Class 2A defending state basketball champion Jaguars.

But a Barbour County cake-walk to the championship turned out to be an all-Pike County final.

Pike County nearly pulled off its second upset in as many nights, but Charles Henderson’s Lakory Daniels and Qua Davis scored the final five points as the tenth-ranked Trojans rallied for a 38-35 win over the Bulldogs on Wednesday.

However, CHHS head coach Carl Hollis wasn’t pleased with the way his team won on Wednesday.

"It was a very sloppy, sloppy game. Playing the way we did tonight, we really didn’t have any business winning. But the Lord gave it to us and we’ll take it," he said. "We’ve got until the 26th (of December) to work on some things because we played pitiful. We played worse tonight than I’ve seen us this year. We just didn’t play like we are capable of playing."

After an upset and second place finish, PCHS head coach Danny Suber was extremely impressed with the way the Bulldogs played against two, top ten teams in just the first two games of the season.

"That’s just Pike County. At this point in time, that’s what being a Pike County Bulldog is all about. The whole time I’m sitting there, I know we’re behind because of football, but I wasn’t really worried about that really. The greatest thing I think we have going for us at PCHS is just our athletic program in general. The kids, all they’re doing is just changing a ball. It’s the same to them. They know they’re going to have to work hard in everything they do."

"They’re a great group and a great staff," Suber said about CHHS. "They outcoached me tonight. I’ve been in the game a little bit. They were prepared and ready for us."

PCHS, taking the court for the first time this season, upset the Jaguars, 72-69 Tuesday, snapping a 17-game winning streak for Barbour County dating back to last season. Barbour County dropped its second game in a row in the consolation game, an 81-72 overtime loss to Bullock County.

Neither CHHS nor Pike County could find a rhythm offensively on Wednesday. The lead switched hands numerous times in the first half before the two teams went into halftime tied at 19.

The Trojans, who knocked off Bullock County in the first round Tuesday, shot a dismal six-for-32 from the field in the first half, leading Hollis to point to his defense as the key to the win.

"I think defense had to help us stay in the ball game because when you look at the shooting percentage, 13 made baskets out of 64 attempts in the game, the only thing left is hustling on defense and if you win, it’s because of defense."

"We had a rough night on offense," Hollis continued. "We looked a little sluggish, they didn’t come in here on fire like they’re supposed to and we’ve got a lot to work on."

PCHS regained the lead to open the second half on a three-pointer by Reggie Griffin and Bulldog senior Terrell Gray scored six of his team-high 14 points in the third quarter to give PCHS a 28-26 lead heading into the fourth period.

The Trojans outscored the Bulldogs 12-7 in the fourth period, but Pike County had its chances.

After Daniels hit a three-pointer to give CHHS a 31-30 lead with 4:20 left, the Bulldogs had a chance to retake the lead, but Nick Walker missed two free throws to keep the deficit at one. Codie Terry’s three lifted PCHS to a two-point lead with 3:34 left, but the Bulldogs couldn’t add to it with 2:52 remaining, missing the front end of a one-and-one as the Trojans would score seven of the final nine points to seal the victory.

Walker, Gray and Griffin earned spots on the All-Tournament team for PCHS. Quavian Lewis and Daniels also grabbed All-Tournament honors. Davis, who had a game-high 16 rebounds in the championship, was tabbed as Tournament MVP.