Keith Taylor
WINCHESTER — George Rogers Clark didn’t get caught looking ahead.
The Cardinals won their eighth straight game and braced for tonight’s scheduled showdown against Scott County with a 92-51 rout over Ashland on Friday night at Norton Gymnasium.
Although the Cardinals (18-4) hadn’t played for nearly a week, Clark showed no signs of overlooking the Tomcats and ended Ashland’s hopes for an upset from the opening tip as Scott County coach Billy Hicks looked on from the stands.
“Our guys played outstanding,” Clark coach Scott Humphrey said afterward. “I’m really proud of them, because around the community, everywhere in school and anywhere we (went), all anybody wanted to talk about was the game (tonight against) Scott County. A lot of times, high school kids have a tendency to look ahead, but they came out tonight and played like we have been practicing. We were very focused and I thought it was a mature, leadership-type game and our guys came out and did an outstanding job.
“I’m really happy with how we played tonight. No complaints at all. I thought we did a ton of good things.”
The Cards (18-4) led from start to finish and scored nine of the first 11 points and didn’t let up. Clark held a 29-10 advantage at the end of the first frame and Humphrey pulled his starters by the end of the third quarter.
“They’re really good,” Ashland coach Buddy Biggs said. “They came out ready to play and we didn’t. You can’t do that against the best team in the state of Kentucky.”
Biggs said Clark’s “size, speed, athleticism and shooting ability” was the difference in the outcome.
“Wherever you want to start, they’ve got it all,” he said. “I think they can win the whole thing.”
Vinny Zollo continued his inside domination and sparked the Cards’ offense with 26 points and completed a double-double outing with 12 rebounds.
Zollo did most of his damage in the first half. The Clark junior scored 10 points in the opening quarter and added 10 more in the second quarter, including back-to-back 3-pointers. Zollo pulled down seven rebounds.
“He just continues on,” Humphrey said. “He’s dominating on the inside with his physical presence.”
Three of Clark’s five starters tallied double figures in the first half. Robbie Stenzel followed Zollo with 11 points, while Jaylen Daniel added 10. Daniel threw down a nifty reverse dunk and added another two-handed slam in the second quarter. Daniel had another one-handed jam in the third frame.
Humphrey praised his team’s unselfish play on the offensive end of the court and ability to connect from the floor.
“Our shot selection was probably as strong as it’s been all year long,” he said. “We had unselfish play from all of our guys and this team is improving and improving in a hurry.”
Nothing went right for the Tomcats (15-5) in the first half. Ashland managed just 10 points in the opening quarter and three players entered the scoring column.
Corey Gregg led the Tomcats with 13 points.
Ashland plays at Fairview tonight 7:30, weather permitting, in a key district game. The Tomcats are 3-0 in district play, while the Eagles are 1-1.
