By ROCKY STANLEY — The Independent
WESTWOOD — Ashland achieved two objectives with one hard-fought victory.
By defeating Fairview 65-58 on Thursday night, the Tomcats put the brakes on a three-game road losing streak and wrapped up the top seed for the 64th District Tournament.
Point guard Will Skaggs scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and fellow senior Conner Swift provided a huge lift off the bench to help put Ashland over the top.
The Tomcats moved to 4-0 in district play and picked up some much-needed momentum.
“It was huge,’’ said Ashland coach Buddy Biggs. “We treated this like a district semifinal. We knew if we won this one, we would be in the regional tournament. That really motivated the kids I thought.’’
He was right.
“We definitely needed this,’’ said Swift, who hit a key 3-pointer down the stretch and also boosted the team with his rebounding and defense. “We were on a three-game slide. We want this season to be special. Four losses in a row would not be good this close to the district tournament.’’
Ashland (16-6) played like a team on a mission Thursday after falling to East Carter, Clark County and Elliott County by a combined 69 points.
Fairview got four consecutive points from Caleb Collins to go up 47-44 with 5:34 remaining, but Ashland responded with a decisive 11-2 run.
Swift started the surge with a 3-pointer, his second of the night in two tries.
“Against Fairview, for some reason, the ball feels good every time it came off my hand,’’ said Swift, who also made a big shot against the Eagles in last year’s district tournament.
Dylan Delaney drove the baseline for a basket to break a 48-48 tie, then Skaggs connected on a driving shot of his own and capped Ashland’s spree with a 3-pointer from the wing to make it 55-48.
“Those two threes I thought were the difference in the game,’’ Biggs said. “The shot that Conner hit changed everything. He’s finally healthy now and has been a real boost to us.’’
An ankle injury kept Swift out of the picture until after the Ashland Invitational Tournament. He’s gradually shaken off the rust. He came through against Fairview with eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“I knew I had to bring energy off the bench,’’ Swift said. “That’s been my role the last two years.’’
Fairview, playing only its third home game of the season, closed to 60-57 when Collins hit a short jumper with just under a minute left. But the Eagles couldn’t get any more floor shots to fall and had three players foul out in the final 1:32.
“You couldn’t ask for better atmosphere,’’ said Eagles coach Derek Cooksey. “I thought we did well in the first half against Ashland’s pressure. I don’t know if fatigue set in, but we trouble with it in spots. Our spacing was off at times.’’
The Eagles led 16-8 after one quarter before Ashland rattled off 15 consecutive points. The highlight was a seven-point swing that included two technical fouls. Fairview was whistled for having six players on the floor after Ashland’s Cody Withrow drilled a 3-pointer. Cooksey picked up the second technical for protesting the call and Delaney sank all four free throws.
Delaney finished with 15 points and Withrow 11. Collins scored 19 and Brent Jackson 15 for Fairview (16-4).
