Published: January 06, 2009 03:01 pm      

Vikings fall to Lions

Back from a national tournament win at the Beach Ball Classic, the Elliott County Lions hammered the Rowan County Vikings 90-44, as Jonathan Ferguson scored 38 points – with numerous three-point shots.

Recently returning from a 3-1 exhibition in Myrtle Beach, the now ranked number one in the state Elliott County Lions led 38-21 at halftime Friday in Sandy Hook, and outscored the Vikings 52-23 in the second half.

Ethan Faulkner scored 15 points and Evan Faulkner scored 10 for Elliott, who is 9-1 in winnings. Leavitt Morrison scored 13 for Rowan County (4-6).

Vikings’ Coach Shawn Thacker commented Monday and said Friday’s game was a good experience for his team.

“I thought at times we played well,” he said. “Depending on what rating you are looking at, Elliott County is ranked one to three in the state. They are a really good basketball team and it shows on the court. But, I do think we are improving. We played in the Gateway Classic and won against Howell Central.

“The hard part of us right now is Leavitt (Morrison) is hurt and won’t be playing in the next couple of games. This deals us a bit more adversity. We do hope to get something out of Leavitt Saturday when we play Madison Southern at home,” Thacker added.

During Friday’s game, Morrison was injured and taken out of the game during the third quarter of the second half.

Lions Coach Rick Mays said he is certainly proud of his team and the ability each player has on the court. “These kids don’t fear anything,” he commented Monday. “They don’t make a difference regardless of who they are playing. Just like in Myrtle Beach, our kids looked so small compared to the other teams, who had played all over the United States. But our boys didn’t have any concerns. They got out there and played hard and came back with a huge win. Our school and this entire county are certainly proud of them.”

Elliot County has won two straight 16th Region titles, losing to Warren Central in the State Tournament quarterfinals in 2007 and to Mason County in the first round of last season’s Sweet 16.

The Lions returned all five starters from last season’s team, with four averaging double figures – senior Jonathan Ferguson (30.0 ppg), sophomore Timmy Knipp (20.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg), senior Ethan Faulkner (18.4 rpg) and senior Evan Faulkner (15.2 ppg.)

The Faulkner twins will graduate Elliott County next spring and head off to college. Ethan has signed with Northern Kentucky and Evan with Radford.

The Vikings are currently 4-6 on the season. The boys in green head to Bath County tonight and host Morgan County on Thursday. Look for full coverage of both games in Friday's edition of The Morehead News!