DISHING THE WEEKLY DIME: Rams honor Woods with Hall of Fame

Jan. 24—Scott Woods was "sort of shocked," he said, when he was informed via FaceTime he would be the next inductee into the Raceland Basketball Court of Honor.

Not everyone felt the same way. Considering what Woods has given to the Rams hoops program — and to Raceland at large — Joe Bryan, for one, felt Woods was a natural pick.

"Scott Woods epitomizes a Raceland Ram," Bryan, Raceland's first-year coach, said on Saturday, hours before the ceremony honoring Woods. "Scott was a multiple-sport athlete who excelled with hard work and tremendous effort."

Woods, a 1997 Raceland alumnus, retains the Rams' single-season rebounding record, with 271 boards as a senior, and collected 728 points and 652 rebounds in his time in orange and black. But that was only part of his qualification for joining Raceland's equivalent to a Hall of Fame.

Woods went on to become a special education teacher at his alma mater, where he has been for 17 years, and has also been an assistant coach for Raceland's basketball, football, baseball and volleyball teams.

That continued Woods's commitment to a community renowned for its closeness.

"In some ways, it is like a private school," Woods said. "You know everybody. Everybody knows you. It's almost like family."

Those bonds remain the fondest memory of his high school career, he said.

"The guys I played with, the coaches, it was a great family environment," Woods said. "Everybody loved each other."

That feeling of community remains a rock for Woods to rely upon, too, in a moment of need. He's battling brain cancer for the second time.

Woods was first diagnosed with a brain tumor about eight years ago, he said. He responded well to initial treatment and it went into remission, but it has come back and been a bit more difficult this go-around.

Woods is spending his weeks receiving treatment at Cleveland Clinic, which has left him "very tired," he said, and losing his hair for the second time. "No fun," Woods said.

Woods returns home on the weekends. Home, in this instance, is Raceland. And being back in his home gym to be recognized on Saturday night before the Rams' 80-57 victory over Morgan County was deeply meaningful.

"I'm very honored to have that privilege," Woods said. "It's a big deal."

And not only for himself.

"Scott is also a Hall of Famer off the court," Bryan said. "Anyone that knows Scott knows how big of a heart he has. One of the kindest people around and it is a joy to be in his presence."

The Dime

—Kyle Broughton continued the good vibes for Raceland's boys on Saturday night after the Rams honored Scott Woods. Broughton splashed in 11 3-pointers — either setting or equaling a 16th Region record and setting the school mark — as Raceland roughed up Morgan County.

The KHSAA's online record listing for most 3s by a player in a game ends at 12 treys and includes no 16th Region players, but does not continue beyond that — leaving it in question whether Broughton set the region mark outright or claimed a share of it.

Tyler Boyles previously held the Rams' record with 10 triples on Jan. 10, 2009 against Bath County.

—As East Carter's boys began the season — and with it Cole Brammer's head-coaching career — by losing eight of their first nine games, the Raiders didn't look for a quick fix or a magic bullet.

Even after four straight wins, the latest a 54-43 defeat of 10-win Elliott County on Monday, that has held true.

"Early in the season when we would have those losses, you had to tell yourself the facts," Brammer said, "and the facts were that we were behind everybody else, and we had to get back to work and work harder than everybody else if we were gonna catch up.

"I had to remind myself of that. Obviously I wanted it to happen opening night, and that just wasn't the case and that's not how this works."

How it has worked is the Raiders have found their rhythm after a start slowed by a coaching change just days after preseason practice started, as well as the success of East Carter's first-time football state semifinalists. Ten of the 17 basketball Raiders listed on the KHSAA roster also played football.

Brammer said East Carter treated December as its preseason and is now reaping the benefits. Of the Raiders' four consecutive victories, the first was a 50-41 victory on Jan. 11 over a Greenup County team that had beaten East Carter by 15 points a month earlier.

Then came two wins in 62nd District seeding — at Morgan County on Jan. 13, and over the Lions a week ago.

East Carter will, of course, gladly accept that as the tradeoff for its slow but beneficial build.

"You're gonna have to fight tooth-and-nail to come out with a win in all six of our district games," Brammer said. "I think our team's bought into that, and they know how hard it is and they want it."

—Johnson Central's boys topped 12-win Paintsville, 61-53, on the road on Friday night, continuing a rebound from a 4-7 start with their fourth consecutive victory.

In addition, the Golden Eagles won their first meeting with the Tigers since Paintsville topped Johnson Central in last year's 57th District and 15th Region Tournament title games.

"I thought our kids were as prepared for this game mentally as they've been in a really long time," Johnson Central coach Tommy McKenzie said. "They were dialed in from the start."

McKenzie credited Paintsville coach Landon Slone and the Tigers' "hard-nosed and tough on both ends" approach. The Golden Eagles matched it with a total team effort — McKenzie mentioned a critical 3-pointer from Jacob Butcher, foul shots down the stretch by Grant Rice, and contributions from Ryan Rose, Conner LeMaster, Reece Collins and Ryleh McKenzie.

McKenzie and Rice's toughness and physicality drew special note from their coach.

"I thought that set the tempo we needed," McKenzie said. "All in all, (Paintsville) is a tough place to win any time you play there. I know it's a rivalry game, but more importantly, it is a big district win on the road."

—Lawrence County's boys had little time to mull over last weekend's run to the Kentucky 2A state tournament semifinals, with 58th District upstart Betsy Layne — which dealt the Bulldogs a pair of double-digit losses last season — waiting back in Louisa.

Lawrence County took the rematch with the Bobcats, 76-73, in overtime on Wednesday.

Trenton Adkins scored 29 points for the Bulldogs, including a shot to force the extra session and another bucket to win it.

"That was a game full of big shots from both teams," Lawrence County coach Chandler Thompson said. "Thankfully, we were able to hit the ones that mattered the most."

The Bulldogs followed on Friday with a 73-52 win over Floyd Central to improve to 3-0 in district seeding.

—Morgan County's girls possess the best record in the 16th Region at 18-3. The Cougars' most recent win may be the most impressive — a 54-53 victory on Friday night at Shelby Valley, which touts University of Kentucky signee Cassidy Rowe and is probably the best team in the 15th Region not named Pikeville.

"It's not easy to go on the road and out of the region and beat good teams," Morgan County coach Derrik Young said. "We battled back and forth the whole game. Winning a close, hard-fought game like that is a great experience for our girls and helps prepare us as we get closer to postseason play."

Young said in the preseason the Cougars still feel they're viewed with skepticism outside West Liberty, even after a 16-11 season in 2021. That theme continued Friday with a win Young called a "résumé builder."

"Shelby Valley is a good team. They have multiple kids committed to playing at the next level," Young said. "That being said, I didn't tell our girls this would be a big win, they just knew. Our kids understand that we have to work hard to gain respect. That's what we continue to try to do every night and we're having fun doing it."

—Bath County's boys beat Rowan County for just the second time in 12 years in the Eastern Kentucky Conference Tournament final on Dec. 9.

So, even with the Wildcats out to the top record in the 16th Region and one of the best in the state at 17-1, and even with the Vikings struggling, especially by their lofty standards, at 7-14, Bath County's 68-58 win over Rowan County in 61st District seeding action on Friday night was "big for us for several reasons," Wildcats coach Bart Williams said.

"They've been the class of this district for a long time, and coach (Shawn) Thacker and his staff do an amazing job," Williams said of the Vikings. "We've worked really haard to get our program to their level and it feels really good to be competing with them every game now."

Jordan Wilson scored 26 points — a hair over double his per-game average — for Bath County on Friday night.

—Greenup County's girls were tied for 13th in the state in team defense, allowing 38.1 points per game, entering play Saturday. Then the Musketeers topped Ironton, 45-24, on Saturday, continuing to sink that statistic.

It is no coincidence, Greenup County coach Paul Miller believes, that the Musketeers' win total has climbed as their points-allowed ledger has plunged.

Greenup County improved to 11-5 with its defeat of the Fighting Tigers — its best record through 16 games since at least 1998, when complete online KHSAA records became available.

"To me, as a coach, it's always been the staple," Miller said of a defensive emphasis. "If you can keep teams down, through your defense, I always tell the girls all the time, that's something you should be able to control, your effort, and if you'll just get after it on that side, you'll always have a chance to play and be in the game."

—East Carter alumna Haley Hall scored her 2,000th career college point for Alice Lloyd on Thursday. The senior guard pitched in 25 points, draining five 3-pointers in an 86-78 defeat of West Virginia Tech in Pippa Passes.

One of those treys — with 8:28 to go in the third quarter — helped Hall crack 2K.

—Jeff Davis was recognized on Friday night for picking up his 200th career coaching victory for South Laurel.

Davis is a 1996 Fairview alumnus and a former assistant coach at Russell and Morehead State.

The Cardinals' 80-71 win at Williamsburg in last year's 50th District Tournament final was actually their 200th under Davis, per The (London) Sentinel-Echo. Davis was recognized and presented with a game ball by South Laurel senior Brayden Reed before the Cardinals' 67-55 victory over Whitley County on Friday night.

South Laurel, which has five seasons of 22 or more wins under Davis, is off to a 16-4 start.

—Lewis County's girls' 62-49 victory over West Jessamine on Saturday afternoon in the Jungle marked more than the continuation of the Lions' upward swing.

It was a return home for first-year Colts coach Jana Hughes, a 2006 Lewis County graduate. She was a Lions assistant to Jay Fite from 2009-13.

West Jessamine is 13-5 under Hughes, nearly a reversal of its 5-14 record in 2021.

As for Lewis County, the victory was its seventh in nine games after a 2-5 start.

30-Point Club

Lawrence County's Kensley Feltner popped in 30-plus twice in 58th District seeding victories this week. She dropped in 38 against Betsy Layne on Wednesday and collected 33 two nights later versus Floyd Central.

Raceland's Kyle Broughton put in 37 points on Saturday against Morgan County. West Carter's Jackson Bond netted 33 on Saturday against Menifee County.

Reach ZACK KLEMME at zklemme@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2658. Follow @zklemmeADI on Twitter.