WKU signee Moore leads boys Kentucky All-Stars to win over Indiana
Jun. 10—Teagan Moore gave both the boys Kentucky All-Stars and Western Kentucky University basketball fans reason to be really happy Friday night.
Moore, from Owen County, dropped 31 points for Kentucky in its 94-90 survival win over Indiana at the Owensboro Sportscenter in the first matchup of the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star basketball series.
Moore made 12-of-19 from the floor, 3-of-7 from 3-point range and 4-of-5 free throws to lead Kentucky and help it break Indiana's 7-game winning streak in the series. Moore was named the game MVP and will be playing at WKU in the upcoming season.
"They've been on a big run, what do you expect, they're cocky," Kentucky coach Rod Drake said. Drake is head coach for Owensboro High School. "We've had a nice month of practice, about five practices. This will be huge for us Saturday."
Indiana swept both boys games last year, winning 101-81 and 104-77. That won't happen this year, but Indiana has a chance to split when the series moves to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday.
Jeramiah Israel hit a big 3 to push Kentucky to a 73-54 lead with nine minutes left in the game. Then, Indiana began to make a comeback.
The Hoosiers went on a 17-0 run to pull ahead of Kentucky briefly, 82-81, before Kentucky settled in and made free throws down the stretch to go back up 88-82.
"We had some bad mismatches at that time, we called a timeout and broke it, it worked out for us," Drake said.
The Kentucky coaching staff had a distinct OHS feel with Drake as the head man for the All-Stars, and former OHS boys coach Michael Stinnett as an assistant for Kentucky. Stinnett is head coach at Beth Haven in Louisville.
Kentucky opened the game with a 22-3 lead, and that was a big key for the team holding on at the end.
"We're a collective unit, there's no one dude who's going to go out and do all the scoring, rebounding and what not," Moore said. "The lead gave us confidence, get them on back on their heels early, get them kind of stagnant, it was huge."
Kenyon Goodin added 14 points for Kentucky.
Indiana was led by Marcus Burton's 33 points. JaQualon Roberts added 16 points and Sheridan Sharp put up 13 points for Indiana.
INDIANA (90)
Burton 33, Roberts 16, Sharp 13, Imes 8, Jones 8, Colvin 4, Raasch 4, Almodovar 2, Doughty 2.
KENTUCKY (94)
Moore 31, Goodin 14, Potter 9, Whitney 9, Eaves 9, Sisk 6, Thomas 5, Gibson 4, Morton 4, Israel 3.
