Two nights after winning a championship on the county level, the Rosspoint Wildcats earned another as the best sixth-grade basketball team in the 13th Region.
Rosspoint defeated South Laurel 49-35 on Friday in the quarterfinals, then followed that with a 42-31 win over Bell County on Saturday in the semifinals and then rolled past North Laurel 59-39 later that night in the championship game.
The Wildcats improved to 28-0 with three wins at North Laurel and became what is believed to be the first sixth-grade team in county history to win a regional title. Rosspoint plans to compete in state competition in Lexington in early February.
“What makes this group so special is it doesn’t matter who scores the most, gets the most rebounds or has their name announced the most. All they want to do is win and play together and it shows,” Rosspoint coach Scotty Bailey said. “We played a very tough schedule these two days, taking on a good South Laurel team then playing a very good Bell County team and finally playing a really good shooting North Laurel team.
“I was very proud of the boys for their grit and determination. They could’ve went home Friday stayed up all night and been sluggish coming in, but they put everything else to the side and weren’t selfish. They took care of their bodies, got rest and came ready to take care of business. It was such an awesome thing to watch them grow and accomplish something they’ve worked so hard for. I told the boys they had an opportunity to do something that has never been done before in Harlan County, and I think from that point on they were locked in.”
Hudson Faulkner scored 12 points to lead Rosspoint against Bell County. Blake Johnson and Parker Long added nine points each. Carson Sanders chipped in with eight. Trey Creech added four.
After taking a 13-10 lead after one quarter in the championship game, the Wildcats took control by outscoring North 23-11 in the second quarter.
Creech hit seven of 14 shots, including seven of 10 from the 3-point line, to lead the Wildcats with 23 points in the championship game. Faulkner hit six of 10 shots in a 16-point effort. Johnson connected on five of nine shots, including four 3s, to finish with 14 points. Long added six points as he hit three of four shots.
“I want to give all of our boys a huge shout out. Our guys sitting over there cheering on their teammates was a huge factor and they stayed pumped up the whole time. All together it was really cool to see,” Bailey said. “I want to thank all the parents and fans who came supported and watched online. It was an awesome atmosphere for those boys. It’s been a great year for these boys. I’m excited to see what kind of noise they can make at state in the next few weeks.”