Rowan races past Lewis in EKC Final

MOREHEAD — Mason Moore pondered the question for a second.

Rowan County’s junior guard scored 20 points to lead the Vikings to Thursday’s 73-59 win over Lewis County in the Eastern Kentucky Conference final at Warren H. Cooper Gymnasium.

“Energetic,” Moore finally said.

It was an astute observation for quite a few reasons.

Start with Moore. Yes, he was 6-of-14 from the field, but he also grabbed 14 rebounds to go with six blocks, four assists and two steals.

Senior guard Will Cox was equally vigorous – 18 points, five assists, a block and a steal.

And senior Devin Davidson? Spry and strong – 12 points on 4-of-4 from distance, seven rebounds and four assists.

You could’ve described Rowan County the same way. The Vikings: shot 60% in the second half; hit 12-of-20 3-pointers (Davidson and Cox were a combined 7-of-8); out-rebounded the Lions, 34-25; and converted eight Lewis County turnovers into 17 points.

Rowan County (3-2) needed every point, board, dish, rejection and theft. The Lions’ Sam O’Keefe led all scorers with 22 points, and Tanner Willis added 14.

“We had a good start to the game,” Lewis County coach Joe Hampton said. “And then we continued to get some good looks; they just didn’t go down for us. Rowan County does and excellent job of not fouling.”

It took a while for Rowan County to adjust to Lewis County’s (3-2) physicality – Moore didn’t score his first bucket for nearly four minutes. The Lions later led, 12-4, but the Vikings closed to 14-13 on Nathan Goodpaster’s 3.

“When we got it settled down, especially in the second half, I thought we played realy, really well,” Rowan County coach Shawn Thacker said.

Threes from Davidson and Bradley Gardner helped give Rowan County a 31-25 halftime lead.

Lewis County had one run left. O’Keefe’s bucket with 33 seconds left in the third made it 47-44 Rowan County.

Enter Cox, Moore and Chase Alderman. Moore and Cox scored six points each in the fourth quarter, and Alderman added five.

VIKINGS 73, LIONS 59

LEWIS COUNTY—14-11-19-15–59

ROWAN COUNTY—13-18-18-24–73

Scoring

Lewis (59) — O’Keefe 22, Willis 14, Liles 6, McCann 5, Thomas 4, Burriss 3, Yates 3, Spencer 2

Rowan (73) — Moore 20, Cox 18, Davidson 12, Alderman 7, Tabor 6, Goodpaster 5, Gardner 3, Maxey 2

Game Stats

Rebounds: Lewis 25 (O’Keefe 5), Rowan 34 (Moore 14)

Turnovers: Lewis 8, Rowan 10

Free Throws: Lewis 5/6, Rowan 11/13

3-Pointers: Lewis 12, Rowan 12

Records: Lewis County 3-2, Rowan County 3-2

Lewis County’s Sam O’Keefe drives to the lane on Thursday, in Morehead. (Krystal Williams, Morehead News)

https://maysville-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_Lewis-boys.jpgLewis County’s Sam O’Keefe drives to the lane on Thursday, in Morehead. (Krystal Williams, Morehead News)

Lewis County’s Kolby McCann goes up for a layup, Thursday, in Morehead during the EKC Championship against Rowan County. (Krystal Williams, Morehead News)

https://maysville-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_McCann.jpgLewis County’s Kolby McCann goes up for a layup, Thursday, in Morehead during the EKC Championship against Rowan County. (Krystal Williams, Morehead News)