A furious rally from 19 points down in the second half came up just a little short for the UHA Blazers Thursday night, as they fell to Graves County 69-65 in the Marshall County Hoop Fest. UHA trailed 49-30 with 2:28 to go in the 3rd quarter when they began their rally. The Blazers got within one point at 66-65 with 45 seconds to go, but a couple of mistakes and some made free throws by Graves County sealed the win.
The night started off rough for University Heights, as the Eagles scored the first seven points of the game. KyKy Tandy scored a quick five points for UHA to cut the lead to 7-5. However, the Blazers were icy cold from the field for the remainder of the quarter, as Graves County pulled out to a 15-5 lead.
UHA battled in the second quarter to try and eat into the ten point margin, and went to the locker room trailing 32-26. The biggest difference in the first half was UHA’s cold shooting, which came in at 31.4-percent.
Graves County opened the third quarter on a 17-4 run, which pushed the margin out to the game’s largest at nineteen.
KyKy Tandy had a huge night for the Blazers with 34 points. Drew McGowan was the only other player for UHA to reach double figures with 10 points. UHA shot much better in the second half, at 47.1-percent, but still shot less than 40-percent for the game. Another problem for the Blazers was rebounding, as the Eagles won the battle of the boards 51-26.
Graves County was led by Jordyn Naranjo with 16 points. Ryan Mathis added 15, and Trevor Grant had 12. Bredan Young was named the MVP of the game. Young had 13 points, and set a Hoop Fest record with 23 rebounds.
UHA will return to action Saturday when they host the Fort Campbell Falcons.
