The Kentucky AAU 13 and Under Tournament was played  from May 12th through May 14th, 2000. The games were played in Scott County, and Frankfort, with the semifinals and finals at Scott County High School in Georgetown.  There were several strong teams entered in the 46 team field:  Frankfort Flames, Mason County Spectrum Graphics, Team Louisville, Lexington Catholic, Russell, etc.

I managed to see several excellent games and many promising young players in this tourney but unfortunately you can't catch them all.  I will attempt to give a brief recap of the games I did see and apologize for the games and fine players I missed in the tourney.  The stats are unofficial but recorded by me personally.

Pool Play

Friday May 12th

Oldham County vs. Mason County Spectrum Graphics  (Garth Middle School)

Mason County erased a 20-17 deficit at halftime to pull away in the fourth quarter for a 53-38 victory.  Mason County was led by 6-0 Shawn Fryman, and 5-7 Wesley Jones with 14 and 13 points respectively.  Oldham County was led by 5-8 John Wardlaw with 17 points.

Bank of Kentucky vs. Laurel County  (Garth Middle School)
Bank of Kentucky easily won this contest by a score of 61-30.  They were led by 5-6 Bradley Haines with 15.  5-11 Martez Johnson added 13 points and 14 rebounds.  Laurel County was led by Raymond Jones with 16 points.

Saturday May 13th

Laurel County vs. Lexington Catholic  (Scott County H.S.)
Lexington Catholic defeated Laurel County by a score of 46-21.  The winners were led by 6-1 Robbie Riddell with 15 points.  Laurel County was led by Michael Robinson with 12.

Bank of Kentucky  vs. Bath County  (Scott County H.S.)
Bank of Kentucky won this game by a score of  46-35.   Bank of Kentucky was led by 5-11 Martez Johnson with 17 points and 9 rebounds.  Bath Co. was led by Given with 15 and Franklin with 12.

Hazard vs. Louisville Male   (Scott County H.S.)
Male defeated Hazard by a score of 45-34.  Male was led by Dallas Hunter with 10 and Alex Gravette with 8.  Hazard was led by 5-6 Robert Hardy with 10 points.

Pendleton County vs. Provident Bank   (Scott County H.S.)
Provident Bank easily won this game by a score of 55-26.  6-3 Evan McDole led the victors with 21 points.  5-11 Chris Crum led Pendleton County with 7 points.

Casey Co. vs. Northern Kentucky Newforms  (Scott Co. H.S.)
Casey County broke a 40-40 tie and went on to score a 46-40 victory.  Casey County was led by Ben Barlow and Dustin Johnson with 13 and 10 points respectively.  The Newforms were led by 5-8 Isaac Sherrer with 15 and 5-11 Willie Overmann with 10 points.

Daviess County vs. Louisville Wildcards  (Scott Co. H.S.)
The Wildcards won this game by a score of 38-24.  They were led by Lee Taylor and Greg Zeller with 10 and 9 points respectively.  Daviess County was led by 5-9 Aaron Crisp with 11 and 5-7 Patrick Zambrano with 10 points.

Paris vs. Team Louisville  (Scott Co. H.S.)
Team Louisville defeated Paris by a score of 77-37.  Louisville was led by 5-7 Dominic Tilford with 15 points.  6-0 Josh Coulter added 12 points and was a force inside the paint.  Paris was led by Cody Swords and Deron Brown with 12 and 10 points respectively.

Virgie vs. Millennium Magic   (Scott County H.S.)
Virgie defeated Millennium Magic in overtime by a score of 42-39.  Virgie was led by Patrick Tackett and Travis Robinson with 11 and 9 points respectively.  Timmy Griffith added 8 points.  5-6 David Schultz led a balanced Millennium Magic attack with 9 points.
 

Championship Bracket

Russell vs. Perry Co. Central  (Scott Co. H.S.)
Russell's 5-9 Kiefer Clarke hit a field goal with 2 seconds remaining to give his team a 45-43 win.  Russell was led by Clarke with 23 and 5-7 Joshua Gross with 11 points.  Perry Co. Central was led by Daniel Combs with 22 points including four three-pointers.

Virgie vs. Mason County Spectrum Graphics  (Scott County H.S.)

The score was tied 20 all at halftime but Mason County pulled away in the second half for a 58-37 victory.  Mason County was led by 5-7 Wesley Jones with 14 and 5-9 Presley Marshall with 12.  Virgie was led by Jordan Kiser, Timmy Griffith, and Patrick Tackett with 9 each.

Sunday May 14th

Quarterfinals

Russell vs. Mason Co. Spectrum Graphics  (Scott Co. H.S.)
Mason Co. pulled away in the final seconds to defeat Russell 40-35 in a very exciting game.  Mason Co. was led by 5-7 Wesley Jones with 18 points.  Russell was led by 5-7 Joshua Gross with 14 and 5-9 Kiefer Clarke with 11.
 

Russell	8	7	9	11	-	35
Mason Co.	8	9	8	15	-	40

Russell	(35) -	Clarke 11, Gross 14, Sloan 4, Boyd 4, Taylor 2.
Mason Co.	(40) -	Pollitt 2, Marshall 2, Jones 18, Fryman 2, Harrison 2, Kelly 5, Kilgore 6, Schumacher 3.

Frankfort Flames vs. Bell County  (Scott Co. H.S.)
Frankfort won this game by a score of 72-39.  The Flames were led by 5-9 Matthew Martin with 15 points.  6-1 Anthony W. Thomas and 5-11 Tony Robertson added 14 and 13 points respectively.  Bell County was led by Brent Barton with 16.  Michael Bradley chipped in with 15 points.
 

Frankfort	19	22	15	16	-	72
Bell County	17	2	8	12	-	39

Frankfort	(72) -	Thomas 14, Robertson 13, Martin 15, Morones 4, Turnage 8, Current 5, Myers 5, Mills 1, Hyatt 5.
Bell County	(39) -	Hampton 3, Barton 16, Bradley 15, Fultz 2, Partin 3.

The other two Quarterfinal games were played at Georgetown Middle School  Team Louisville defeated Hazard 56-33 and Lexington Catholic advanced with a 57-46 victory over Northern Kentucky Provident Bank.
 

Semifinals

Mason Co. Spectrum Graphics vs. Lexington Catholic  (Scott Co. H.S.)
Mason County raced out to a 12 point halftime lead and survived a rally by Catholic in the final period to pull away to a 52-38 victory.  Mason County was led by 5-7 Wesley Jones with 16 and 6-0 Shawn Fryman with 12.  Catholic was led by 6-1 Robbie Riddell with 16 points.
 

Mason Co.	15	16	9	12	-	52
Lexington Catholic	8	11	10	9	-	38

Mason Co.	(52) -	Marshall 2, Jones 16, Fryman 12, Kelly 4, Kilgore 10, Fultz 3, Schumacher 2, Bess 3.
Lexington Catholic	(38) -	Riddell 16, Vogelsang 8, Rompf 8, Greer 4, Burchett 2.

Team Louisville vs. Frankfort Flames  (Scott Co. H.S.)
The Frankfort Flames came from behind in the final period to defeat Team Louisville 49-43.  The score was tied at 43 when  Frankfort's 5-11 Will Current stole the ball and scored, giving Frankfort a lead they never relinquished.  The victors were led by  6-1 Anthony W. Thomas who scored 27 points and was unstoppable inside.  A very talented Louisville team was led by 5-11 Jordan Newby with 15 points.
 

Louisville	11	11	15	6	-	43
Frankfort	12	5	16	16	-	49

Louisville	(43) -	K. Saxton 6, Newby 15, Coulter 6, Berry 3, Tilford 11, Marshall 2.
Frankfort	(49) -	Thomas 27, Robertson 7, Martin 9, Morones 4, Current 2.

Third Place Game

Lexington Catholic  vs. Team Louisville   (Scott Co. H.S.)
Team Louisville defeated Lexington Catholic by a score of 57-36.  The victors were led by 5-7 Dominic Tilford and 6-0 Josh Coulter with 11 and 10 points respectively.  Lexington Catholic was led by 6-1 Robbie Riddell with 14 points.
 

Lexington Catholic	8	7	11	10	-	36
Louisville	20	8	19	10	-	57

Lexington Catholic	(36) -	Vogelsang 6, Hinkle 6, Riddell 14, Burchett 1, Wilson 3, Rompf 2, Hogan 2.
Louisville	(57) -	Flynn 8, K. Saxton 3, Coulter 10, Ricketts 8, Newby 9, Stevens 4, Marshall 2, Tilford 11, Mattingly 2.

Championship Game

Frankfort Flames vs. Mason Co. Spectrum Graphics   (Scott Co. H.S.)
Mason County only trailed 26-21 at halftime but the Randy Mills coached Frankfort squad roared back in the second half to pull away for a 59-39 win and claim the championship.  Frankfort once again  was led by 6-1 Anthony W. Thomas with 23 points. 5-9 Matthew Martin and 5-6 Tiese Morones added 14 and 10 points respectively.   Mason County was led by 5-11 Matt Kilgore with 17 points.
 

Frankfort	12	14	22	11	-	59
Mason Co.	7	14	10	8	-	39

Frankfort	(59) -	Turnage 6, Robertson 2, Thomas 23, Morones 10, Martin 14, Current 4.
Mason Co.	(39) -	Pollitt 4, Jones 5, Marshall 4, Harrison 3, Kilgore 17, Kelly 4, Schumacher 2.

Conclusion

It is difficult to come into a tournament as the heavy favorite and live up to the hype but that is exactly what Coach Randy Mills and the Frankfort Flames did this weekend.  They survived a major test against Team Louisville and rolled to the title over a good Mason County Spectrum Graphics squad coached by Jeff Ormes and Joe Pollitt.

6-1 Anthony W. Thomas had quite a day for Frankfort on the final day of the tourney, scoring 64 points over the last three games.  Anthony was not a one man show as Frankfort had several players capable of lighting up the scoreboard.  Mason County's 5-7 Wesley Jones  had a nice tourney and Lexington Catholic's 6-1 Robbie Riddell displayed a nice shooting touch.

Team Louisville as usual had plenty of talent.  Three players who caught my eye were 5-11 Jordan Newby, 5-7 Dominic Tilford, and 6-0 Josh Coulter.  The Bank of Kentucky featured the very athletic 5-11 Martez Johnson who is a fierce rebounder and loves to pass the ball.

Brian Hundley is a young man who did an excellent job coaching Virgie through pool play into the tournament bracket. There were too many players and teams to mention here but it was another exciting AAU event and I got my basketball "fix" for another week.  It is difficult sometimes to realize that most of these young men will only be in the 8th grade next year.  The pipeline continues to produce the players who will entertain and provide thrills for basketball fans throughout the state during the days of winter.