Scott County boys stop Lexington Christian in early 11th Region test

Scott County outlasted host Lexington Christian, 79-63, Thursday night in an early meeting between two teams expected to fare well in the 11th Region this season.

Michael Moreno, who’s ranked first in the state’s Class of 2019 by PrepHoops.com, scored a career-high 32 points and pulled down 17 rebounds for the Cardinals, who improved to 4-0. Moreno also had three steals, two assists and a blocked shot while going the distance without picking up a foul.

“When I was little I used to hate being in foul trouble so I just sort of worked my way into figuring out how to play the game without fouling people,” said Moreno, who recorded his third straight double-double to start the season. He’s averaging 28 points and 13.6 rebounds so far for the Cardinals, who were picked to win the 11th Region by the coaches.

Bryce Long scored 15 points, Cooper Robb had 12 and Cam Fluker finished with 11 to round out the double-digit scorers for Scott County. Like Moreno, all three of those players are in Scott County’s sophomore class.

Kyle Rode had 14 points and nine rebounds for Lexington Christian. He’s ranked second in Kentucky’s sophomore class by PrepHoops.com but 72nd nationally by Coast2CoastPreps.com, which pegs Moreno as the nation’s 121st best player.

Rode struggled from the field, connecting on just four of his 14 attempts. He also played the entire game, matching the minutes of his AAU teammate on the other side but accumulating four fouls along the way.

“That guy right there, he played his butt off,” Rode said of Moreno. “We just got into some foul trouble. We’ll see ’em again. It was a great learning experience early in the season. I like our team.”

LCA fell to 4-1 after defeating Harrison County, Whitefield, Ashland Blazer and Tates Creek in romps to start the season. Carter Hendrickson, a 6-foot-6 junior, managed only four points in 11 minutes before fouling out. Nathan Harper, a senior who transferred from East Jessamine, also fouled out.

Austin Hall, a junior who was behind Rode with 13 points, had four fouls at the end. Sophomore Isaiah Hunt had 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting and two steals.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 10:42 PM with the headline "Scott County boys stop Lexington Christian in early 11th Region test."