Mr. Basketball challengers show out in Lexington showcase

Corbin defeated Mercer County by 15 points earlier this season in a neutral-site contest. The Titans returned the favor on Saturday, building a big lead early and never relinquishing it in an 87-70 decision against the Redhounds in the seventh annual Jock Sutherland Classic at Lafayette High School.

Trevon Faulkner, one of the contenders for this year’s Mr. Basketball honor, had 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in 27 minutes for the Titans (19-4), who jumped out to an 11-0 advantage and led at one time by 26 points. Mercer County finished with a 19-4 edge in points off turnovers despite having more miscues (15 to 10) than the Redhounds (17-5).

Andrew Taylor, a Furman University signee who’s also expected to be in the Mr. Basketball discussion, had 41 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a full 32 minutes. He was 7-for-16 from behind the three-point line.

Faulkner, who’s signed with Northern Kentucky University, viewed Saturday’s matchup as a revenge game, not so much a battle of individuals.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it to be honest. It was kind of payback for us, cause the first time they beat us by about 15,” Faulkner said. “I wasn’t really thinking about myself or personal goals. It was just about getting the win.”

Gunnar Gillis also finished with a double-double — 23 points and 11 rebounds — for the Titans, who will play four of their final regular-season games at home (Lincoln County on Feb. 6, Frankfort on Feb. 9, Woodford County on Feb. 13 and Southwestern on Feb. 15). They’ll travel to Warren Central on Feb. 10 as part of the Wes Strader Schoolboy Classic.

Several other Mr. Basketball hopefuls participated in the day-long event. Here’s a look at the other games:

Scott County 84, John Hardin 59: The Bulldogs led 24-16 after the first quarter, but Scott County outscored them 23-5 in the second period to wrestle control from the 5th Region contender and win comfortably. Charlotte signee Cooper Robb scored a game-high 29 points on 10 of 15 shooting (including a 7-for-8 clip from long distance) to lead the Cardinals (24-1), who’ve not lost to in-state competition this season. Mickey Pearson, a St. Louis signee, led the Bulldogs (19-6) with 20 points.

Lafayette 86, Anderson County 55: Five players — Eric Powell (18), Cameron King (14), Devontae Hayes (11), Al Diallo (11) and Ray Surratt (10) — finished in double-figure scoring for the Generals (17-6). Cobe Penny, who became Anderson County’s all-time leading scorer on Friday night, had a game-high 24 points for the Bearcats (8-12).

Cordia 69, West Jessamine 52: Kareem McDonald had 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting to lead the Lions (13-11), who snapped a two-game losing skid. Dalton Bruner had 17 points and six assists for the Colts (13-7).

This story was originally published February 3, 2018 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Mr. Basketball challengers show out in Lexington showcase."