Titans’ Season Ends in Region Semifinal Loss

Mercer County junior Alijah Mink, right, drove to the basket around Lincoln County’s B.J. Hoover in the 12th Region Tournament semifinal Monday night.

The Mercer County boys basketball season came to an end Monday night with a 57-34 loss to the host Lincoln County Patriots in the 12th Region Tournament semifinals.

Even with the season over, Mercer County Head Coach Josh Cook said he was happy with what he saw from his team during his first year at the school.

“I am extremely pleased. Our guys grew. I think, most importantly, they grew up as young men and they improved as the season went on. We were ranked preseason number 10 in the region and we finish in the final four and in the semis, so I am extremely pleased,” said Cook, who led Mercer County to the most wins (23) in a season since the merger.

Things didn’t start as bad as they ended for the Titans in the semifinal. The Titans scored the first six points of the game, before being outscored 12-4            to close out the quarter. Mercer trailed, 12-10, after one quarter.

The second quarter didn’t see much offense from either team as there was only a combined 12 points scored. A big portion of the quarter was taken up when the Titans held the ball near half-court for over two minutes without any defensive pressure, while trailing 20-14.