Braden May's buzzer-beater corner 3 gives Royals a 67-66 win over Bourbon County

Braden May made a buzzer-beater corner three to give the Mason County Royals a 67-66 win over the Bourbon County Colonels in the quarterfinal round of the 10th Region Tournament tonight at The Fieldhouse.

Mason County made 5-of-7 three pointers in the first quarter and had a 11-point lead in the second quarter, but Bourbon County roared back and took its first lead of the second half at 59-57 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

That was the first of four lead changes in the closing minutes.

The game was tied at 59-59, 61-61, 63-63 and 64-64.

Billy Murphy made a layup to give the Colonels a 66-64 lead with 16 seconds to play.

Mason County called timeout and coach Brian Kirk said he told his team they were going for the win with a three-pointer.

May hit his second straight game winning basket.

Mason County shot a season-best 65.6 percent from the field and made 8-of-14 three-pointers for 57.1 percent.

The Royals have their first four-game winning streak of the season and are 15-15.

Jake Swolsky led Mason County in scoring with 19 points. Xylon Frey followed with 15 points, Carson Brammer added 12 points and Jaylen Lofton had eight points and eight assists.

The Royals will play the Campbell County Camels in the upper bracket semifinal game Friday at 6 p.m.

MC (15-15) Lofton 8, May 6, J. Jones 4, Brammer 12, Frey 15,

Swolsky 19, K. Jones 3

BC (21-11) Nakyir Joyce 14, Murphy 5, Myers 10, Collins 5, Wallace 12, Nakwan Joyce 16, Lukonga 4

MC 19 13 17 18- 67

BC  13 11 19 23- 66


(Updated to include Jaylen Lofton's points and assists,)

Royals rally for 71-70 victory over Bracken County in district championship game

The Mason County pulled out a 71-70 victory over the Bracken County Polar Bears in the championship game of the 39th District Tournament tonight in The Fieldhouse.

Braden May hit the game-winning layup with nine seconds to play.

Mason County rallied from a nine-point second quarter deficit to lead 62-56 with 6:21 left in the game, but Bracken County answered with an 11-2 run to lead 67-64 with 2:05 to go.

May hit a game-tying three-pointer with 1:42 to play.

The Polar Bears regained the lead at 68-67 and had a chance to put the game away when Jaylen Lofton fouled out and was called for technical foul with 35 seconds to play. But Bracken County made just 2 of the 4 free throws and May came up with steal after the Polar Bears inbounded the ball. Xylon Frey missed a shot, but made the putback to pull the Royals to within a point.

Bracken County missed two more free throws setting up May's game-winning basket.

The Polar Bears missed two shots in the lane in the closing seconds.

It's Mason County's 26th consecutive victory Bracken County.

Lofton led Mason County in scoring with 20 points. May hit three three-pointers and scored 13 points. Frey had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Jeremiah Jones added 11 points.

Bracken County freshman Kason Hinson scored 25 points. Travis Tucker had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Collin Jefferson added 10 points.

MC (14-15) Lofton 20, May 13, Jones 11, Brammer 7, Frey 13, Perry 5, K. Jones 2

BC (14-17) Cummins 8, Hinson 25, Fisher 7, Tucker 14, N, Jefferson 4, C. Jefferson 10, Gilvin 2

MC 17 16 20 18- 71
BC 20 18 15 17- 70

Perry's buzzer-beater gives Mason County a 71-69 win over Ripley

A.P. Perry banked in a shot at the buzzer to give the Mason County Royals a 71-69 victory over the Ripley Blue Jays in a wild game at Ripley tonight.

Mason County trailed 21-10 early in the second quarter and 26-16 later in the quarter before ending the half on a 16-0 run.

The Royals were up 51-37 with 1:10 left in the third quarter, but the Blue Jays roared back and regained the lead at 64-62 with 1:50 remaining in the game. 

Ripley led 65-62 with 1:38 left and 67-64 with 52 seconds to play.

Mason County scored five straight points to go back in front, 69-67. 

Nigel Royal made two free throws to tie the game with 19 seconds remaining.

Jaylen Lofton made a layup with three seconds to play, but the basket was waved off by a charging call.

After a Ripley timeout, Braden May intercepted the inbounds pass and got the ball to Perry who banked in the game-winning basket from the left wing.

Mason County is 13-0 all time vs. Ripley.

The win evened Mason County's record at 9-9. The loss snapped Ripley's nine-game winning streak. It's the Blue Jay's first home loss of the season.

Lofton led the Royals in scoring with 25 points. Jeremiah Jones added 15 points.

Ripley senior Jaki Royal hit six-of-seven three-pointers and scored 36 points including 15 in the fourth quarter. Landon Dearing tossed in 10 points.

Mason County plays Pendleton County in Falmouth at 6 p.m.

MC (9-9) Lofton 25, May 9, Jones 15, Brammer 3, Frey 6, Swolsky 6, Perry 7

R (11-3) J. Royal 36, Dearing 10, N. Royal 8, Rigdon 5, Fyffe 6, Germann 2, Whaley 2

MC 10 22 21 16- 71
R     15 11 16 27- 69

Royals defeat Greenup County 73-58

The Mason County Royals had 21 assists and shot 52.6 percent from the field in a 73-58 road win over the Greenup County Musketeers tonight.

The Royals built a 20-point lead in the third quarter. The Musketeers closed to within 10 points with just over five minutes left in the game, but Mason County answered with an 8-0 run.

Mason County made 10-of-20 three-point shots.

Xylon Frey led the Royals in scoring with 18 points. Carson Brammer followed with 13 points. Braden May tossed in 12 points and Jaylen Lofton added 11 points.

Mason County plays the Ripley Blue Jays in Ripley Friday night.

MC (8-9) Lofton 11, May 12, Jones 6, Brammer 13, Frey 18, Swolsky 3, Butler 5, Perry 5

GC (6-11) Nelson 21, Raby 18, Robinson 7, Thomas 9, Carter 3

MC 22 12 23 16- 73
GC  18 09 15 16- 58

Lady Royals and Royals advance in Kentucky 2A Championships

The Mason County Lady Royals and Royals both advanced to the Section 3 semifinals of the Kentucky 2A Championships with victories over Pendleton County tonight in Falmouth.

The Lady Royals outscored the Lady Wildcats 34-9 in the first half on their way to a 59-34 win.

Sam Schumacher led Mason County in scoring with 11 points.

Carson Brammer and Braden May combined for 38 points to lead the Royals to a 66-53 victory over the Wildcats.

May scored 13 of his 18 points in the first quarter and Brammer scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter. Xylon Frey had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Jaylen Lofton had 10 assists.

The Royals had 20 assists on 28 field goals and led by as many as 24 points.

Pendleton County has lost six straight games since its all-time leading scorer, Dontaie Allen, suffered a season-ending knee injury.

The Lady Royals and Royals both play Scott in the semifinals at The Fieldhouse. The girls' game is Thursday night and the boys' game is Friday night.

Girls

MC (9-6) Brooks 8, Schumacher 11, Payne 6, Taylor 7, White 6, Henry 4, Littleton 5, Adkins 7, Harrison 2, Sims 3

PC (7-8) Turner 7, Manor 8, Eckart 4, Verst 4, Pugh 4, Jones 4, Burgemeir1, Aulick 2

MC 15 19 15 10- 59

PC   05 04 10 15- 34

Boys

MC (7-8) Lofton 3, May 18, Jones 7, Swolsky 4, Frey 10, Brammer 20, Perry 4

PC (9-9) Monroe 3, Thomas 12, Sullivan 15, Barnard 5, Booth 13,

Gregg 5

MC 21 08 22 15- 66

PC  09 12 08  24- 53

Royals rally and hold on to beat Rockcastle County for 5th place in Gateway Holiday Classic

The Mason County Royals trailed by 19 points in the second quarter and led by 12 in the fourth quarter before hanging on for a 68-65 victory over the Rockcastle County Rockets today in the fifth place game of the Gateway Holiday Classic at Montgomery County.

Mason County had more turnovers (10) than points (8) in the first quarter.

Rockcastle County led 27-8 early in the second quarter, but the Royals only had two second quarter turnovers and were within two points at the half.

Mason County led 47-44 at the end of the third quarter and 58-46 with 4:15 remaining in the game, but the Rockets mounted a rally of their own. The Royals' lead was cut to two at 62-60 and 64-62.
Braden May hit two free throws with 17 seconds to play to push the lead back to four. After Rockcastle County hit a three-pointer to get to within a point, Jaylen Lofton made two free throws with 5.5 seconds remaining. Rockcastle County missed a long three-pointer and Xylon Frey grabbed the rebound to preserve the win.

Mason County ended up with 22 turnovers. The Royals outrebounded the Rockets 38-33 including 26-19 in the second half.

A.P. Perry made three three-pointers and scored a career-high 13 points. Frey also had 13 points. Lofton had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jeremiah Jones added 10 points.

Frey and Jones were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Mason County travels to Claryville Thursday night to play Campbell County.

MC (6-7) Lofton  12, May 9, Jones 10, Swolsky 2, Frey 13, Brammer 9, Perry 13

RC (3-8) Noel 15, Burdette 5, Stratton 11, Mullins 10, West 11, Todd 6, Chasteen 6, Loudermilk 1

MC 08 24 15 21- 68
RC  24 10 10 21- 65

Royals outscored West Carter 84-64 to advance to 5th place game

The Mason County Royals had their 22-point halftime lead cut to 12 early in the fourth quarter, but they pulled away again for an 84-64 win over the West Carter Comets this afternoon in the consolation bracket semifinals of the Gateway Holiday Classic at Montgomery County.

The Royals ended the first half on a 22-4 run for a 46-24 lead.

West Carter outscored Mason County 25-17 in the third quarter and scored the first two points of the fourth quarter, but the Royals answered with a 19-6 run to take a 25-point lead at 82-57.

Four Royals scored in double figures with Xylon Frey leading the way with 24 points including 12 in the fourth quarter. Braden May followed with a career-high 19 points, Carson Brammer scored 15 points and Jaylen Lofton added 13 points.

Mason County outrebounded West Carter 51-36 and scored 27 points off the Comets’ 23 turnovers.

The Royals had 21 assists and 19 turnovers.

Mason County will play in the 5th place game Sunday at 2 p.m.


MC (5-7) Lofton 13, May 19, Jones 9, Swolsky 4, Frey 24, Brammer 15

WC (6-5) Evans 14, Leadingham 11, Webb 6, Trackett 2, Adkins 12,
Callahan 3, Carter 2, Jordan 11, Bond 3

MC 22 24 17 21- 84
WC 13 11 25 15- 64

O'Keefe and Wright propel Lewis County to a 79-72 win over Mason County

Sam O'Keefe and Seth Wright combined for 61 points to lead the Lewis County Lions to a 79-72 victory over the Mason County Royals tonight at The Fieldhouse.

The Lions have two straight wins over Mason County for the first time. Lewis County beat Mason County in Vanceburg last season.

Tonight's win is just the fifth for Lewis County in 40 games against Mason County.

O'Keefe was 13-of-18 from the field and scored 33 points.

Wright made 16-of-18 free throws and scored 28 points.

O'Keefe scored 17 points in the first quarter.

Wright was 10-of-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Mason County sliced a 11-point deficit to one with 1:50 left in the third quarter, but Lewis County answered with a 17-4 run to lead 69-55 with 4:47 remaining in the game.

Three late three-pointers by the Royals made the final score respectable.

Jaylen Lofton led Mason County in scoring with 20 points. Xylon Frey tossed in 12 points and Braden May added 10 points.

The Royals host the Augusta Panthers Friday night.

LC (6-3) Willis 4, Wright 28, O'Keefe 33, Ruckel 9,McCann 2, Lykins 1, Thomas 2

MC (3-6) Lofton 20, May 10, Jones 9, Swolsky 2, Frey 12, Brammer 3, Butler 2, Sweet 6, Perry 8

LC  24 14 20 21- 79

MC 17 19 15 21- 72

Royals dominate 2nd half in 76-45 victory over East Carter

The Mason County Royals outscored the East Carter Raiders 27-12 in the third quarter and 24-8 in the fourth quarter for a 76-45 victory tonight at The Fieldhouse.

The game was tied 25-25 at the half, but the Royals opened the third quarter with a 21-4 run.

The Royals shot 62.2 percent from the field in the second half.

Mason County scored 30 points off East Carter's 26 turnovers.

Jaylen Lofton and Xylon Frey led Mason County in scoring with 15 points apiece. Braden May followed with 14 points and Jeremiah Jones added 13 points.

The Royals host the Robertson County Black Devils Saturday at 8 p.m. in the US Bank Mike Murphy Classic.

MC (2-4) Lofton 15, May 14, Jones 13, Swolsky 6, Frey 15, Brammer 6, Black 1, Sweet 4, Highfield 2

EC (0-6) Adams 8, Brooks 12, J. Damron 2, D. Damron 8, Pope 4, Tussey 11, Miller 4

MC 16 09 27 24- 76

EC  14 11 12 08- 45

Mason County coach Brian Kirk and players Jaylen Lofton and Braden May at 10th Region Media Day