Pig Williams buzzer-beating 3-pointer gives Mason Co a 72-70 win over Campbell County

Antwavon "Pig" Williams buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the Mason County Royals a 72-70 win over the Campbell County Camels tonight in the opening game of the 10th Region Tournament at the Montgomery County High School Arena.

Mason County trailed by 12 points early in the second quarter, but rallied to lead 64-58 with 3:21 left in the game.

Campbell County regained the lead with an 8-0 run. Conner Sweeney made a reverse layup to tie he game at 66-66. Matt Wilson scored to put the Camels back in front. Darren Williams hit a corner 3 to give the Royals a 69-68 lead with 17 seconds left. Trent McGovney hit a jumper from the free throw to regain the lead for the Camels with seven seconds left. Mason County called a timeout with 6.7 seconds to go. Leevi Dunaway drove into front court, passed the ball to Pig Williams who took one dribble before draining the deep 3-pointer for the win.

There were seven ties and 11 changes in the game. Nine of the lead changes were in the fourth quarter.

Pig Williams led Mason County is scoring with 25 points. Isaiah Garrison followed with 15. Conner Sweeney scored 13 and Darren Williams added 12.

Wilson had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Cole Hegyi scored 19 points for the Camels before fouling out with 3:21 to play. Tanner Clos added 13 points.

The win is Mason County's first in the 10th Region Tournament since 2012. Campbell County was the two-time defending champion of the region.

Mason County will play the Paris Greyhounds in the semifinals Monday night. Paris defeated Harrison County 75-60 tonight.

MC (21-10) A. Williams 25, Garrison 15, Lofton 4, Sweeney 13, D. Williams 12, Dunaway 3

CC (19-13) McGovney 4, Bertsch 7, Wilson 27, Hegyi 19, Clos 13

MC 17 16 16 23- 72

CC 25 14 15 16-  70

Augusta rallies to beat Mason County on Tanner Pugh's buzzer beater

Tanner Pugh picked up a loose ball and hit a buzzer beater to give the Augusta Panthers a 63-61 win over the Mason County Royals in the championship game of the 39th District Tournament tonight at Bracken County.

Mason County was in control for three and a half quarters. The Royals had a 14-point lead in the second quarter and were up 57-44 with 4:38 to play and 59-50 with 3:50 left in the game.

Conner Maddox scored five straight points on a fast break layup and a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to four points. 

Conner Sweeney's layup made it 61-55 with 1:21 to play. 

After two missed 3-point shots and two offensive rebounds by the Panthers, Maddox hit a 3-pointer with one minute to play.

Mason County turned the ball over and Owens Crawford tied the game with a trey from the right wing with 40 seconds to go.

The Royals were playing for the last shot when they committed another turnover with 16 seconds left. 

It was Augusta's turn to go for the final shot. Jaylen Lofton tipped the ball away from Crawford, but the ball went to Pugh who swished the game-winning basket from just inside the three-point arc on the left wing.

It's Augusta's third district championship in four years. The Panthers have won nine straight games.

Antwavon "Pig" Williams and  Isaiah Garrison scored 20 points apiece for Mason County.

Maddox scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Camryn Snapp kept Augusta in the game by scoring nine of his 19 points in the third quarter.

A (22-6) Crawford 9, Maddox 20, Pugh 5, Snapp 19, Shoemaker 8, Staggs 2

MC (20-10) A. Williams 20, Garrison 20, Lofton 2, Sweeney 4, D. Williams 2, Dunaway 6, Henry 3, Perkins 4

A     13 13 15 22- 63

MC 17 17 17 10- 61

Royals rally for a win over Bracken County

The Mason County Royals rallied from a 12-point second quarter deficit to beat the Bracken County Polar Bears 49-43 in the lower bracket semifinal game of the 39th District Tournament Tuesday night at Bracken County.

The Polar Bears led 19-7 with 4:58 remaining in the second quarter. The Royals closed the half on a 16-5 run to cut the deficit to one. Mason County outscored Bracken County 9-4 in the third quarter. 

Antwavon "Pig" Williams led Mason County in scoring with 17 points. Conner Sweeney had 16 points and eight rebounds.

Austin Crawford scored a game-high 21 points for Bracken County.

Mason County and Augusta will meet in the championship game Thursday at 8 p.m.

MC (20-9) A. Williams 17, Garrison 5, Lofton 2, Sweeney 16, D. Williams 7, Henry 2

BC (15-12) Crawford 21, Lippert 13, Jones 4, Engnes 4, Williams 1

MC 05 18 09 17- 49

BC 11 13 04 15-  43

Royals Use Huge 2nd Half to Defeat Fleming Co. on Senior Night

The Mason County Royals used a big second half to defeat the Fleming County Panthers 85-53 on Senior Night at the Fieldhouse tonight.

The Royals led by nine points early in the second quarter, but trailed 40-38 in the third quarter. Mason County ended the third quarter on a 23-3 run and outscored Fleming County 57-26 in the second half.

Darren Williams had a double-double with a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. He scored 11 points in the third quarter. Jaylen Lofton scored 15 points and Conner Sweeney added 14 points.

Senior point guard Antwavon "Pig" Williams served the first game of a two-game suspension after being ejected with two technical fouls in Tuesday night's loss to Bishop Brossart.

Mason County will close out the regular season Friday night at home against the Pendleton County Wildcats.

MC (19-8) Garrison 6, Lofton 15, Sweeney 14, D. Williams 21, L. Dunaway 8, Henry 9, Perkins 4, C. Dunaway 3, Smith 3, Johnson 2 

FC (5-22) Hall 7, Glasscock 10, Waller 15, Hamm 15, Alexander 6

MC 21 07 33 24- 85

FC  14 13 16 10- 53

Royals Winning Streak Snapped by Loss to Bishop Brossart

The Mason County Royals' six-game winning streak was snapped by a 72-56 road loss to the Bishop Brossart Mustangs tonight. Mason County point guard Antwavon "Pig" Williams was ejected from the game after picking up his second technical foul.

Bishop Brossart averages 53 points a game. The Mustangs scored 50 in the second half tonight.

There were 12 ties and two lead changes in the first half. Mason County was up 23-22 early in the third quarter, but Bishop Brossart took control of the game with an 18-2 run.

Bishop Brossart only had 15 field goals, but made 38-of-44 free throws including 32-of-36 in the second half. Mason County shot 17-of-55 from the field (30.9%) and 20-of-24 from the free-throw line.

The Mustangs were led by senior center Jackson Crawford with 31 points. He was 8-of-16 from the field and 14-of-17 from the free throw line.

Isaiah Garrison led Mason County in scoring with 18 points. Conner Sweeney added 14 points.
Williams was held to two points. He picked up his first technical foul early in the third quarter and received his second technical after fouling out with 1:04 to play. Williams will have two sit out the final two games of the regular season.


BB (19-7) Schultz 13, Ridder 5, Zai 8, Crawford 31, Hamberg 2, Hickman 13,
MC (18-8) A. Williams 2, Garrison 18, Lofton 4, Sweeney 14, D. Williams 6, L. Dunaway 4, Henry 6, C. Dunaway 2

BB 11 11 21 29-72
MC 12 09 08 27-56

Sweeney Scores 32 Points, Royals Rally for a 68-62 over Clark County

Conner Sweeney scored a career-high 32 points and the Mason County Royals rallied from a nine-point second quarter deficit to beat the Clark County Cardinals 68-62 tonight in Winchester.

Sweeney scored 28 points in the second half including 16 in the third quarter. After Clark County hit a 3-pointer to cut Mason County's lead to two points with 42 seconds left, Sweeney sealed the win by making four-of-four free throws.

There were five lead changes and 10 ties in the game. Antwavon "Pig" Williams scored 15 points for the Royals who ran their winning streak to four games.

MC (16-7) A. Williams 15, Garrison 3, Lofton 5, Sweeney 32, D. Williams 9, Dunaway 2, Henry 2

CC (13-10) Anderson 14, Menchen 6, Cornelius 19, Jenkins 4, Cooper 13, Philpot 4, Graham 2

MC 13 11 20 24-68

CC  11 19 15 17-62

Royals Top Vikings 70-62 in OT

The Mason County Royals outscored the Rowan County Vikings 15-7 in overtime and scored  the final eight points for a 70-62 victory in Morehead tonight.

Mason County led by 11 points early in the fourth quarter. Rowan County senior point guard Larry Whelen hit a three-pointer with nine seconds to play to cut the deficit to one. After Antwavon "Pig" Williams hit two free throws with six seconds left,  Whelen tied the game at 55-55 with a last-second three-pointer.

Whelen opened the extra period with another three-pointer. Darren Williams hit a driving layup and Isaiah Garrison made two free throws to give the Royals a 59-58 lead. Whelen hit two free throws to put the Vikings back in front. Leevi Dunaway scored on a putback, was fouled and made the free throw for a 62-60 Mason County lead- the 12th lead change in the game. Michael Antrobus sank two free throws to tie the game for the 10th and final time. Conner Sweeney drained a three-pointer to give the Royals the lead for good.

"We could have folded, I mean that kid hit a big-time shot," Mason County coach Buddy Biggs said. "And I made a mistake there, we should have fouled, next time we will. Kids wanted to (foul), I said 'no let's just guard 'em, switch everything out.' And didn't work; Whelen stepped up, buried a shot. You know we could have folded right then and there, but they picked me. And man I thought we played a great overtime."

"Pig" Williams scored a game-high 23 points. Dunaway scored a career-high 15 points. Darren Williams followed with 13 points and Isaiah Garrison added 12 points.

Whelen led Rowan County with 19 points and Antrobus added 17.

MC (15-7) A. Williams 21, Garrison 12, Sweeney 7, D. Williams 13, L. Dunaway 15, Henry 2

RC (11-8) Whelen 19, Antrobus 17, Eldridge 11, Thomas 5, Roberts 4, Chapman 1, Woods 5

MC 09 14 21 11 15-70

RC 13 10 12 20 07- 62

Royals Pull Away in 4th Quarter for a 67-54 Win Over Boyd County

The Mason County Royals outscored the Boyd County Lions 22-15 in the fourth quarter for a 67-54 victory tonight at the Fieldhouse.

Boyd County shot just 25.8 percent from the field for the game- 9 of 33 in the first half and 8 of 33 in the second half.

Antwavon "Pig" Williams scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. Darren Williams hit three-pointers and scored 15 points. Conner Sweeney added 10 points.

MC (14-7) A. Williams 23, Garrison 4, Sweeney 10, D. Williams 15, Fox 9, Henry 6

BC (10-10) Anderson 13, Evans 6, Smith 2, Mullen 2, Kinser 21, Robinson 10

MC 14 16 15 22- 67

BC  11 14 14 15- 54

Royals Use 13-0 Run to Rally Past Paris 60-56

After trailing by seven points with 3:21 to play, Mason County went on a 13-0 run and beat the Paris Greyhounds 60-56 tonight in Paris. It is Mason County's 19 straight win over Paris.

The Greyhounds, playing without leading scorer Koebe Garrard, led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter.

Mason County senior Antwavon "Pig" Williams hit a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter to bring the Royals to within three points at 45-42.

The Greyhounds pushed the lead back to seven at 54-47, but would not score again until only nine seconds were left in the game.

Williams started the comeback with a three-pointer, followed by a three-pointer by Darrren Williams.

Conner Sweeney's run-out dunk gave the Royals their first lead at 55-54 with 1:41 to go. 

Sweeney scored  inside for a three-point lead.

Isaiah Garrison hit the front end of the one-and-one. He missed the bonus, but "Pig" Williams got the rebound and scored to make it 60-54 with 16 seconds left.

Paris guard James Clark scored on a layup for the final basket of the game.

Isaiah Garrison led Mason County in scoring with 20 points. "Pig" Williams followed with 16 and Sweeney added 12. 

MC (13-7) A. Williams 16, Garrison 20, Sweeney 12, D. Williams 8, L. Dunaway 4

P (13-4) Ashford 4, Clark 12, Johnson 17, Wells 18, W. Dumphord 3, J. Davis 2

MC 14 15 13 18- 60

P     18 17 10 11- 56

Red Hot Greenup Co. Beats Mason Co. 85-77

The Greenup County Musketeers shot 55.6 percent from three-point range and defeated the Mason County Royals 85-77 Tuesday night at Greenup County.

The Musketeers jumped out to a 10-0 lead. The Royals rallied to take a 24-21 lead in the second quarter. Greenup County ended the first half with another 10-0 run to lead 39-26. Mason County rallied to within a point at the end of the third quarter and scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to lead 61-56. The Musketeers answered with 16 straight points as part of a 22-2 run.

Greenup County sophomore Gage Hughes scored a game-high 29 points and scored his 1,000th career point.

Conner Sweeney scored a career-high 26 points for Mason County. Antwavon "Pig Williams followed with 21 and Isaiah Garrison added 14.

GC (10-8) Hughes 29, Grooms 14, Burchett 6, Hill 4, Hubbert 18, Wireman 14

MC (12-7) Williams 21, Garrison 14, Lofton 1, Sweeney 26, D. Williams 7, Henry 8

GC  19 20 17 29- 85

MC 12 14 29 22- 77

Free Throw Shooting the Difference in Royals' 78-74 Loss to Lexington Catholic

Lexington Catholic made 29-of-37 free throws while Mason County hit just 12-of-25 foul shots and the Knights beat the Royals 78-74 tonight at Lexington Catholic.

Mason County had an 11-point lead in the closing seconds of the third quarter, but Lexington Catholic went on a 15-3 run to take the lead for good. It was the seventh lead change of the game.

Lexington Catholic junior Luke Johnson made 9-of-10 free throws and scored a game-high 31 points. Zan Payne hit 12-of-15 free throws and added 22 points for the Knights. Payne grabbed 14 rebounds.

Mason County was led in scoring by Antwavon "Pig" Williams and Conner Sweeney with 18 points apiece. Isaiah Garrison added 16 points. Sweeney had 11 rebounds.

LC (9-8) Morris 4, Ogbugu 4, Johnson 31, Payne 22, Whitman 4, Hardin 2, Scott 3, Sparkman 8

MC (12-6) A. Williams 18, Garrison 18, Lofton 2, Sweeney 18, D. Williams 7, L. Dunaway 9, Fox 4

LC  18 12 16 32- 78

MC 17 18 20 19- 74

Royals' "D" Clamps Down Ashland in 60-42

Mason County used what coach Buddy Biggs said was "maybe our best defensive effort of the season" to beat the Ashland Tomcats 60-42 tonight at the Fieldhouse.

The Royals held Ashland to 12 points in the first half on 21.1 percent shooting. Ashland scored the first four points of the third quarter, then, Mason County reeled off 14 straight points to lead 44-16.
The Royals biggest lead was 32 points at 59-37 in the fourth quarter.

Mason County hit 10-of-23 from three-point range (43.5 percent) and 41.2 percent overall.

Isaiah Garrison made 4-of-6 three-point shots and scored a game-high 17 points. Antwavon "Pig" Williams followed with 16 points. Conner Sweeney had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

MC (12-5) A. Williams 16, Garrison 17, Lofton 1, Sweeney 11, D. Williams 6, L. Dunaway 7, Fox 2
A (9-4) Roberts 2, Chr. Villars 16, Bradley 7, Copley 7, Knipp 2, Khounlavong 4, Lucas 4

MC 18 12 20 10- 60
A     08 04 10 20- 42

Royals Lose to Holmes 65-57 in Covington

Last night Mason County used a big second half to pull away from Boone County. Tonight the Royals were outscored 30-19 in the second half and lost to the Holmes Bulldogs 65-57 in Covington.

Mason County had a 10-point lead with 2:22 left in the second quarter, but Holmes went on an 11-0 run to regain the lead. Antwavon "Pig" Williams banked in a long three-pointer just before the second quarter buzzer to give the Royals a 38-35 lead. There were five ties and 12 lead changes in the first half.

Holmes opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run to take the lead for good. Mason County had a chance to retake the lead in the closing seconds of the third quarter, but turned the ball over on a fast break and Holmes senior Brennon Englemon hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a four-point lead. Holmes outscored Mason County 15-9 in the fourth quarter.

Antwavon "Pig" Williams scored a game-high 15 points. Isaiah Garrison followed with 14 points and Conner Sweeney added 11 points.

H (8-6) McClendon 14, Daniels 4, Arnold 11, Greene 2, Moore 13, Englemon 9, Miller 3, Commodore 8
MC (11-5) A. Williams 15, Garrison 14, Lofton 5, Sweeney 11, D. Williams 2, L. Dunaway 2, Fox 8

H     13 22 15 15-65
MC 16 22 08 09-57

(Edited to correct the number of lead changes in the first half)

Royals Use Big 2nd Half to Beat Boone Co. 68-45

The Mason County Royals outscored the Boone County Rebels 49 to 20 in the second half for a 68-45 victory tonight at the Fieldhouse.

Both teams shot 33.3 percent in the first half and Boone County led 25-19 at intermission. Mason County was able to speed up the tempo and outscored Boone County 23-10 in the third quarter and 26-10 in the fourth quarter.

Antwavon "Pig" Williams scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the third quarter, Isaiah Garrison scored 11 points. Conner Sweeney had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Darren Williams added 10 points.

Mason County is right back in action Saturday at Covington Holmes. The junior varsity  game begins at 4:30 followed by the varsity game at 6.

MC (11-4) A. Williams 23, Garrison 11, Lofton 7, Sweeney 10, D. Williams 10, Henry 5, Perkins 2

BC (2-11) Shidler 5, Haynes 2, Nyman 13, Datro 8, Robbins 6, Schild 1, Bowman 1, Purnell 8, Lay 1

Camels Put Away Royals with 15 Unanswered Points for an 81-65 Win

The Campbell County Camels scored the final 15 points of the game to defeat the Mason County Royals 81-65 tonight at the Fieldhouse.

Campbell County led 45-33 with 6:20 left in the third quarter. Mason County rallied to within 66-65 with 3:56 remaining in the game, but did not score again.

The Royals were 9-of-20 from the free throw line. Campbell County was 14-of-19 from the free-throw line and shot 60.8 percent from the field. Mason County hit 40.3 percent from the field.

Antawavon "Pig" Williams led Mason County with 24 points. Matt Wilson had 24 points and 11 rebounds for Campbell County. Conner Sweeney scored 15 points and Darren Williams added 12 points for Mason County.

MC (10-4) A. Williams 24, Garrison 9, Lofton 5, Sweeney 15, D. Williams 12

CC (6-8) Teegarden 2, McGovney 10, Hegyi 16, Wilson 24, Clos 8, Bertsch 19, Measner


(Edited to include Campbell County's free throw shooting and Mason County's field goal percentage.)

Royals Take 3rd Place with a 79-67 Win over DeSales

Antwavon "Pig" Williams scored 29 points to lead the Mason County Royals to a 79-67 win over the DeSales Colts tonight in the third place game of the Randy Pender Classic at South Oldham.

Mason County led by 15 points in the third quarter. DeSales got to within four points early in the fourth quarter, but the Royals pulled away with a 22-5 run.

Isaiah Garrison scored 20 points. Darren Williams followed with 13 points and Conner Sweeney added 12 points.

MC (10-3) A. Williams 29, Garrison 20, Lofton 3, Sweeney 12, D. Williams 13, L. Dunaway 2

D (5-6) Hartlage 8, Burgess 13, Bell 3, Wilson 3, Seibert 19, Baum 4, Kelly 12, Manning 3, Sullivan 2

MC 23 17 17 22- 79

D    20 11 19 17- 67

''

Royals Fall to Meade Co. 74-64

In a game with six ties and six lead changes, the Mason County Royals lost to the Meade County Green Wave 74-64 tonight in the semifinals of the Randy Pender Classic at South Oldham.

Mason County led by 12 points in the second quarter and 27-22 at the end of the first half. Meade County outscored Mason County 25-16 in the third quarter and ended the game on a 17-7 run. The Green Wave made 11-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Conner Sweeney led Mason County in scoring with 20 points. Leevi Dunaway added a career-high 10 points.

The Royals will play in the third place game Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Mason Co. (9-3) A. Williams 9, Garrison 7, Lofton 7, Sweeney 20, D. Williams 7, L. Dunaway 10, Fox 4

Meade Co. (12-1) Hackett 22, Bewley 2, Baket 16, Mattingly 9, Durbin 25

Mason Co. 14 13 16 21- 64

Meade Co. 11 11 25 27- 74



(Update to correct Mason County's individual scoring.)

Royals Edge McCracken Co. 69-68

The Mason County Royals led by as many as 16 points, then, trailed by a point with just over a minute to play before pulling out a 69-68 win over the previously unbeaten McCracken County Mustangs in the first round of the Randy Pender Classic at South Oldham today.

The Royals were up 60-44 at the end of the third quarter. McCracken County rallied to take a 66-65 lead. Antwavon "Pig" Williams answered with a field goal and two free throws. Nathan Stonecipher scored for McCracken County to cut the deficit to one. Williams missed the front end of a one-and-one, and the  Mustangs took a last second shot in the lane, but it rolled off the rim and the Royals picked up their ninth win of the season.

Williams scored a game-high 24 points. Conner Sweeney added a career-high 21 points.

The Royals play Meade County in the semifinals Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Mason Co. (9-2) A. Williams 24, Garrison 5, Lofton 2, Sweeney 21, D. Williams 5, L. Dunaway 6, Fox 6
McCracken Co. (8-1) Cartwright 6, Zakutney 8, Hayden 5, Daniel 21, Sivills 12, Stonecipher 16

Mason Co. 11 29 20 09- 69
McCracken Co. 15 19 10 24- 68

Royals' Seven-Game Winning Streak Snapped in 84-71 Loss to Montgomery County

The Mason County Royals' seven-game winning streak was snapped by an 84-71 loss to the Montgomery County Indians tonight in the championship game of the US Bank Mike Murphy Classic.

Mason County jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but Montgomery County answered with a 16-6 run to tie the game. The Indians outscored the Royals 26-17 in the fourth quarter.

Mason County sophomore Isaiah Garrison led all scorers with a career-high 27 points. He scored 15 points in the third quarter. Conner Sweeney scored 18 points. Antwavon "Pig" Williams scored 15 points before fouling out with 3:01 left in the game. Williams played less than 19 and a half minutes due to foul trouble.

Montgomery County, which made 10 three-pointers, was led in scoring by point guard Caswell Fuller with 24 points. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.

In the other games today, Lewis County defeated Fleming County 67-54 for seventh place, Augusta beat Simon Kenton 63-59 for fifth place and Lawrence County took third place with an 89-79 victory over St. Henry.

Mason Co. (8-2) A. Williams 15, Garrison 27, Lofton 4, Sweeney 18, D. Williams 7

Montgomery Co. (8-3) Fuller 24, Walker 17, Combs 5, Jones 10, Canada 10, Parsley 18

Mason Co.           21 11 22 17-71

Montgomery Co. 21 15 22 26-84

Royals Beat St. Henry 60-44 to Advance to Finals of US Bank Mike Murphy Classic

The Mason County Royals outscored the St. Henry Crusaders 23-2 in the third quarter on the way to a 60-44 win tonight in the semifinals of the US Bank Mike Murphy Classic.

Conner Sweeney had  a second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Garrison scored 15 points, Antwavon "Pig" Williams 11 and Darren Williams 10.

The Royals play the Montgomery County Indians in the championship game Wednesday at 8 p.m. Montgomery County edged Lawrence County 65-62 in the other semifinal game.

In the loser's bracket semifinals, Augusta defeated Lewis County 58-53 and Simon Kenton routed Fleming County 81-42. 

MC (8-1) A. Williams 11, Garrison 14, Lofton 4, Sweeney 15, D. Williams 10, Fox 2, Henry 2

SH (1-7) El. Berling 12, Et. Berling 2, Maley 3, Wallenhorst 5, Machcinski 6, Meiman 2, Hannon, 2, McMartor 2, Beechem 8, McQueeney 2

MC 11 15 23 11-60

SH  04 18 02 20-44