FINALLY HEALTHY: Full strength Somerset overpowers McCreary Central

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Somerset senior Landen Lonesky (14) dives to save the ball to sophomore Josh Lewis (5) during the Jumpers' 83-51 victory over McCreary Central on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.

SOMERSET - With junior guard Aedyn Absher finally returning to the court after a thumb injury, the Jumpers were back at full strength on Tuesday night and looked to snap a three-game skid against the McCreary Central Raiders. With the Raiders missing star guard Peyton Higginbotham, the Jumpers had a decisive advantage and ran away with a 83-51 victory.

Kole Grundy and Absher started off the game with back-to-back triples to give the Jumpers a quick 6-0 advantage before the Raiders finally got on the board with a two. Grundy scored again and after a steal and two from Josh Lewis, Somerset had built a 10-4 lead in the early goings in the ball game.

The Raiders would not back down however, with Kolton Summers drilling a three after Lewis hit one on the other end. A pair of free throws from Jacob Foster trimmed the home team's lead down to just two points late in the period, but a two shortly before the buzzer from Grundy gave Somerset a 15-11 edge heading into the second quarter.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Somerset junior Aedyn Absher (2) looks for an open teammate to pass the ball to while being heavily pressured by two defenders during the Jumpers' victory over McCreary Central on Tuesday night.

Baskets from Landen Lonesky and Absher ballooned the Jumpers' lead to eight points before a basket from Grayson Perry forced Somerset to call for a timeout to quickly get regrouped. That timeout worked to perfection as well, with Absher hitting another from downtown and Grundy pulling down an offensive board and getting two more points to his total to push the Jumpers' lead to double digits at 24-13.

Both Somerset and McCreary settled in on the offensive end midway through the period, with the teams trading baskets as the Jumpers could not build on their lead, until the end of the half that is. After both Absher and Caynon Sizemore hit a pair of free throws, Absher had a traditional three-point play to end the half. Somerset took a 37-23 lead into the break after closing the second on a 7-0 run.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Somerset junior Kole Grundy (center) shoots the ball near the basket while being closely guarded during the Jumpers' contest against McCreary Central on Tuesday at the Briar Patch.

Josh Bruner began the third quarter with a shot from deep to push the Somerset lead to 17 points before Drew Corder answered on the other end with a three of his own. The home team made a statement following that opening exchange by scoring eight of the next 10 points, with Lonesky going on a mini 4-0 run by himself. After the Raiders scored four straight, Jakob Bartley scored a tough basket in the paint that led to a Somerset timeout.

Again, that timeout came at the perfect time for the Jumpers as they were able to capitalize on the break. Grundy came out like a man possessed and scored eight of the final 12 points of the third quarter, including hitting two from long range, as Somerset saw their lead sore to over 20 points at 58-36.

Lonesky grabbed a steal to begin play in the final period and was able to get quick two before another three from Corder. Wanting to put this game out of reach in a hurry, the home team went on another 8-0 run, with Lewis and Brock Stevens each hitting a three-pointer, as the Jumpers went ahead by nearly 30 points at 68-39. A pair of triples from Corder led to Somerset head coach Ryan Young calling timeout, getting his team refocused for the final few minutes of the contest.

Lonesky, Grundy and Stevens all scored over the next two minutes or so of the ball game to really put an exclamation point on the victory, with some of the bench players getting their chance to shine in the closing moments. Both Bryson Purcell and Julian Carroll scored two apiece late, with Purcell closing the game out with a steal, as Somerset was able to largely dominate the Raiders en route to a 83-51 win.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Somerset senior Bryson Purcell (center, white uniform) gets fouled while going up for a shot during the game between the Briar Jumpers and the McCreary Central Raiders on Tuesday.

Grundy had the game-high with 22 points to lead the Jumpers. Other scorers included both Lewis and Lonesky with 14 apiece, Absher with 13, Bartley with six, Stevens with five, Bruner with three and the trio of Sizemore, Purcell and Carroll with two apiece. McCreary Central was led by Corder with 14 points.

Somerset improves to 9-9 for the season and will be back at the Briar Patch on Friday to host crosstown rival Pulaski County in their second meeting this season.

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