Phillip Duncan

Favorite Food:

Meatloaf

Favorite Sports Team:

Brooklyn Nets

Favorite Hobby Outside of Hoops:

Video Games

Favorite Athlete:

Kyrie Irving

Coach Holder comment: “Phillip has made tremendous strides as a player and as a person. He’s always fun to be around and has a great sense of humor. Phillip can be as good as Phillip wants to be. His dedication to his craft will determine his ceiling. When he commits to the weight room, he will become one of the more difficult matchups in the region. I’m super proud of what Phillip has been able to accomplish this year.”

Jamison Smith

Favorite Dessert:

Cupcakes

Favorite Sports Franchise:

Boston Celtics

Favorite Hobby Outside of Hoops:

Listening to music

Favorite Athlete:

Jaylen Brown

Coach Holder comment: “Jamison is an awesome kid to be around. He is a hard worker in the classroom and on the court. He is determined to accomplish his goals and that determination shows up on the floor. I’m extremely proud of how he’s come to accept his role on this team. To see him embrace the role of defending each night is motivating to see.”  

Jace Birney

Favorite Food:

Chicken Alfredo

Favorite Sports Team:

University of Kentucky

Favorite Hobby Outside of Hoops:

Gaming

Favorite Athlete:

Paul George

Coach Holder comment: “Jace has made a huge leap this season and that’s due to the work he puts in on his own. He’s the definition of a gym rat. Jace is a fantastic kid, and I look forward to coaching him in practice every day. I love that I will have the opportunity to coach him for the next 3 years. He has a chance to be one of the best to come through here. That again is something attainable because of the work he puts in when the lights aren’t on in the gym and weight room.

Ballard Memorial Bombers vs St. Mary

It’s Senior Night & Homecoming as the Bombers play host to St. Mary. The Vikings defeated the Bombers 43-40 on December 17^th, 2021 in their matchup on the campus of St. Mary High School. St. Mary is coming off of a win against Fort Campbell and losses to Paducah Tilghman and Fulton County. The Bombers are coming off back to back wins Monday and Tuesday night. They beat CCA on the road and Cairo at home. They are looking to win a third game in a row for the first time since December of 2017. Coach Holder commented, “It would be a great accomplishment for our program to get a third win in row. It won’t be an easy task, but I know my guys are capable of doing it. To see our team’s growth over the last two seasons has been very cool to watch and be a part of. I’m thankful to them and grateful to my staff for the work they’ve put in to be where we are a full season later.”

If the Bombers hope to win, it’s going to take a good defensive effort. St. Mary has 3 scorers that average at least 10 points per game in Luke Sims, Cade Fleming, and Daniel Willett. Luke Sims is leading the way averaging 13 points per game and leads the team in 3 point field goal makes and percentage with 43 makes at a 39% clip. The Bombers will have to make life difficult on the young guard if they want to win tonight. Coach Holder stated, “Luke can really play. He’s having a great year for Coach Denson and he’s only getting better each game. Cade Fleming is a great athlete and can make some plays not many can make on the floor due to his athleticism. My guys are looking forward to the challenge of defending them.” The Bombers are in action again tomorrow at Hickman County in a JV and Varsity doubleheader with a start time of 2:00.

Ballard Memorial Bombers

#32 Zeke Elrod                       Senior forward that can play inside and outside.

#20 Dylan Frost                      Emotional leader of the team.

St. Mary Vikings

#10 Luke Sims                         Terrific shooter from the outside primary ball-handler.

#21 Cade Fleming                   Great athlete that has a really good mid-range game.

Zeke Elrod

Favorite Food:

Pizza

Favorite TV Show:

The Office

Favorite Hobby Outside of Hoops:

Video Games

Favorite Athlete:

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Coach Holder comment: “Zeke has battled through adversity and hardship throughout the last year and I’m proud of him. It hasn’t been an easy year and it’s not been the season we all anticipated for Zeke, but he’s shown persistence and I know he will be successful in life. Zeke has made a positive impact on this team throughout the season, even while hurt, and will continue to do so in the final couple of weeks.”   

In a game that resembled a track meet at times more than it did a basketball game, the Ballard Memorial boys varsity basketball team outlasted the Cairo Pilots 75-71 on Tuesday, February 8.  Both teams gave the fans an exciting game of back-and-forth, up-and-down contest with leads that would expand and shrink all within a few seconds of the game clock.

The Bombers, however, shot 60% from the field for the game, including 7 3-point baskets, that helped them overcome 14 for 30 shooting at the free throw line for the contest. It was a balanced scoring attack for the Bombers, placing four players in double figures, that helped them overcome a sharp-shooting Cairo squad.

Jace Birney led the Bombers in scoring with 21 points.  Kam English and Jerrico Wilson each had 13 points on the evening, and Phillip Duncan contributed 12 to the cause.  The win moves the Bombers' record to 7-14 for the season.  They will host St. Mary on Friday, February 11 at 7:30 PM.

The Bombers are coming off a win over Fulton City on the road Saturday. Tonight they host the Graves County Eagles. The Bombers fell to Graves County at Graves the last meeting on January 24^th 81-31. The Bombers were without four of their top 6 players in their rotation. Coach Holder is hoping for a better outcome tonight. Coach Holder stated, “We are excited to have everyone back for tonight’s game. It’ll be a really good test for us headed down the last two weeks of the season. It’s going to give us a true idea on where we are in comparison to them. I look forward to watching us compete tonight.” The Bombers have 2 wins in the last 22 years against Graves County. The Bombers hope they can make it a third.

The Graves County Eagles are coming off an overtime loss last night at the Eagle’s Nest to Mayfield. If the Bombers can win tonight, the Mayfield Cardinals clinch the number one seed and the district regular season championship. If the Eagles are able to win tonight, then the next contest between Mayfield and the Eagles will determine the winner of the district. That game is scheduled for Friday night, weather permitting. The Bombers next contest is scheduled for home against Carlisle County.

Ballard Memorial Bombers

#13 Jace Birney                      Will need to score the ball on all three levels.

#3 Jamison Smith                   Will need to play a good defensive game.  

#1 Jerrico Wilson                   Will need to facilitate and create for team mates.

#31 Keaton Overstreet          Will be depended on to score inside and rebound.

Graves County Eagles

#11 Drew Thompson             One of the top Region 1 scorers. 21 points per game.

#1 Markus Isaiah                    One of the top defenders in the 1^st Region.

JAM BARBER

Favorite Dessert:

Banana Pudding

Favorite Sports Franchise:

Chicago Bulls

Favorite Hobby:

Basketball

Favorite Athlete:

Allen Iverson

Coach Holder comment: “Jam is a tremendous person. He is a leader with his actions and his words. He’s a lunch pail guy when it comes to practices and games. I am so proud of the resilience he’s shown in his recovery from his ACL injury. It’s been great having him back with us and I look forward to having him back next season.”  

The Bombers travel to Fulton City High School this evening for a JV and Varsity game. The Fulton City Bulldogs are 2-13 on the season with wins over Fort Campbell and Foundation Christian Academy. The Bulldogs have two players that can score the basketball in Dylan Jackson and Camarae Cobb. Both are averaging 14 points per game for their team on the year while both shooting over 31% from the 3 point line. The Bombers will have to try and neutralize these two guards if they want to win on the road. Coach Holder stated, “Look, it’s not going to be an easy task to go down to Fulton City and win the game on a Saturday after you played in a hard district contest the previous night. It’s just not. It doesn’t matter what their record says or who has beat them by whatever amount. Yes, our scoring margin of common opponents is closer, but we’ve both fallen short of winning those games. We will have to play how we are capable of playing in order to win on the road at Fulton City.”

The Bombers will be off Sunday and Monday before hosting the Graves County Eagles on Tuesday February 1^st. They will then play on February 3^rd & 4^th against Carlisle County. Then will host Livingston County Central on Saturday February 5^th. The Bombers are in for quite the jam packed finish to the season! Come out and support these guys next week for our 3 home games at the Green Palace!

Ballard Memorial Bombers

#13 Jace Birney                      Will need to score the ball on all three levels.

#2 Kame’ron English              Will need to have success pushing the ball in transition.

#1 Jerrico Wilson                   Will need to facilitate and create for team mates.

#15 Phillip Duncan                 Will need to have success on the boards and make free-throws.

Fulton City

#3 Camarae Cobb                  Averaging 14 points & 4 rebounds per game.

#2 Dylan Jackson                    Averaging 14 points & 4 rebounds per game.

#10 Isaiah Kimble                   Averaging 4 points and 7 rebounds per game.

DYLAN FROST

Favorite Food:

Hot wings

Favorite Sports Franchise:

Golden State Warriors

Favorite Hobby:

Basketball & Swimming

Favorite Athlete:

Stephen Curry

Coach Holder comment: “Dylan is an incredibly energetic kid. He’s always bring the juice to practices, games, and the general school day. He really gives our team a lift when we need it from an emotional stand point. Dylan plays the game with such joy and passion.”

In a rematch of a contest that ended with the Bombers pulling out a 3-point win during the first week of the season, the Community Christian Academy Warriors flipped the script on January 25 to defeat Ballard Memorial 61-58.  The Bombers led 49-42 in the 4th quarter before the Warriors mounted a 9-0 run to take the lead at 51-49.  The game was nip and tuck down the stretch when with 3 seconds to go, CCA's Jamison Smith was fouled and hit the first FT to put the Warriors up 60-58.  He missed the second shot; however, he recovered his own rebound and was fouled again with 1.3 seconds remaining.  He again hit the first FT but missed the second. Jace Birney grabbed the rebound and immediately called timeout with 0.8 seconds remaining. The Bombers were able to connect from Jam Barber to Zeke Elrod on the Bombers side of the half-court line on the inbounds, but Elrod's shot that would have sent the game into OT missed the mark.  The Bombers fall to 5-12 on the season and will take on Mayfield on the road on Friday, January 28 in a district matchup.

The Bombers will have a full roster for the first time since January 11^th against Carlisle County as they head into Mayfield facing off for the second time this season. The first matchup saw Mayfield outlast the Bombers 57-55 in the Green Palace. Coach Holder said, “It was a tough one to lose. Our program is hungry for a district win. It’s been a long time since we’ve won a district game at Ballard, and it’s time for a breakthrough. The kids want to be that group that does it. I think they saw how close we are to being there in the last game we played them. I hope we play with the intensity it takes to beat a good, physical, Cardinal team while being more efficient on the offensive end. We have to make some shots if we are going to win, and we are due to breakout.”

The last 3^rd District road game win for the Bombers came on February 23^rd, 2010 in the opening round of the 3^rd District Tournament when the Bombers defeated Mayfield 49-48 after having dropped the previous two district games to them that season. If the Bombers hope to earn their first road district win in 12 years, they’ll have to hold serve in the rebounding department as Mayfield is one of the biggest teams in the First Region. They will play three kids that are 6’4” at one time in Gammons, Stone, and Fulton. They also have three guards that are playing at a high level right now in Dabney, Webb, and Pate. It will be no easy task winning on the road, but this could be the year the Bombers get it done. The Bombers will be in action again tomorrow afternoon at Fulton City with the JV boys game beginning at 2:00, followed by the varsity girls, and varsity boys.

Previous Match-up Statistics

Ballard Memorial Bombers

#13 Jace Birney                      15 points & 4 rebounds (6/15 fg)

#31 Keaton Overstreet          11 points & 12 rebounds (4/6 fg)

#2 Kame’ron English               12 points & 2 steals (4/6 fg)

#0 Jam Barber                        11 points & 4 rebounds (3/6 fg)

Mayfield Cardinals

# 12 Nolan Fulton                   19 points & 5 rebounds (8/17 fg)

# 35 Sam Stone                       4 points & 2 rebounds (2/4 fg)

# 4 Brajone Dabney                15 points & 7 rebounds (6/12 fg)

#32 Demarco Gammons         8 points & 6 rebounds (3/3 fg)

KEATON OVERSTREET

Favorite Food:

Mac & Cheese

Favorite Sports Franchise:

Chicago Cubs

Favorite Hobby:

Racing

Favorite Athlete:

Steph Curry

Coach Holder comment: “Keaton has shown flashes of what he’s capable of doing from an interior scoring and rebounding perspective. I’m excited about what the next two seasons have in store for him as he continues to improve his skill level and his strength. When Keaton is tuned in, he can compete anyone inside.”

The Bombers are coming off a stretch of cancellations and a road loss to Graves County last night. The Bombers will once again be short handed in tonight’s game, but the coaching staff is looking forward to seeing what kids can come in and give the team a big lift. Coach Holder stated, “Being without a few of your top guys makes a big difference in all aspects. It puts guys playing out of position and disrupts what you’re offensive and defensive strategies are built around. The thing us coaches are looking forward to seeing from our guys is their ability to overcome adversity throughout this stretch. We are looking forward to seeing guys that haven’t been involved at the varsity level as much get an opportunity to give us the spark we need this evening.”

The Bombers should be close to full strength heading into Mayfield on Friday. CCA comes into tonight playing good basketball. They have won 6 of their last 8 games. The Warriors provide a balanced attack as they place 4 players in double figures. Led by Prince Kahnplaye at 14 ppg, the Warriors have a stout 4 guard offense that makes for a difficult match up for any team. Sharp shooter Jamison Smith is 42/104 (40.4%) from 3 this season and has the ability to score 20 any given night. Ty Wilson is shooting a blazing 45% from three point land and Tyson Winsett is providing the team scoring in different ways with the second most made field goals on the team behind Kahnplaye.

Players to Watch

Ballard Memorial Bombers

#3 Jace Birney He’s averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds per game.

# 15 Phillip Duncan Recently had 20 points and 7 rebounds vs CFS.

CCA Warriors

#34 Prince Kahnplaye He’s averaging 15 ppg & 6 rebounds per contest.

#5 Ty Wilson He’s averaging 13 ppg & 5 rebounds per game.

#24 Jamison Smith He’s averaging 13 ppg & 4 rebounds per game.

#30 Tyson Winsett He’s averaging 12 ppg & 4 rebounds per game

JERRICO WILSON

Favorite Food:

Buffalo wings

If you could choose a super power, what would it be?

Telekinesis

Favorite movie?

Boyz in the Hood

Favorite Athlete?

Steph Curry

Coach Holder comment: “Jerrico is such a fun kid to be around. He plays extremely hard and cares about winning and creating team success. It is fun to watch him play the game, and fun to watch him rebound the ball. He is impacting the game in every way this season for us and is only going to get better.”

Kame'ron English

Favorite Food:

Spaghetti

Favorite Superhero?

Spiderman

Favorite movie?

Space Jam (Original)

Favorite Athlete?

Devin Booker

Coach Holder comment: “Kame’ron is a fierce competitor. He’s a kid that’s really worked his game to the point that he is a varsity contributor. He’s put in an abundance of work to get where his game is today. I know when the lights come on, I can count on Kam to bring whatever he has in the tank. I love watching him push the ball from one of the floor to the other in transition. Don’t blink! You might miss him!”

The Bombers begin District play with a home match-up against the Mayfield Cardinals. The Bombers are looking to get their first District win in 6 years and fifth in the previous 10 years. Coach Holder stated, “I love my team. I love the growth they’ve shown since the beginning of last season. I love the competitive nature of our team. They want to get on the board in District play. I would love to see them do that tonight.” He continued, “Mayfield poses some problems for us from a size perspective with Stone, Gammons, and Fulton ranging from 6’3” to 6’6”. Not a frail height either, we are talking about guys that love contact and are physically strong. It’ll definitely be a challenge for our team in the paint. We have to meet their physicality tonight!”

The Cardinals are currently 4-2 on the season and coming off a decisive win against Meade County in the Henderson Chevy, Buick, GMC, Classic in Henderson County. The Bombers are coming off wins in two of their last three contests after falling to Crittenden on the road 51-55 on New Year’s Eve. The Bombers in their two wins (CFS & Livingston Central) combined for 37 deflections and 19 steals. Those are two stats that Coach Holder relies on when looking at if his team was successful on the floor or not. Coach Holder said, “In our loss at Crittenden, we had 9 deflections and 5 steals. That’s not enough deflections in a 32 minute game from a defensive disruption stand point. I think that has a big influence on that 5 point loss. You combine the low deflection total to our 6/18 from the free throw line, it’s hard to win on the road. We are going to have to get our hands on some more passes this evening to keep the ball out of the paint and help initiate our transition offense.”

Ballard Memorial Bombers

#3 Jace Birney                         He’s averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds per game.

# 2 Kame’ron English              He’s averaging 7 points and has (4) 3’s in his last 3 games.

# 31 Keaton Overstreet         Averaging 7 points and 7 rebounds.            

Mayfield Cardinals

# 12 Nolan Fulton                   Averaging 12 points & 6 rebounds per game.

# 35 Sam Stone                       Averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds per game.

# 32 Demarco Gammons        Averaging 7 points and 7 rebounds per game.

The Bombers are coming off a win against CCA on the road and a loss to a tough veteran Butler County squad that is off to a scorching 4-0 start on the year with wins over quality programs. The Bombers look to get back on track tonight against Hickman County that is 2-1 on the season with wins over St. Mary and Livingston County. This is a team that brings back three of their top players from last season in Kelen Johnson, Eli Prince, and Zach Ward. Kelen Johnson is a strong guard that is extremely hard to prevent getting to the rim and is averaging 20 points per game. Eli Prince is a walking double/double and is a good passer, rebounder, and crafty scorer. Ward brings dead eye shooting to compliment the Johnson and Prince duo.

The Bombers are led by Freshman Jace Birney. He’s off to a hot start averaging 18 points per game thus far against a tough opening schedule in Marshall, Caldwell, & Butler County. Keaton Overstreet and Phillip Duncan will be relied upon to maintain order in the paint tonight, as Eli Prince is a handful inside. Coach Holder stated, “Our guys are excited to get the opportunity to compete tonight on our home floor against a team that in the last four contest, three have been extremely close. That includes a buzzer beater here that our guys haven’t forgotten. I’m looking forward to watching them compete tonight for our student body, our teachers, our community, and for one another.”

The Bombers will be in action again on Friday night when they go on the road to square off with the St. Mary Vikings. At this time it will be a JV boys, VG, VB triple header with a 4:45 first game time.

Ballard Memorial Bombers

#3  Jace Birney                        He’s averaging 18 points and 6 rebounds per game

#0  Jam Barber                       He’s making his way back after missing last season and averaging 8.5 points and 4 rebounds per contest. 

Hickman County Falcons

#24  Kelen Johnson                 He’s averaging 20 points and 5 rebounds per contest.

#34  Eli Prince                         He’s averaging 10 points and 8 rebounds per contest.