Trailing Grayson County by 20 early in the third quarter, Owensboro Catholic’s Luke Beickman and Dre’Mail Carothers found their scoring touch, combining for 26 second-half points. Cutting it to one with 34.1 seconds left, the Aces were unable to complete the comeback, falling 70-64.
“The way we played midway through the third quarter through the end of the game was how you are supposed to play the entire time,” Owensboro Catholic head coach Tim Riley said.
Scoring only 20 points in the first half, the Aces scored 30 points alone in the fourth quarter. Head coach Tim Riley credited his team’s comeback to being aggressive offensively and Beickman and Carothers taking over.
Owensboro Catholic jumped out to a 15-14 lead entering the second quarter, thanks to Waryn Ebelhar and Solly Smith combining for 10 points. In the second quarter, the Cougars’ Jack Logsdon exploded for 12 points. The Aces could not answer, scoring five points and trailed at halftime 27-20.
In the third quarter, the Cougars immediately hit a three to make it a 10-point game. Logsdon picked up where he left off, scoring nine points in the quarter to help make it a 20-point game. But it wasn’t just a one man show, with Grayson County’s Spencer Langdon scoring eight of his 10 points.
With their backs against the wall, Beickman started taking the ball up- scoring seven of his team-high 18 points in the third quarter. Consistently attacking, the senior opened up the offense in the fourth quarter, allowing for Smith, Ebelhar, and Carothers to combine for 23 fourth quarter points.
After cutting it to one, Grayson County responded with two free throws after being intentionally fouled. The Aces were unable to tie it up, eventually running out of time.
Logsdon led all scorers with 33 points, while Beickman (18), Carothers (15), Smith (12), and Ebelhar (11) all finished in double-figures for the Aces.
Owensboro Catholic is losing four seniors to graduation – Beickman, Ebelhar, Carrico, and Stephen Eaves.
“All four of them are great young men,” Riley said. “They will contribute greatly to society and make great husbands and fathers.”
McLean County drops to Meade County
Trailing by three early in the second half, McLean County couldn’t find their shot from deep and had no answer for Meade County’s length – falling 60-44.
“I thought we gave effort, we just didn’t shoot very well,” McLean County head coach Darren Lynam said. “Their length bothered us. One thing I was kind of worried about coming into the game was their length. We got behind a bit early. We were going to try and spread them out in a zone, but we didn’t get that chance. We have thrived all year long with the three-point shot, but we just didn’t get it to go down tonight.”
The Cougars took a 12-10 lead into the second quarter, thanks to Zane Decker hitting two threes. In the second quarter, the Green Wave took an 11-point lead, but the Cougars’ Jax Lee scored seven straight to cut it to 27-23. In the third quarter, Meade County’s Ethan Kaiser, Cade Scott, and Ayden Medley combined for 18 points of the team’s 20 points. The trio finished with 43 of the team’s 60 points.
McLean County’s Camden Baird found his scoring touch in the fourth quarter, adding nine of his 12 points. Medley led all scorers with 19 points, while the Green Wave had four players finish in double figures. For the Cougars, Lee and Baird both led the way with 12 points.
McLean County is losing four seniors to graduation – Lee, Decker, Braiden Davis, and Landon French.
“This group of seniors makes one of the few groups that finished with a winner record at McLean County through all four years,” Lynam said. “They gave us a lot of time and effort. Either as freshmen and sophomores getting the varsity players ready for games or doing their due diligence along the way when it was their time to play. We are 32-24 along the last two years.”
