Owensboro freshman Kenyata Carbon scored a career-best 25 points, and his dominant second-half effort helped the Red Devils pull away for a comfortable 68-41 victory over Daviess County in Tuesday’s 9th District tournament semifinals.
OHS (18-10) now moves on to Friday’s championship, where they’ll look to defend their title when they face the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Owensboro Catholic and Apollo. The Red Devils also secured a spot in next week’s 3rd Region tournament.
“We came ready to play. We were fired up,” said OHS head coach Rod Drake. “We took some bad shots early, but we regrouped. As I told them all year long, it’s going to take everybody to get to be where we need to be. Tonight everybody contributed again.”
The Panthers (8-21) couldn’t keep up late, but they certainly didn’t go down easy. DC took a 7-5 lead three minutes in on a fadeaway jumper by Ryan Thomson, and a 3-pointer by Camron Johnson gave the Panthers their biggest lead at 12-8.
Owensboro subbed in Jaiden Greathouse — who leads the team in scoring and rebounding despite coming off the bench — and momentum shifted to the Red Devils. Starting with a putback by Greathouse to get his team within one point, OHS went on a 10-1 run over the final two minutes to take a 21-15 lead after the first quarter.
“I thought when Greathouse came in, he showed what he’s done for four years,” said DC head coach Neil Hayden. “We had a hard time moving him around.”
Carbon and Amari Wales each drained a 3-pointer to give Owensboro their first double-digit lead at 27-16 with 5:53 left in the half. After DC’s Johnson scored on a cut to the basket, Greathouse answered at the other end with an old-fashioned three-point play.
OHS went scoreless the rest of the quarter, but DC was only able to trim the deficit to 30-23 by halftime.
“The score wasn’t any indication of how this game was played,” said Owensboro head coach Rod Drake. “All it took was a couple bounces here and there in the first half, and we’ve got a ball game.”
Carbon and Amari Wales combined for a quick 9-0 run to help Owensboro cushion the lead in the third quarter.
DC got a bucket from Johnson and a 3-pointer from Logan Hillard to get back within 39-28 with 3:10 left in the third, but they never got any closer. Wales drained a 3 from the wing, and a pair of free throws by Carbon put Owensboro on top 44-28 heading into the fourth.
Carbon added 11 more points in the final frame, and his drive with 2:35 to play put the Red Devils up 59-34.
“He’s strong and he attacks the rim,” Hayden said. “I think he plays within himself. He is a mature basketball player to be a freshman.”
Drake said Carbon is aggressive and is always ready to make the big play.
“He gets in the passing lanes and he wants it. I call him greedy because he wants the basketball,” Drake said. “He wants those points, and that’s a good thing. He’s in the right spot at the right time.”
Carbon also added five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Greathouse finished with nine points and 10 rebounds, while Wales scored 12 points and Gavin Wimsatt chipped in 10.
Johnson led DC with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Thomson finished with 10 points and six boards.
BOX SCORE
DCHS 15-8-5-13—41
OHS 21-9-14-24—68
DCHS (41): Camron Johnson (12), Ryan Thomson (10), Koki Kato (5), Logan Hillard (4), Bo Stratton (3), Decker Renfrow (3), Will Barron (2), Max Dees (2)
OHS (68): Kenyata Carbon (25), Amari Wales (12), Gavin Wimsatt (10), Jaiden Greathouse (9), Trey Hinton (5), Caymen Powell (3), Reis Dickinson (2), Tucker Hagan (2)
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2019-20 basketball coverage is presented in part by Rhoads & Rhoads Attorneys at Law.
