Owensboro’s win was never in doubt Thursday night, and their 85-46 beatdown of Meade County was an impressive start as the Red Devils took the first step in defending their 3rd Region tournament title.
OHS started the game with a 10-0 run, built a 47-19 lead by halftime, and went up by as many as 47 points in a totally dominant performance all over the court.
“It seems like it was a long time since we played,” said Owensboro head coach Rod Drake, whose Red Devils have been off since last Friday’s district championship. “I thought we were ready to play. We had lightning in a bottle tonight.”
The Red Devils (20-10) advance to play Muhlenberg County (20-11) in the semifinals at 7:45 p.m. Saturday. The Mustangs beat Grayson County 59-39 in the final first-round game.
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For more photos from the game, click here.
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Owensboro’s Amari Wales poured in 27 points to lead the offensive showcase, scoring eight in the first three minutes and 19 by halftime.
“He shot the ball very well tonight,” Drake said. “It opened up a lot of things for us. His mid-range jump shot was going. He kind of extended the floor. Everybody kind of fed off of him. It was a total team effort. We’ve had guys in that situation all year long, and tonight it was Amari’s turn.”
Seven points from Jaiden Greathouse fueled an 11-2 run for OHS over the final three minutes of the first quarter, and a 3-pointer from the left wing by Wales put them up 23-7 after the first quarter.
They kept rolling in the second period, and a step-back 3 by Tucker Hagan just before the buzzer put the Red Devils up 47-19 at the half.
Much of Owensboro’s early offense was created at the opposite end of the court. Whether by forcing Meade County (10-17) into turnovers or pushing the pace after a rebound, the Red Devils scored quickly in transition.
“Our defense was pretty good,” Drake said. “(Imonte Owsley) spearheads our defense. I thought our defense made our offense early in the game. We pushed the ball, got up and down the floor and executed our fast break. Everything kind of fell into place after that.”
Wales scored back-to-back layups on fast breaks — drawing a foul and hitting the free throw on the second bucket — to push Owensboro’s lead to 59-24 and start a running clock with 3:23 left in the third.
The Red Devils led 71-29 heading into the fourth period. They went up by as many as 47 three times late in the game.
Hagan finished with 15 points and Greathouse added 13. Kenyata Carbon and Gavin Wimsatt scored eight each.
Owensboro has won their last five games — all by at least 16 points — and Drake hopes to stay hot heading into their semifinal.
“Don’t do anything differently than we have all year long,” he said. “Just keep the momentum going.”
BOX SCORE
MCHS 7-12-10-17—46
OHS 23-24-24-14—85
MCHS (46): Casey Turner (12), Grant Beavin (8), Kyle Parker (8), Cooper Crump (5), Cam Armstead (4), Brayden Blankenship (4), Mitchell Dozier (3), Dylan Abell (2)
OHS (85): Amari Wales (27), Tucker Hagan (15), Jaiden Greathouse (13), Kenyata Carbon (8), Gavin Wimsatt (8), Ethan Pendleton (6), Reis Dickinson (4), Imonte Owsley (2), Isaac Humphrey (2)
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