Owensboro was able to pull off a comeback win against Evansville Central on Tuesday, while Trinity (Whitesville) came out on top in an offensive showdown with Apollo.
Owensboro vs. Evansville Central
Digging itself out of hole following a rough first quarter, Owensboro outscored Evansville Central in three straight quarters to grab a 67-65 win after some late-game heroics from junior Kenyatta Carbon.
Evansville Central took it to the Red Devils in the first quarter, using a balanced offensive attack to take an 18-8 lead.
Owensboro managed to make it a 21-15 game to open the second quarter, but Evansville Central went on a run of their own and hit back-to-back threes to end the first half and take a 36-24 lead.
The Red Devils ramped up the pressure in the third quarter, as junior Cayman Powell (12) and Carbon (7) led the charge by combining for 19 of their 25.
Owensboro capped off the third by sinking four straight free throws following a foul and a technical foul, leaving them trailing 50-49 going into the fourth.
The Red Devils were able to grab a 63-61 lead with 3:08 left to play following a three from junior Talas Taylor, but the Bears wouldn’t go down that easy.
Trailing 65-63 with 24.6 seconds left, Evansville Central was able to knot things up at 65 following a timeout. However, Carbon quickly responded by banking in a floater to take a 67-65 lead with 5.1 seconds left.
With one more chance to force overtime or grab a win, the Bears heaved one up from three but were unable to connect as the buzzer sounded and Owensboro came away with a 67-65 win.
Junior Brody Cato led all scorers with 24 points, serving as the only player for Evansville Central in double figures. Meanwhile, Carbon led the Red Devils with 22, while Powell finished with 15 and Taylor finished with 10.
Now owning a three-game winning streak, Owensboro will look to stay hot when they take on Apollo at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Apollo vs. Trinity
Led by a 19-point second-half performance from junior Denver Dickens, Trinity’s offense in the third and fourth propelled them past Apollo for a 92-81 win.
The Eagles were able to come out on top in the first quarter, narrowly outscoring the Raiders 23-22 as senior Jaden Kelly (12) and junior Zjhan Tutt (7) combined for 19 points.
Trinity remained just behind Apollo in the second quarter, as junior Landon Smith scored 13 of its 20 points. However, a balanced effort from the Eagles had them out in front 44-42 going into halftime.
Coming out of the locker room the Raiders silenced Kelly, forcing Apollo to look elsewhere for shot creation. Trinity pounced on this opportunity to take a lead, as Dickens drilled three from beyond the arc and scored 13 of its 24 in the third to take a 66-61 lead into the fourth.
Kelly and sophomore Eli Masterson single handedly tried to bring the Eagles back in the fourth by combining for all 20 of the team’s points, but Dickens and Trinity weren’t cooling off.
Junior Gavin Howard (8) Dickens (6) and junior Landon Huff (6) combined for 20 of the Raiders’ 26 in the fourth, sealing the deal on a 92-81 home win over Apollo.
Kelly led all scorers with 29 points, while Masteron and Tutt both finished in double figures with 19 points each for the Eagles.
Dickens led Trinity with 26 points after a dominant second half, while junior Nathan Hernandez (17), Smith (15) and Huff (13) all finished in double figures.
The Raiders have won two in a row as they will look to make it three when they host Butler County at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Eagles are riding a six-game losing streak and will look for that elusive first win on Friday when they host Owensboro at 7 p.m.
