The Owensboro Catholic boys’ basketball team had to fend off a red-hot performance by Dakota Walden, but a big push in the third quarter allowed the Aces to walk away with a 68-59 win at Daviess County on Friday night.
The Aces (6-0, 2-0 9th District) remained perfect on the season, and it was a flurry of scoring in near the end of the third period that swung momentum their way for good.
Andrew Riney went on a personal 8-0 run in the middle of the frame, but a 3-pointer by Walden tied the game at 41-41. Peyton Survant hit long 3 at the other end, and Zach Cecil followed it with back-to-back layups.
Leading 48-43, Catholic scored six points in the final eight seconds of the quarter. John Parker hit a layup, then the Aces stole the inbounds and Riney was fouled on his made basket. Riney missed the free throw, but Parker tapped the rebound back in for a score at the buzzer.
“I was glad we were resilient because we didn’t play very well in the first half,” said Catholic head coach Tim Riley. “I’ll take some of the blame. We fought back and made some plays. That third quarter was really good. That explosion at the end of the third quarter, that was a dagger for them.”
The Panthers (1-4, 0-2) started the game in control, earning a halftime lead thanks to Walden’s performance. He scored 14 of the team’s 18 points in the second quarter, and 19 of 31 in the half.
“That was one of the best performances I’ve had against me, honestly,” Riley said. “The first half, we didn’t do a very good job against Dakota. In the second half we did a great job on him, but he still hit some incredibly tough shots. His effort made it really hard on us.”
With the pressure not working for them early, the Aces had to switch to man-to-man and face guard Walden at all times.
It only slowed him down some, as he still added 16 points to finish with a game-high 35. He also finished a perfect 8-for-8 from 3-point range and 13-for-17 from the floor.
Parker led the way for the Aces with 23 points, while Riney added 19.
The Aces return to action Thursday when the begin play in the Owensboro Invitational Tournament against Monroe County.
The Panthers will play at home Monday against Hancock County.
Owensboro Catholic stats: John Parker (23 points), Andrew Riney (19 points), Peyton Survant (9 points), Zach Cecil (8 points)
Daviess County stats: Dakota Walden (35 points), Camron Johnson (8 points), Blake Baker (7 points), Chase Luckett (5 points), Ryan Thomson (2 points), Logan Hillard (2 points)
