A strong push in the second half wasn’t quite enough for the Owensboro Catholic boys’ basketball team, as they fell 56-48 to Lexington Christian Academy in the opening round of the All “A” State Classic state tournament.
The Aces (13-6) trailed by as many as 15 points in Thursday’s game at Eastern Kentucky University’s McBrayer Arena, though they cut the lead to 34-31 after an and-1 by John Parker early in the third quarter. Parker led Catholic with 21 points and 6 assists.
The Eagles (16-6) started hot from 3-point range to build their lead and they went 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the second half to pull away for the win.
It was a rough start for the Aces, as they failed to score for the final 6:55 of the first quarter en route to a 14-4 deficit. Head coach Tim Riley said the team played well the remainder of the game — they actually outscored the Eagles by 2 over the final three periods — but they didn’t have enough to overcome the slow start.
“I thought we played pretty good from that point on,” Riley said. “We just weren’t able to get over the hump.”
LCA took their biggest lead a minute into the second frame, but 7 points from Parker helped Catholic go into the half down 26-18.
The Aces got back-to-back 3-pointers from Peyton Survant and Zach Cecil to start the third, and a jumper by Parker cut the Eagles’ lead to 31-28. After and LCA 3-pointer, Parker’s and-1 got Catholic back within 3, though it was as close as they could get.
Catholic went 4-for-14 from 3-point range compared to 7-for-15 for LCA, and the Aces only got to the free throw line seven times. The Eagles’ defense didn’t make things easy with pressure all game.
“We didn’t shoot very well from 3, and we didn’t shoot enough free throws,” Riley said. “They had solid man defense and we didn’t get by them very well.”
In turn, Catholic had trouble slowing down LCA’s Kyle Rode at the other end, as the Division I commit scored 30 points. He also had 9 rebounds.
The Aces are back in action Tuesday, when they return home to host Madisonville-North Hopkins at 7 p.m.
Scoring
O. Catholic 4-14-16-14–48
Lexington 14-12-14-16–56
O. Catholic: John Parker 21, Drew Hartz 9, Ty Vincent 8, Peyton Survant 6, Zach Cecil 3, Ji Webb 1
