The Aces absolutely owned the second quarter against Butler County, and it proved to be the difference in their 77-61 win Wednesday night in the first round of the boys’ 3rd Region basketball tournament at the Sportscenter.
It was an even battle the rest of the night — the Bears actually outscored Owensboro Catholic by one point in the other three quarters combined — but a 21-4 second period gave the Aces a 36-16 advantage at the half. They led by at least 12 the rest of the way, holding off a couple of strong pushes by Butler County in the second half.
“The second quarter was unbelievable,” said Catholic head coach Tim Riley. “That was kind of the game right there. Besides the second quarter, it was an even basketball game.”
The Aces (19-14) advance to play McLean County (22-11) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Cougars upset Breckinridge County 52-46 in the second first-round game.
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For more photos from the game, click here.
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Catholic’s strong second frame was fueled by an intense defensive effort. They forced turnovers that led to easy buckets, and the offense got hot from long range.
With the Aces already up 15-12, Brian Griffith sparked a 10-0 to start the second quarter with a steal and easy layup at the other end. Luke Scales and Griffith drained back-to-back 3-pointers, then Andrew Riney went coast to coast to put Catholic up 23-12 with 6:20 still left until halftime.
Butler County’s Parker Rice hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 11, but that was the closest they ever got again. Riney scored on a tip-in at the other end, and Griffith drilled a long 3 to stretch the lead to 16.
The only field goal for the Bears in the second period came from Brody Hunt with 2:45 left in the half to get within 30-16. Catholic’s Gray Weaver knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for a 36-16 halftime lead.
“I thought defensively in the first half we were really good,” Riley said. “We got a lot of baskets off our defense. Brian got us going defensively in that first half, and that was a big deal for us.”
The Bears didn’t go down quietly. Rice fueled runs of 11-2 and 8-0 to get them within 49-37 with about two minutes left in the third. After trading a few buckets, the Aces carried a 56-44 lead into the final period.
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” Riley said. “We told them at halftime that (Rice) was going to bury his head down and was going to go at us. It was hard to stop him. In the first half they didn’t get many shots, and it was one-and-done. Second half, we got a little tired and they were playing for their lives.”
Catholic only hit four field goals in the fourth quarter, but they went 13-for-16 at the free throw line to maintain their distance.
Griffith paced the Aces with 19 points and added five steals. Weaver knocked down four 3s and finished with 18 points. Drew Hartz scored 15 points and Ji Webb had 11, while Riney chipped in nine points and five steals.
Riley was happy with his team’s performance, saying it’s a continuation of their effort over the last few weeks. Though they’ve come out on the wrong end of a handful of their recent games, the Aces put together strong performances in narrow losses to quality opponents.
“I think we’re playing better,” Riley said. “We just have to keep hanging on to it a little bit.”
BOX SCORE
OCHS 15-21-20-21—77
BCHS 12-4-28-17—61
OCHS (77): Brian Griffith (19), Gray Weaver (18), Drew Hartz (15), Ji Webb (11), Andrew Riney (9), Luke Scales (3), Sam McFarland (2)
BCHS (61): Parker Rice (25), Mac Hampton (9), Leevi McMillin (8), Brody Hunt (8), Solomon Flener (6), Jagger Henderson (2), Hayden Hodge (2), Zach Tutko (1)
