Owensboro Catholic has been trying to figure out what works in their lineup since senior Gray Weaver went down with an ankle injury and Thursday was no different when the Aces met Daviess County at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
Despite the shuffling, the Aces were able to get a vital 9th District win as their hopes for the top seed are still alive after they took down the Panthers 57-53.
Catholic coach Tim Riley said they’re already looking forward to the next one but it was big to get a close win.
“With Ji (Webb) getting in foul trouble and Gray being out, we had a lot of different combinations out there tonight,” he said. “They defend us really well, they do a nice job. We should be glad we got a win and get out of here.”
Junior standout Ji Webb didn’t see the court as much as he normally does because of foul trouble but the Aces had a next-man-up mentality and that was the case Thursday with Sam McFarland.
McFarland scored a career-high 21 points and had multiple buckets in each quarter, including six in the opener where the Aces held a 20-15 lead heading to the second.
“He started making shots early in the year,” Riley said of McFarland. “That mid-range shot, we’ve just been encouraging it. Just keep shooting it … We don’t win that game without Sam contributing like he did tonight.”
DC coach Neil Hayden said the loss is tough and he had to tip his cap to the Aces.
“They’re a really good team,” he said. “Brian (Griffith) can get a shot off in transition. Sam McFarland had a terrific game. They turned us over but scored on it when they turned us over. We lowered our turnovers compared to other games but they did a good job of scoring on them.”
DC outscored Catholic 14-10 and after a Jack Payne 3-pointer just before the buzzer, only trailed 21-20 heading into the second half.
The Panthers outscored the Aces in the final frame but after a couple ties in the third, Catholic grabbed a lead and didn’t give it up the rest of the way.
Hayden said he they prepared well for the matchup.
“I thought our guys were very detailed in our plan and competed really hard,” he said. “I’m disappointed for them but hopefully we’ll grow from it.”
Much like the Aces, DC also got off to a fast start but with many young players, Hayden said he’s trying to make the game simpler for his team.
“For these guys, we’re breaking the game down into small segments and trying to win those,” he said. “We lost 9-2 the last 4:00 of the third quarter and that was huge, and without Ji on the floor. The first and the third quarter is where we’re seeing some runs.”
Catholic’s Griffith finished with 22 points to lead all scorers as he and McFarland were the only players to score more than 20 points.
DC was led by Cole Burch’s 18 points while Max Dees added 16 points for the Panthers in the loss.
The Panthers are off until Tuesday when they play their regular-season finale at Union County.
Catholic has four games in the next week, including a matchup with Greenwood tonight at the Sportscenter. The Aces still have two district contests as they head to Apollo Sunday then host Owensboro Tuesday.
Riley said the biggest factor going into the final few games in learning what fits.
“We’ve got to learn to play if Gray can’t come back, that’s one thing,” he said. “We’ve got to learn our rotation, who to count on, who to trust until he gets back or if he doesn’t.”
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 57, DAVIESS COUNTY 53
DC (5-12) 15 14 10 14–53
OC (14-5) 20 10 16 11–57
DC: Joe Humphreys 3, Cole Burch 18, Max Dees 16, Jack Payne 8, Camron Johnson 8
OC: Brian Griffith 22, Parker Gray 5, Tut Carrico 5, Ji Webb 4, Sam McFarland 21
2021 basketball coverage is presented in part by Rhoads & Rhoads Attorneys at Law.
