Less than two weeks ago, the Owensboro Catholic Aces fell 50-34 to Meade County at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
On Monday, the Aces also scored 34 points – in the first half.
The solid first two quarters set the tone for Catholic and while they didn’t put the Green Wave away, they held firm and took down Meade County 63-57 to advance to Friday’s 3rd Region Tournament semifinals against Ohio County.
Catholic junior Ji Webb didn’t play in the first matchup against the Green Wave but he made his presence felt pretty quickly in Monday’s game.
Webb scored six points in the first quarter as he finished with a team-high 17 points.
Webb wasn’t then only Ace to contribute in a big way as Sam McFarland added 14 points but in total, eight Catholic players scored in the victory.
Aces coach Tim Riley said everyone contributed Monday.
“We’re kind of down to eight guys that play,” he said. “Tut’s sixth man right now.”
Catholic’s Tut Carrico finished with nine points as he went 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Riley said the freshman had a great night.
“He made some big plays,” Riley said. “Smart kid, knows how to play. Listens, he’s a great listener … He was 3-for-3, made some big plays for us.”
With Brian Griffith and Gray Weaver out for the Aces, Riley said it’s been about putting the right pieces on the court to get things going.
“We’re just trying to find the best ones to handle,” he said.
Riley said he knows no one expects them to win without two of their top three scorers but he told his team to go out and have fun.
On Monday, they did just that.
“They thought we could win that game,” he said. “No doubt about that.”
Canon Decker led Meade County 17 points in the loss while Dylan Abell also finished in double digits with 10 points.
Catholic plays at 5 p.m. Friday against Ohio County at the Sportscenter.
The Aces haven’t played the Eagles since 2018 when Catholic came away with a 65-52 win on the road.
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 63, MEADE COUNTY 57
OC (17-9) 19 15 11 18–63
MC (9-11) 11 14 14 18–57
OC: Parker Gray 6, Luke Scales 8, Tut Carrico 9, Braden Mundy 7, Ji Webb 17, Sam McFarland 14, Noah Johnson 1, Jari Barber 1
MC: Cam Armstead 5, Cooper Crump 2, Kyle Parker 2, Dylan Abell 10, Canon Decker 17, Grant Beavin 7, Casey Turner 14
2021 basketball coverage is presented in part by Rhoads & Rhoads Attorneys at Law.
