In the first district matchup of the season, Kenyatta Carbon led the way for the Red Devils (3-1, 1-0) with 25 points as they downed Daviess County (1-3, 0-1) by a final score of 77-53.
Rod Drake’s squad looked to be in mid-season form, bouncing back appropriately after their loss on the road in Marshall County last Saturday. The key to the game according to the Owensboro head coach was their defensive energy, something he noted after the contest.
“We had a pretty good second half,” Drake said. “After we stopped fouling and got our rhythm going in the second half, the defensive effort tired them out in the third quarter and we ran away with it. In the first half the ball was sticking, but we made some adjustments and ended up playing the way we wanted to and I’m proud of our guys.”
Drake’s bunch tallied 10 first-half fouls, donating to the Panthers nine shots from the charity stripe in the first two periods of play. For the home team, just three free throws were converted in the first half, however, limiting the damage that could have been inflicted on the visitors. In contrast, the second half was much better for the Panthers by way of free throws, as Daviess County converted all seven tries.
Unfortunately for the home team, solid free throw shooting wasn’t enough to stick with Owensboro in the second half, as the visitors hung 27 points on the board in the third period of play. After trailing by a score of 35-23 at the break, a 27-10 disadvantage in the third quarter meant that Daviess County would enter the fourth quarter trailing 62-33.
For the remainder of the contest, both teams emptied their benches, giving their youngsters some much-needed experience in a classic and rowdy district basketball environment. A bright spot for the Panthers came by way of youngster Houston Oberst, who finished the game in a scoring flurry, tallying 12 points in total on the night.
As is often the case for Daviess County, the team was paced by junior standout Cole Burch, who finished the night with 24 points. Just one point off the game-high 25 poured in by Carbon, Burch proved himself a formidable offensive stalwart, even against the incredible defensive performance from the visitors.
But in the end, all the smiles were had by the Red Devils, as Rod Drake gushed about his star player in the moments following the final horn.
“Carbon is a tough player,” Drake said. “Sometimes it looks like he’s going through the motions, but he’s always scoring and getting in passing lanes on defense. He’s always under control even though he moves quickly, and he’s already in basketball shape even after a football injury pretty recently.”
Both teams will have a quick turnaround as the Red Devils play host to Heritage Hills on Saturday night, while Daviess County travels to South Warren to match up with Logan County also on Saturday. Those games are scheduled for 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. tip-offs respectively.
