The Aces wore down Trinity (Whitesville) with their depth and defensive intensity throughout the night, while getting a dominant performance from junior Jody Hopgood in a 60-46 3rd Region All A Classic win.
The Raiders opened things up with a steal and a layup from senior Nate Hernandez, starting the night with a 7-0 run to force an Owensboro Catholic timeout with 5:57 left in the first quarter. But sloppy play on both sides led to a barrage of turnovers, with Trinity hanging onto a 13-9 lead going into the second.
The Aces bounced back early in the second by getting a couple of buckets inside, but it was a three from Parker Gray that evened things up at 16-16 with 4:05 left in the first half. It wasn’t until the final minute of the second quarter that Owensboro Catholic was able to grab its first lead of the night, getting a layup from junior Jody Hopgood and senior Brian Griffith to take a 26-23 lead and force a Raiders timeout amidst some fullcourt pressure with 25.3 seconds left in the quarter.
That defensive intensity allowed the Aces to nab a steal out of the timeout, leading to a rebound and put back by Hopgood at the buzzer—making it eight points in the quarter—to give Owensboro Catholic a 28-23 halftime lead.
Trinity was able to bounce back coming out of the locker room though, using a 6-1 run and knotting it up with five minutes to go in the third at 29-29 with a layup from senior Nick Goetz. The Aces didn’t budge though quickly turning things around later in the third with an 8-0 run to take a 41-33 lead.
Senior Gavin Howard drilled a three for the Raiders to end the run with just under two minutes to go, but a nice spin move from Gray led to a dish and layup for Hopgood to make 45-39 Owensboro Catholic just before the buzzer to end the third. The Aces took that momentum into the fourth, closing out the game strong with a solid effort on both ends of the floor.
Owensboro Catholic was able to hold Trinity to single digits in the fourth quarter, while sinking 9-12 from the charity stripe to close the door on the 60-46 win in the opening round of the 3rd Region All A Classic. Head Coach Tim Riley wasn’t pleased with how stagnant and careless the offense was with the ball at moments on the night (17 turnovers), but was glad the Aces turned things around and adjusted in the second half.
“I thought in the first half we all tried to do it by ourselves,” Riley said. “We didn’t move the basketball and whoever had the ball was going to go try and make the play one-on-whatever. In the second half we got a little bit more ball movement, got some better looks at the basket.”
Hopgood led the way with 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Aces, while Griffith (12), Gray (12) and junior Tutt Carrico (10) all finished in double figures for Owensboro Catholic. Hopgood was a monster inside for the Aces, as Riley said that he’s been very happy with what he’s brought to the team this season.
“Jody’s really good,” Riley said. “He’s just a long kid, playing tough and going to get the ball. That’s not his personality. Hasn’t ever been, but he’s playing like a pretty tough kid right now…He rebounded the crap out of the ball.”
Trinity did not have much luck on the night offensively, with Hernandez (12) and Huff (10) being the only players in double figures on the night. Head Coach Nathan West said that they struggled to take care of the basketball on the night and that paired with a disadvantage on the boards played a huge part in their loss to the Aces.
“The turnover issues were big,” West said. “A lot of turnovers, a lot of offensive rebounds. Those two things are just demoralizing… They have a good press, but we would have silly turnovers too. It’s one thing if they make a play and turn it over, but if you turn around and throw it into their hands or just not box out and they get a put back or foul [it kills momentum].”
West said that the moment of the big game might have affected the Raiders effort throughout the night, while pairing that with their depth to slow them down as the game progressed.
“I remember whenever I was a player you come out especially early for a big game and the adrenaline drains you,” West said. “Then the fact that they press and they’re pretty deep, I think that definitely had an impact throughout the game.”
West and company will look to turn things around with a more concerted effort on the glass and focus on taking care of the basketball on Friday, as they are set to host Webster County at 7:30 p.m.
“Gotta start doing a better job of winning the rebounding battle,” West said. “That’s been an issue all year and we were a really strong rebounding team last year. We haven’t had that same— I don’t know—desire, maybe. That’s my biggest issue and then obviously just valuing the basketball more and being a little bit more patient.”
On the other hand, Owensboro Catholic improves to 5-0 to start the season and will look to limit turnovers while continuing their winning ways on Friday, as they are set to take on district foe Daviess County at 7 p.m. at home.
