Owensboro Catholic battled through four overtimes to advance to the All-A State semifinals and Apollo dominated in an overtime victory against Trigg County at home on Friday, while Trinity (Whitesville) fell just short against Butler County in overtime.
Owensboro Catholic vs University Heights
A monster fourth quarter from University Heights led to four overtimes on Friday at All-A State, but it was the Aces that were able to narrowly hang on for a 61-60 win to advance to the semifinals.
Owensboro Catholic had control of the game early on, taking a 16-3 lead in the first quarter. But while the Aces proceeded to hold the Blazers to single digits in the next two quarters, Owensboro Catholic had only scored 18 points themselves over the second and third en route to a 34-18 lead heading into the fourth.
This caught up to the Aces in the fourth, as they were held to single digits for the second time on the night and a 22-point outburst for University Heights led to a 40-40 tie as regulation came to a close. The two teams matched each other in the first overtime, but the Blazers nearly ended the game with a buzzer-beater in the second overtime period.
However, the shot was said to have been released after the buzzer according to officials, sending the game into a third overtime period tied at 51-51. Both teams were only able to grab a bucket each in the ensuing period, with Owensboro Catholic missing a shot at the buzzer to send the game into a fourth overtime tied at 53-53.
The Aces got ahead early, taking a 55-54 lead with two minutes to play. They managed to stay out in front with a 61-60 lead with nine seconds to go and University Heights was unable to find a way to score again, giving Owensboro Catholic a crucial win to send them to the All-A State semifinals.
Lemar Northington led all scorers with 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, while Gavin Gribbs and Preston Thomas added 10 each. Senior Parker Gray led the Aces with 18 points and eight rebounds, while senior Brian Griffith had 17 points and 13 rebounds, sophomore Luke Beickman added 10 points and 11 rebounds and junior Jody Hopgood added nine points and six rebounds.
Four straight wins for Owensboro Catholic moves them to 20-2 overall, as they now look to keep it going in the All-A State semifinal matchup with Holy Cross on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Trinity (Whitesville) vs Butler County
Trinity (Whitesville) bounced back from a slow start to force overtime at home on Friday, but couldn’t hold off Ty Price, Lawson Rice and the Bears in a 71-66 loss.
Butler County had control of the game early on, as a three from seniors Landon Smith and Nate Hernandez were the Raiders only points in the quarter and went into the second trailing 17-6. But senior Landon Huff gave Trinity a spark with 14 points in the second, but Price grabbed 12 to keep the Bears out in front 32-27 at halftime.
Being outscored by just one in the third quarter, the Raiders found themselves still trying to close the gap down 46-40 heading into the fourth. Trinity’s offense caught steam in the fourth quarter though, as Hernandez and senior Nolan Mills had six each, while Huff added five and sophomore Hayden Aull knocked down a pair of free throws for 19 points.
But Rice and Butler County were determined to not go down without a fight, as he drilled a jumper as time expired to knot things up at 59-59 to send the game to overtime. Price and Rice didn’t slow down in overtime either, as they both put up four points each to outscore the Raiders themselves and help the Bears come away with the 71-66 win.
Price led all scorers with 31 points on the night, while Rice added 14 as the only other player in double figures for Butler County. Huff and Hernandez were the only players in double figures for Trinity, finishing the night with 24 and 21 respectively.
The Raiders fall to 10-11 with their fourth straight loss, as they will look to turn things around against a tough Ohio County team at 7:30 p.m. at home on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
Apollo vs Trigg County
It took some extra basketball to decide a winner between the Eagles and Trigg County on Friday, as Apollo recovered from a slow start to force overtime and grab a 62-53 win at home.
The Eagles struggled offensively in the first, quickly finding themselves down 15-7 heading into the second thanks to 10 points from junior Jhaden Vaughn. Apollo was able to crack double figures in the second quarter, but still had plenty of ground to make up heading into halftime down 31-19.
They were a completely different team coming out of the locker room though, as Apollo held the Wildcats to nine points in each the third and fourth quarter. Knocking down five second half threes in the process, the Eagles had managed to knot things up at 49-49 to send the contest into overtime.
In overtime it was senior Zjhan Tutt (six), freshman Kobe Kelly (five) and senior Donte Dixon (two) that combined for all 13 of Apollo’s points, limiting Trigg County to four points in the meantime to seal the 62-53 win. Tutt led all scorers with 27 points, while Dixon scored all 13 of his points in the second half, junior Kajiah Green chipped in 11 and Kelly finished with nine.
Apollo snaps its five-game losing streak and improves to 4-16 overall with the win, as they’ll look to carry that momentum into a road matchup with Allen County-Scottsville at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
