It took some extra basketball to decide the 3rd Region All-A Classic Semifinals winner between Owensboro Catholic and Hancock County and Trinity (Whitesville) topped Muhlenberg County at home, while Owensboro and Apollo fell short in its respective matchups on Tuesday.
Owensboro Catholic vs. Hancock County
The Aces were able to come out on top after the Hornets forced overtime, winning a tough game over Hancock County 63-55 to advance to the 3rd Region All-A Classic Championship.
Owensboro Catholic got off to a strong start defensively, limiting the Hornets to single digits to take a 14-7 lead into the second. The Aces matched their offensive production in the second quarter, but Hancock County’s Ryan Ogle (three threes) and Kaleb Keown (two threes) combined for five threes to limit their deficit to 28-25 going into the locker room.
But the Aces responded with three of their own from beyond the arc themselves in the third, which helped them take a 41-36 lead going into the fourth. Owensboro Catholic were able to hit two more threes in the fourth, but Keown was able to grab 12 of the team’s 17 points to help the Hornets claw their way to a tie ballgame at 53-53 and force overtime.
The Aces were able to finally stifle Hancock County in overtime though, holding them to one basket while getting 10 points from senior Brian Griffith (four), sophomore Luke Beickman (four) and senior Parker Gray (two) to close the door on a 63-55 win. Griffith led the way with 17 while Gray followed closely with 16, as Beickman and junior Tutt Carrico added 10 and nine each respectively.
Owensboro Catholic improves to 11-1 overall with the win, now having some time off to prepare for a weekend road battle with Meade County at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Trinity (Whitesville) vs Muhlenberg County
A strong first half defensively paired with a balanced offensive attack led Trinity (Whitesville) to a 57-52 home win over Muhlenberg County on Tuesday.
The Raiders set the tone out of the gates by limiting the Mustangs to nine points in the first and eight points in the second in order to take a 25-17 lead going into halftime. Trinity was outscored by Muhlenberg County in the second half 35-32, but it was too little too late as the Raiders were able to hang on for the 57-52 win.
Senior Landon Huff led the way with 18 points, while senior Landon Smith had 13, senior Nate Hernandez had 10 and seniors Nick Goetz and Nolan Mills had eight each. Trinity advances to 7-4 with its second straight win, as they will now prepare for a road matchup with Breckinridge County at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Owensboro vs. Breckinridge County
Despite leading at halftime, the Red Devils couldn’t slow down Breckinridge County’s offense in the second half of a 70-62 road loss on Tuesday.
Getting points from seven different players in the first half, Owensboro found themselves narrowly leading 33-29 going into the locker room. The Red Devils still had a decent offensive performance in the second half, but the Fighting Tigers tallied 19 in the third and 22 in the fourth to help them sneak away with the 70-62 victory.
Sophomore Mercer Rogers (21) and senior Hunter Barr (15) combined for 36 of Breckinridge County’s points, while freshman Jonathan Moss and senior Kenyatta Carbon tallied 15 points each as the only two players to finish in double figures for Owensboro. The Red Devils fall to 10-4 overall with the loss, as they will look to bounce back in a tough road battle against McCracken County at 3:30 on Saturday.
Apollo vs. Butler County
The Eagles had no answer on either end of the floor for Butler County on Tuesday, as Ty Price led all scorers with 23 points in a 60-26 win.
Apollo held their own in the first, finding themselves trailing 20-10 heading into the second. But the Eagles were never able to find a rhythm offensively, being held to single digits in the next three quarters—including just one basket in the second—en route to the 60-26 defeat.
Senior Zjhan Tutt was the only player to score more than five for Apollo on the night, finishing the game with nine points. The Eagles fell to 1-10 with the loss, now having a few days to prepare for a Friday night road matchup with Henderson County at 7:30 p.m.
