Fullcourt pressure from Owensboro Catholic began to wear on Breckinridge County in the second half on Saturday night, helping propel the Aces to 73-61 win and their fifth 3rd Region Championship berth in eight seasons under Head Coach Tim Riley.
Owensboro Catholic got off to a rough start on the night, as the Fighting Tigers went on a 6-0 run to hold onto the lead for almost the first four minutes of the night. Sophomore Luke Beickman gave the Aces their first bucket of the night with 4:10 to go in the first quarter after an offensive rebound by junior Tutt Carrico, but the slow start ailed them and had Breckinridge County up 11-10 heading into the second.
But Owensboro Catholic wouldn’t be denied the lead for long, going on a two-minute 9-0 run late in the third that was capped off by a corner three from sophomore Waryn Ebelhar. This gave the Aces a slight edge going into the break, holding a narrow 32-27 lead.
The Fighting Tigers began to be frustrated by Owensboro Catholic’s fullcourt pressure coming out of the locker room though, as they were able to limit their fouls and swiftly change the tempo of the game in their favor. This led to plenty of transition buckets for the Aces, helping them grab a 52-40 lead going into the fourth.
“We quit fouling so much [in the second half] I thought,” Head Coach Tim Riley said. “We ended up putting them in the double bonus, but that was late in the game when they were just attacking the rim. We fouled too much in the first half, which slows the game down. It lets everybody catch their breath. If we’re going to press we don’t want to foul all the time.”
Breckinridge County bounced back and was able to cut it to 54-46 to start the fourth with 6:10 to go in the night, but Owensboro Catholic’s offense never slowed down. They eclipsed the 20-point mark for the third straight quarter in the fourth, as the Aces were able to hang on and grab a 73-61 win and a trip to the 3rd Region Championship for the fifth time in eight seasons.
“It’s a great win that puts us in the regional finals on Tuesday night and that’s all you can ask for,” Riley said. “When you’re in the 9th District you know you’re going to go opposite of one of the best teams in the region before the regional tournament. So you just gotta get to the tournament and give yourself a chance.”
Owensboro Catholic had a number of players get involved in the night offensively, with senior Brian Griffith’s 21 leading the way, while Beickman had 18 and senior Parker Gray chipped in 11. The sophomore guard Beikman played a big role in the win for the Aces, being a reliable playmaker despite not having much 3rd Region Tournament experience under his belt.
“He’s a good player,” Riley said. “He’s young, but he’s a good player. He has a great ability to score the ball. He’s a solid player… He’s got a little bounce about him. He’s a nice athlete.”
The strong night offensively might not have come without a dominant showing on the defensive end though, as Riley said that their fullcourt pressure had the Fighting Tigers flustered.
“I thought we forced them into a number of turnovers,” Riley said. “I thought that was really important. They like to run their set stuff and we needed to make them uncomfortable. They did not have a lot of luck with their set stuff.”
The Aces will now see cross-town 9th District rival Owensboro in the 3rd Region Championship on Tuesday at 7 p.m., marking the fourth matchup between the two this season. Owensboro Catholic grabbed both regular season games, before most recently falling 69-55 in the 9th District Championship on Feb. 24.
