NewCath boys break through in All "A" Semifinals

G. Michael Graham Photo. Newport Central Catholic point guard Michael Bueter dribbles against Knott County Central's Camron Justice (5) while Evan Hall (24) gets into position. Bueter scored 21 points to go along with two assists and three steals as the Thoroughbreds beat the Patriots, 49-44 to advance to their first All "A" State Championship game since winning it all in 2000.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

FRANKFORT – The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds boys basketball team wanted nothing more than to end the unwanted streak Saturday.

The Thoroughbreds came into the All “A” State Tournament with an 0-4 mark in semifinal contests since winning the championship in 2000. The tournament favorites had to knock off the 14th Region champion Knott County Central Patriots from the mountains of eastern Kentucky to do that.

NewCath held off a KCC rally in the fourth quarter to accomplish the feat, 49-44. The Thoroughbreds (21-2) have won nine in a row. The Patriots (20-4) had won 9-of-10 contests coming into the game. The Thoroughbreds had lost in the semifinals in 2011, 2006, 2005 and 2004 and are 18-9 in the tournament all-time.

“That’s a testimony to our kids,” said Grant Brannen, NewCath head coach. “We’re really proud of them. We’ve had a tough road. We had to play four games from our (9th) region to get here. We had to win seven in a row to get here. We have to win two more than in the NCAA Tournament. But we have one more to go and these kids know that. It will be a tough one with Bardstown.”

The Thoroughbreds face the 19-5 Bardstown Tigers at 2:30 p.m. back at the Frankfort Convention Center for the title. The 5th Region champion Tigers beat Bishop Brossart, 58-50 in the other semifinal contest.

Brannen wanted to see NewCath make more three-pointers because teams would eventually start to sag down against the Thoroughbred big men in 6-foot-8-inch Jake Schulte, 6-5 Nick Seibert and 6-6 Drew McDonald so NewCath needed to hit more outside shots. Senior guard Michael Bueter answered the call making 3-of-6 three-pointers and 4-of-6 free throws on his way to a game-high 21 points.

“It’s great to see NCC represented well down here,” Bueter said. “My role is to knock down shots and get these big boys open. Once I do that, it’s a little easier for them to go to work. I feed off them well because they draw so much attention. As a leader, I have to get everyone ready to go.”

KCC ran a 2-2-1 zone press trying to catch up. The Thoroughbreds turned the ball over just 10 times and recorded nine assists to 16 turnovers and eight assists for the Patriots. Zach Pangallo led NewCath with six assists.

NewCath made 20-of-43 shots overall for 47 percent, including 4-of-13 from three-point range. Pangallo made the other one for the Thoroughbreds after they made just two triples combined in the wins over Somerset and Louisville Holy Cross in the first two games of the tournament.

The Patriots doubled and tripled the NewCath posts every time they touched the ball. Only Schulte came away with double-figures with 12 points and eight rebounds. Schulte hit all six shots and blocked a shot.

“It was really frustrating,” McDonald said. “They really packed it in. They saw the first two games where they pounded it down low to myself and Jake and we scored. But Mike and Zach hit some big threes to open things up for us down low.”

But each player that came in still did little things to help the Thoroughbreds to the victory. NewCath held KCC to 38 percent (15-of-40) shooting from the field, including 4-of-16 from three-point range for 25 percent.

Schulte drew the tough assignment of defending Patriot post Evan Hall. Hall scored just one point on a free throw after torching Owen County for 22 points in the quarterfinals.

“Our goal was to front him,” Schulte said. “We also had good help-side defense. That’s what won us the game.”

Guard Camron Justice led the Patriots with 20 points making all seven free throws. Teammate Chance Cornett followed with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Free-throw shooting made the came close at the end. The Thoroughbreds made just 5-of-11 for 46 percent compared to 10-of-13 for 77 percent for the Patriots. But Bueter made 4-of-6 free throws in the game’s final 1:25 to seal the win for the Thoroughbreds.

NewCath fell behind 5-2 to start the game. But Buter made two three-pointers to give the Thoroughbreds the lead for good at 8-7 with 2:45 remaining in the quarter. Pangallo followed with a three-pointer and Schulte and Bueter added buckets to cap a 7-0 NewCath run to give the Thoroughbreds a 15-7 lead after the first quarter.

Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter. Schulte hit a lay-up with 6:54 left in the quarter for NewCath’s lone score. But the Patriots managed just six points in that quarter as the Thoroughbreds led 17-13 at halftime. McDonald and Bueter picked up two fouls in the first half and had to sit some.

“The goal for the second quarter was not to necessarily push up the lead, but sustain it,”Brannen said. “I told them at halftime we pushed basketball back 50 years. It was real entertaining to watch there in the second quarter.”

The Thoroughbreds pulled away in the third quarter with a 14-1 run to go up 31-14 with 2:34 left in the stanza. Bueter scored off a couple steals during that run for NewCath. The Thoroughbreds led 33-23 entering the fourth quarter.

Both teams will be aiming for their second state championship. Bardstown won it in 2006 and lost on a last-second shot to Covington Holy Cross, 52-51 last year.