G. Michael Graham Photo. Newport Central Catholic center Drew McDonald goes up for a shot in Wednesday's 9th Region quarterfinal game against St. Henry. The Thoroughbreds battle Covington Catholic in the semifinals at Noon on Sunday.
By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
Entering the weekend, all four Highlands and Newport Central Catholic basketball teams remain alive in the 9th Region Tournament.
G. Michael Graham. Newport Central Catholic forward Jake Schulte looks for a teammate in Friday's win over Covington Holmes. Schulte had eight points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots in the win.
By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
HIGHLAND
HEIGHTS – The same strategy that’s helped them all season helped again in
another big game.
The Newport
Central Catholic Thoroughbreds like to find the hot hands and use their
versatility to overwhelm opponents. It helped them to a crucial 72-57 9th Region
win over the Covington Holmes Bulldogs on Friday.
They have
been labeled 9th Region favorites once again.
That’s
because the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds have the size and depth to
give teams problems in addition to adding some key players. A familiar face in
Head Coach Ron Dawn returns to the sidelines this year after Grant Brannen took
the same position at Walton-Verona last spring.
Dawn takes
over a team that returns three starters from last year’s 30-3 squad that won
its fifth straight 36th District Tournament crown. The Thoroughbreds won the
All “A” State Tournament and rode an 18-game winning streak into the 9th Region
Tournament at the Bank of Kentucky Center on Northern Kentucky University’s
campus.
FRANKFORT –
It came down to a battle of size against speed and whichever basketball team
controlled the tempo to its liking would most likely come out victorious.
That turned
out to be the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds in the All “A” Boys State
Championship on Sunday at the Frankfort Convention Center. They slowed the
tempo down, pounded the ball inside to their tall posts and ran away for a
75-54 win over the Bardstown Tigers for their second state championship. The
other title came in 2000.
The
Thoroughbreds have won 10 in a row to move to 22-2 since dropping consecutive
games to defending state champion Louisville Trinity and Covington Catholic.
They had lost in their four previous appearances in the state semifinals,
including 2011.
“I told the guys this morning that we have to play to
our identity,” said Grant Brannen,
NewCath head coach. “We have to move the
ball around and execute our plays. Those kids did it to perfection. They came
ready.”
The Tigers (19-6)
also came into the game with hopes of winning their second title, but had to
settle for runner-up honors to another 9th Region opponent. They lost 52-51 on
a last-second shot to Covington Holy Cross last year.
“They used their mismatches and we should have used
ours and capitalized on them as well,”
said James Brewer, Bardstown head coach. “That’s
a good team. My guys played hard from day one until now. I’m very proud of
them. It just wasn’t God’s will for us to come out victorious.”
NewCath
again had balanced scoring as four of the five starters reached double-figures.
It started in the paint with Drew McDonald. The tournament’s Most Valuable
Player tore Bardstown up in the interior for a double-double of 21 points and
11 rebounds. McDonald made 8-of-13 shots and 5-of-6 free-throw attempts. He
added four assists and two blocked shots.
“Our size just killed them,” McDonald said. “They
couldn’t guard Jake and me down low, and we took advantage of it. I have two
years (of high school) left and I’m looking forward to them. But I’m definitely
going to enjoy this.”
Senior
guard Michael Bueter matched McDonald’s efforts with 21 points and four assists.
He made 5-of-8 shots including 2-of-4 from downtown and 9-of-11 free-throw
attempts.
Bueter and
Jake Schulte joined McDonald on the All-Tournament Team. Schulte had 12 points
making 6-of-8 shots and nabbing eight rebounds to go with two blocked shots.
Nick
Seibert and Zach Pangallo also had good games for the Thoroughbreds. Seibert
finished with 11 points making 3-of-6 shots and all five free-throw attempts
and added three steals.
Pangallo
directed the offense against Bardstown’s 2-2-1 press. He finished with eight
points making the other 2-of-4 NewCath three-point shots.
“We saw the scouting report and saw the middle was
wide open so we wanted to get the ball to the middle,” Pangallo said. “We
do our best to stay calm and get the ball up the court as fast as we can. We
don’t try to rush things because we don’t want any dumb turnovers.”
Seibert
again drew a tough defensive task against Bardstown guard Devonte Grundy.
Seibert used his 6-foot-5-inch frame to limit Grundy to 14 points and 12
rebounds. Grundy made just 5-of-20 shots, including one three-pointer and all
three free-throw attempts.
“We know that defense wins games,” Seibert said. “My
job is to make guys go to the basket. I have two tall bigs that are going to
help me at all times. We just played hard. That’s what got the job done.”
Elijay
Cowherd came off the bench and led Bardstown with 21 points on 3-of-5 from
three-point range. He added three assists.
But the
Thoroughbreds held Marcus Cosby to seven points. Cosby made just 2-of-6 shots
including 1-of-4 from three-point range.
Bardstown
won the rebounding battle, 35-26 including 21-6 on the offensive glass. But the
Tigers still did not shoot better than the Thoroughbreds and outscored NewCath
just 16-11 on second-chance points.
NewCath
again shot an astounding 25-of-42 from the field for 60 percent and made
21-of-25 free throws for 84 percent. Bardstown made just 19-of-60 shots for 32
percent and 11-of-12 free throws for 92 percent.
The
Thoroughbreds put the game away with an 18-0 run in the second half. That
ballooned their 38-37 lead with 3:25 left in the third to 56-37 with 6:31 left
in the game. McDonald scored seven during that run.
“Getting that double-digit lead was huge,” Brannen said. “We
went on a nice run and were able to put it away.”
The Tigers
cut the margin to 11 once after that when Cosby scored on a three-point play. That
made the score 60-49 in favor of NewCath with 4:14 remaining in the game.
McDonald
had given NewCath the lead for good at 35-33 with 6:06 remaining in the third.
Schulte assisted on the play.
NewCath
finished the first half with a 5-0 run to go up 31-26 at halftime. Schulte
scored on an offensive putback and Pangallo made a triple.
There were
10 lead changes prior to that point. Bardstown’s largest lead was one point on
three separate occasions.
The Thoroughbreds
return to action Tuesday. They cross the Ohio River to face North College Hill
at 7:30 p.m.
Photo by Edward Moorhead. Newport Central Catholic center Jake Schulte (33) goes up for a shot in Wednesday's game at Dixie Heights. Schulte scored 11 points as NewCath held off Dixie Heights, 65-63 for its second win in as many days to start the season.
By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
EDGEWOOD – It
never feels like any lead is safe when your opponent is junior Brandon Hatton.
The Newport
Central Catholic Thoroughbreds basketball team found that out Wednesday.
NewCath built a double-digit lead and had to fend off a furious rally by Hatton
and the Dixie Heights Colonels in a 65-63 victory.
But the Thoroughbreds
will take it. NewCath (2-0) won its second game in as many nights for just the
second time over the Colonels (0-1) since Grant Brannen took over as head coach
seven years ago. The Thoroughbreds lost to the Colonels the previous two years
to open the season.
The two
teams met in the epic 2011 9th Region title game. Dixie Heights won it, 79-76
in quadruple-overtime.
NewCath led
57-41 with 5:41 left in the final stanza. But Hatton scored six straight points
on his way to a 22-point second half to lead the Colonel rally. The
6-foor-3-inch junior finished with 32 points.
NewCath
senior forward Nick Seibert guarded Hatton the entire game. The Thoroughbreds
threw an extra player at him in the second half. But Hatton still knocked down
shots. Hatton finished with seven three-pointers.
“I told the guys at halftime, ‘If you’re up 15, 20 or
25, it doesn’t matter,” Brannen said.
“I’ve never seen an individual
performance like that. I’m proud of the way our guys fought. We got a little
rattled and had some turnovers there at the end.”
But NewCath
had better balance with three players in double-digits. Senior guard Michael
Bueter led the way with 23 points with posts Drew McDonald and Jake Schulte adding
19 and 11 points respectively. Schulte had a dunk on a nice lob from Zach
Pangallo with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
The
Thoroughbreds will have a height advantage on many opponents this year.
McDonald, a sophomore, stands at 6-7 and Schulte stands at 6-8. The NewCath
roster lists all 14 players at 5-10 and taller. Schulte and McDonald did face
constant double-teams
“I’m looking to see where (opponents) are playing me
and realize the double-team is coming so I try to find the open guy or make a
nice move and put (the basketball) in,”
McDonald said. “We’re happy we got the
win and are looking to move on.”
It was the
inside game that helped the Thoroughbreds build a double-digit advantage.
NewCath led 14-7 after the first quarter, 32-17 at halftime and 50-36 entering
the final stanza.
“We played within ourselves,” Brannen said. “We
had a nice inside-outside game and worked it around.”
Hatton
scored nine points in Dixie’s 14-2 run that cut the margin to 59-55 with 2:12
left in the game. But the Thoroughbreds made all six free throws down the
stretch to win the game. Bueter made all four attempts and McDonald hit the
other two.
Overall,
Dixie Heights made eight three-pointers to two for NewCath. Bueter made both
triples for NewCath.
The
Thoroughbreds do not play again until Tuesday in another big 9th Region
showdown at 7:30 p.m. NewCath takes on the host Cooper Jaguars (1-0) in a
battle between the two 9th Region preseason favorites.
