Jim Mashek

KATY SMILEY SCORES 22 POINTS AS LADY PURPLES TURN BACK GLASGOW, 56-49

GLASGOW — Deuce Bailey had just finished closing the door on Bowling Green High School’s eighth KHSAA state football championship, and he pondered the question.

Does he take a little time off, before joining the promising BGHS boys basketball team? Or does he jump right into the fray?

“We gave Deuce the option,” veteran Bowling Green coach D.G. Sherrill said. “I thought he’d like to take a little break. It had been a long (football) season.

“He showed up the next day (for practice).”

Bailey, the Purples’ junior quarterback/point guard, was on the court Friday night for a non-district game with Glasgow High School. So, too, was 6-foot-9 senior center Mason Ritter, who’s headed to the Ivy League, and Columbia University, after high school, and senior guard M.J. Wardlow, an experienced hand in the backcourt.

The Purples are very much a work in progress, but they had too much firepower for the Scotties.

Ritter scored 25 points, and Wardlow added 22, as Bowling Green cruised to an 82-60 victory over Glasgow. Bailey finished with 11 points and may have made his greatest contribution distributing the ball, an area in which he’s also excelled on the football field.

Under the opponents’ basket, with Ritter roaming the paint, Bailey is particularly effective.

“I’m just trying to get a feel for things,” Bailey said with a smile after it was over. “I’ve only had two practices. I’ve just got to get in the gym a lot more. Basketball conditioning, that sort of thing.”

Ritter, for one, is thrilled he’s back.

“(Glasgow) just couldn’t keep up with our fast break,” he said. “We’ve got some work to do, on keeping our defense together. But we’re glad (Bailey) is back. We were able to get out, run, and get some layups.”

Or dunks, in Ritter’s case.

Glasgow (2-2) led for nearly the entire first quarter. Senior guard John Carter Walbert hit a stop-and-pop 3-pointer to make it 18-10 with about 90 seconds left in the quarter, and the Scotties were in front 20-13 when the horn sounded for the end of the quarter.

That’s when things changed.

Quickly.

Bailey scored in the opening moments of the second quarter, and senior guard M.J. Wardlow hit two free throws to make it 20-17 with seven minutes left in the first half. Then backup guard Luke Idlett, a deadly outside shooter, drilled a 3-point field goal from the right corner to tie things up at 20.

Bailey got the ball to Ritter for a fast-break dunk to give the Purples the lead at 22-20, and senior guard Ishmael Holcomb scored on a reverse layup, also on the fast break, to extend the lead to four points.

Glasgow kept it close for a while, but Ritter had dunks on back-to-back possessions for the Purples, and Bailey inbounded the ball to Ritter for an easy basket, with the Purples’ senior center using the glass to make it 33-27.

Ritter had two more dunks in the second quarter, and came up with a blocked shot just before halftime to send the Purples into the locker room with a 16-point advantage.

“Mason just has to hold his ground, and we know he’s a willing passer,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said. “He’s always been an unselfish player. We played so poorly, offensively, in our last game (a 44-37 home loss to Elizabethtown on Tuesday night). I told our guys, ‘Go out, get some layups, get to the free-throw line, get some easy baskets,’ and that kind of set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Bowling Green stayed comfortably in front in the second half, leading by as many as 33 points. The Scotties’ J.C. Walbert led his team with 16 points, while teammates Jerrick Martin and Jeremiah Driver added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Bowling Green will face Washington County on Saturday night, at the Kentucky Straight Apparel Classic in Bardstown. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Glasgow will travel to play South Warren on Tuesday night.

BOWLING GREEN GIRLS 56, GLASGOW 49 — Bowling Green outscored the Lady Scotties 10-2 over the final three minutes to claim the victory in the opening game.

Veteran BGHS coach Calvin Head and his staff are working with a lot of new faces, and girls in different roles from previous seasons. The Lady Purples have won four consecutive KHSAA 4th Region championships, but Saniyah Shelton has left for Eastern Kentucky University, and her former BGHS teammate, Meadow Tisdale, is now toiling at Northern Kentucky University.

Because of a scheduling problem, Friday night’s game proved to be the season opener for the Lady Purples. Glasgow dropped to 0-3 with the loss.

“There was some angst out there,” Head said, “but I think we were able to speed the game up enough, late in the game, to get the win. We have to be a lot more disciplined, especially on defense.

“Everything now is teachable. We’re coaching with the end (of the season) in mind.”

Junior guard/forward Katy Smiley, who emerged as one of the Lady Purples’ top scoring threats last season, led Bowling Green with 22 points. Undersized point guard NaTaya Wardlow hit some critical free throws late in the game and added 13 points.

Glasgow guard Addy Slagle, an eighth grader, led her team with 22 points.

“I think a lot of people are doubting us,” Smiley said, “but we’re gonna be just fine.”

Metcalfe County, a 4th Region semifinalist last season, visits Bowling Green in the State Farm 4th Region Challenge at BGHS on Saturday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Glasgow, meanwhile, will tangle with Franklin-Simpson in the 5 p.m. game, also part of the 4th Region Challenge.