Jim Mashek

BGHS COACH D.G. SHERRILL: “IN THIS RIVALRY, WINS ARE HARD TO COME BY …”

Warren Central High School’s boys basketball team is the defending KHSAA Sweet 16 state champion, and the Bowling Green Purples have seen enough of them, over the years, to understand why.

The Purples wanted to use their speed and quickness, in the open court, on Friday night in another KHSAA 14th District showdown at the BGHS Arena. As you might expect, the Dragons had the inside strength to protect their basket, to force Bowling Green into a deliberate, half-court affair.

The Dragons’ plan gave them a chance, and kept it close, but Bowling Green was equal to the task.

Bowling Green claimed the No. 1 seed in the four-team 14th District Tournament later this month, using a sturdy defensive effort to stop Warren Central, 46-41. The Purples, ranked ninth statewide this week by the Courier-Journal, extended their winning streak to 15 games while improving to 22-4 overall and 6-0 in district play.

“In this rivalry,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said, “wins are hard to come by.”

Warren Central, a team that’s had to make significant changes over the course of the season, dropped to 9-9 overall and 4-2 in 14th District play. The Dragons had to wait on WKU signee Kade Unseld to complete rehab on his injured left knee — he underwent meniscus surgery in the fall — and it’s been something of a balancing act for veteran WCHS coach William Unseld and his staff in the interim.

“We’re right there. We’re right there,” Warren Central coach William Unseld told Micheal Compton of the Bowling Green Daily News. “Just a couple of plays away. We are all right. I like where we are. We’ve just got to keep getting better. We’ve got a couple more weeks. We just have to start making shots …

“I like where we are. I hope we get a chance to play them another time or two.”

That will be the expectation, because Warren Central had to defeat Bowling Green four times — including the Dragons’ 52-50 overtime victory in the KHSAA 4th Region championship game — last season, when William Unseld guided a team for the ages to a 36-1 record and the school’s second state title.

“We took them to overtime twice last year,” Sherrill said. “That tells you a lot about this rivalry … Both teams play well with a lead. They’ve got a (future) Division I player (Kade Unseld), and when he’s got the ball in his hands, he’s exceptional.

“It wasn’t always pretty, but these kinds of basketball games are about ‘stops’ and rebounding.”

That’s where 6-foot-8 BGHS center Mason Ritter comes in.

Ritter, the rangy redhead bound for the Ivy League and Columbia University, played through some foul trouble and gave the Purples the last line of defense they need against the likes of Warren Central. Former BGHS forward Drevin Bratton gave the Purples all that they could handle, leading the Dragons with a game-high 15 points.

The Purples maintained a slim lead throughout the fourth quarter, and they’ll be facing a big test when they go on the road to face University of Kentucky signee Travis Perry and third-ranked Lyon County (22-3) in the Ackridge Ace Hardware Classic on Saturday night in Eddyville.

TIp-off for that game is scheduled for 8 p.m.

So, too, will the Dragons be challenging themselves in their Saturday road trip, the three-hour bus ride to Paducah for a non-district game against Paducah Tilghman (9-12). That game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start.

Warren Central’s Drevin Bratton said BGHS guard M.J. Wardlow gave the Purples the steady hand they needed to knock off the Dragons on Friday night. Wardlow led the Purples with 13 points and Sherrill’s squad escaped with their 15-game winning streak intact.

“We let M.J. get inside too much and he started making plays,” Bratton said. “We’ve just got to keep working.”

Bowling Green, looking to make its first Sweet 16 since the 2021 season, led 22-19 at halftime. The Purples were protecting a 33-32 margin after three quarters. Bowling Green limited Kade Unseld’s effectiveness, as Unseld finished the game with just six points. The Purples’ interior defense, anchored by Ritter under the basket, proved to be the difference.

“We had to fight through a lot of stuff,” BGHS point guard Deuce Bailey said.

“It was just a matter of keeping our head in the game,” Ritter added. “Move the ball on offense, rebound and defend.”

Ritter finished with 12 points while Bailey added 10. Warren Central’s Elijah Starks, another former BGHS player, had 11 points for the Dragons.

Players from both squads seemed to sense that they likely haven’t seen the last of each other.

“We’re goin’ to see them again. You can feel it,” Bratton said.