Jim Mashek

M.J. WARDLOW, PURPLES ELIMINATE GREENWOOD; STARKS, DRAGONS TURN BACK SOUTH WARREN

M.J. Wardlow and the Bowling Green High School boys basketball team is ranked eighth in the state, according to the Courier-Journal in Louisville.

The Purples have won 19 of their last 20 games, played their typically tough non-district schedule and found different ways to take care of business.

Exhibit A, their impressive 80-52 rout of crosstown rival Greenwood High School in a do-or-die KHSAA 14th District semifinal at South Warren. With senior center Mason Ritter in foul trouble for much of the game, Bowling Green quickly becomes an undersized team.

But they are certainly athletic.

Wardlow struck for a game-high 19 points and BGHS teammate Deuce Bailey was equally flashy in striking for 17, as the Purples eliminated Greenwood on their way to Friday night’s 14th District championship game. Not surprisingly, Bowling Green will square off with archrival Warren Central in the title tilt, with both squads on their way to next month’s KHSAA 4th Region Tournament at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena.

Warren Central, the defending KHSAA Sweet 16 state champion, was sluggish at times but had too much firepower for homestanding South Warren. Elijah Starks scored a game-high 21 points as Warren Central ousted South Warren from postseason play on the Spartans’ home floor.

Warren Central defeated Bowling Green four times, two of them in overtime, on its way to the school’s second state championship last year. Bowling Green will be looking for a 3-0 mark against the Dragons, even though the stakes are minimized by the tournament format.

“Friday’s for fun,” WCHS coach William Unseld said. “We’ve got some injured kids (including Starks) so we’ll have to evaluate that, try to get through Friday and see who we get in the (regional) draw … And then go from there.”

BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill is taking a similar approach, although he added he “wants to win at marbles,” meaning anything that involves competition.

“Nobody will show their hand on Friday,” Sherrill said. “Friday’s for fun.”

BOWLING GREEN 80, GREENWOOD 52

Bowling Green’s Deuce Bailey had the hot hand early and teammate M.J. Wardlow turned in a spectacular performance as the Purples rolled into the championship game.

“I still do not understand why there is not a boatload of (college scholarship) offers for MJ Wardlow,” Sherrill said. “I’m sick to death of coaches telling me he is not big enough. They told me that about (former BGHS star) Terry Taylor too, and he’s in the NBA.

“You can’t measure a kid’s heart.”

Wardlow has a couple offers from smaller colleges in Kentucky, and he said Tuesday that the junior college route could be a viable option. Bailey, a junior, is being recruited in football as the Purples’ record setting quarterback.

The Purples have some interchangeable parts, outside of Ritter, and they made them work when the 6-foot-8 senior center was in foul trouble against Greenwood. In the second half, Ritter had more of an impact, and he had nine points on the night.

Sherrill went to his bench extensively in the fourth quarter, with an eye cast toward Friday night and beyond.

“Pace was going to be important in this game,” Sherrill said. “We worked on pressuring the ball all last week. We’ve got some quick hands and got to a lot of loose balls … I think we played a lot better, defensively, in the second half.”

Sherrill was picking nits, of course. Bowling Green led 40-19 at the break.

M.J. Wardlow seemed to embrace the challenge of playing with a smaller lineup.

“When Mason’s not in there, and the shot goes up, you go get (the rebound),” Wardlow said. “We knew what we had to do in this game.”

Senior forward Brady Clark led Greenwood with 12 points while teammate Nick Simpson finished with 11. The Gators finished the season at 14-17 overall but they failed to win any games against their district opponents. Overall, against 4th Region competition, GHS coach Will McCoy’s squad went 6-11.

WARREN CENTRAL 62, SOUTH WARREN 50

WCHS senior forward Elijah Starks, who transferred from Bowling Green High School and only became eligible to play in January, played through an ankle injury that could affect his availability in Friday night’s championship game.

Starks finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds as Warren Central (14-10 overall) won for the fifth time in six games.

“Elijah fought through it, he played hard,” Warren Central coach William Unseld said. “It was kind of an ugly win, but we’ll take it. It’s district tournament time. We took some bad shots, though, some ‘crazy’ bad shots … We got up 17 (points), and I said, ‘I don’t know what we’re doing. Y’all (the players) figure it out.”

Unseld’s body language in the second half reflected just that.

Second-year South Warren coach Carlos Quarles, a former colleague of Unseld’s at Warren Central, loses only three seniors from his squad that finished the season 14-11. One of them is senior guard Drew Hudson, who is on his way to Ohio State University on a volleyball scholarship.

Hudson has had to balance high school basketball and competitive club volleyball over the last few years. His father, Travis Hudson, is the WKU women’s volleyball coach, a top-flight team that’s a perennial NCAA Tournament qualifier.

“I’m proud of our team. We continued to fight,” Quarles said. “The margin of error is very low with a team like Warren Central.”

WKU signee Kade Unseld, the son of the Warren Central coach, struggled with his outside shooting but still finished with 14 points. Senior WCHS forward Drevin Bratton also had 14 points, while senior point guard Cadin Hammer finished with eight.

Drew Hudson led the Spartans with 15 points, while teammates Griffin Rardin and Bryce Button added 13 and 11, respectively. Rardin will move on to baseball — the Spartans were a state tournament quarterfinalist last year — and Button will turn his attention to his senior year in football. He’s beginning his third season as South Warren’s starting quarterback.