THE THIRD QUARTER WITH A STEAL
AND LEFT-HANDED LAYUP.
SHERRILL EMPTIES HIS BENCH IN ROUT; PANTHERS CLAIM FIRST 4th REGION VICTORY SINCE 1990
The night started with Cumberland County High School’s boys basketball team making a bit of history against Barren County.
And it ended with Bowling Green High School throttling Russellville in the nightcap, 85-62, in a game in which 11 Purples players got in the scoring column.
Bowling Green, the state’s ninth-ranked team, will tangle with Cumberland County next Monday at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena, a layoff BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill is less than thrilled with. On the other hand, they’ve got no problem with the logistics in Burkesville, as Cumberland County won in KHSAA 4th Region Play for the first time since 1990.
The year Cumberland County coach Kurtis Claywell was born.
Cumberland County, the KHSAA 16th District champion, used a steely fourth quarter to eliminate Barren County, 54-50, in the first of four 4th Region quarterfinal games. The tournament resumes on Wednesday with Logan County facing defending KHSAA Sweet 16 state champion Warren Central at 6 p.m., followed by a matchup between Glasgow High School, the 15th District winner, and Metcalfe County.
Barren County finished its season with a 20-13 record. The Trojans led Cumberland County, 38-34, after three quarters, but the Panthers struck quickly when they returned to the floor for the final period. Devon Norris hit an open 3-pointer, trimming the Cumberland deficit to a single point, before teammate Byron Crawley scored and was fouled for a three-point play that put the Panthers in front, 40-38.
Bowling Green, meanwhile, won for the 21st time in its last 22 games while improving to 27-5 overall.
IMPROVED TO 27-5 ON THE SEASON.
TEAMMATES ZACHERY HARWOOD AND BRADEN PERDUE.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY 54, BARREN COUNTY 50
Cumberland County did the bulk of its damage near the basket in striking for the dramatic victory over Barren County.
The Panthers had not win at Diddle Arena, in the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament, since defeating Barren County in 1990. They found their winning touch in the fourth quarter, when they outscored Barren County 20-12 on the way to victory.
“We’re enjoying the ride right now,” Cumberland County coach Kurtis Claywell said.
Cumberland County’s Zachery Harwood carried the Panthers in the first half, scoring 13 of their 22 points while grabbing eight rebounds and blocking three shots. Barren County was able to limit Harwood’s effectiveness, at least somewhat, after the break, but that’s when Cumberland’s Braden Perdue pretty much stole the show.
LED BARREN COUNTY
WITH 18 POINTS.
SCORES ON A DRIVE TO THE BASKET.
TO COMPLETE THE TASK AT HAND.
Perdue hit one clutch basket after another and led the Panthers with 20 points. The Cumberland County forward also finished with six rebounds and two assists, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, usually within six to eight feet of the basket.
“To win at Cumberland County, it means a great deal to me, personally,” Claywell said. “The guys will be excited to come back to Bowling Green in a few days.”
Warren Cunningham, the Barren County coach, said he’d be “scratching my head for a long time” in evaluating the loss to the Panthers.
Crawley scrambled for a loose ball, moments later, and scored on a layup to extend Cumberland’s lead to four points. Cumberland’s Braden Perdue and Zachery Harwood scored before the Trojans could finally respond.
“That (third-quarter) lead was gone quick,” Cunningham said.
IS JOINED BY BCHS TEAMMATES
TATE SPILLMAN (LEFT) AND BREY BEWLEY.
ITS FIRST 4th REGION VICTORY SINCE 1990.
ITS SEASON WITH A 20-13 RECORD.
Junior guard Tate Spillman turned in a strong performance for the Trojans, leading the team with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Barren County’s Brey Bewley finished with 17 points, on 7-of-11 shooting, with two assists and two steals.
No other Barren County player scored more than four points.
Only four Cumberland players got in the scoring column, but the Panthers outscored Barren 36-18 in the paint while limiting the Trojans to just two fast-break points.
“We had a really good season,” Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said. “You like to end it, with back-to-back losses (Glasgow defeated BC, 74-62, in last week’s 15th District championship game) … Our five seniors — most of them played on the junior varsity last year — they’ve really been good ambassadors for our school, our basketball team.”
Cumberland’s Zachery Harwood looks like he’d be hell on wheels, on the football field, but the Burkesville school doesn’t sanction football. This would be a victory the Panthers would be savoring for a while.
“It’s pretty big, for our little ‘county’ school,” Harwood said. “Coming in and proving everyone wrong is a great feeling.”
GRABS A FOURTH-QUARTER REBOUND.
BOWLING GREEN 85, RUSSELLVILLE 62
Bowling Green raced to a 32-17 lead after the first quarter and never looked back in eliminating the Panthers.
Junior guard Deuce Bailey had 10 of his team-high 13 points in the first quarter, showing a flair for the dramatic like he did in last week’s KHSAA 14th District Tournament at South Warren High School. The Purples hit 13 of 18 shots, or 72 percent, in the first quarter, while getting seven players in the scoring column.
“We’ve started like that most of the year,” Bailey said. “It’s better to stay ahead instead of come from behind. Getting the jump on teams makes it easier on us.”
HAD NINE POINTS AND 12 REBOUNDS.
QUICKLY TOOK CONTROL AGAINST RUSSELLVILLE.
It certainly made it hard for the Panthers to keep things competitive. Russellville finished its season at 6-27.
“We got off to a great start,” Bowling Green coach D.G. Sherrill said. “I thought somewhere in the middle of the game there, we kind of got a little loose, defensively. We’ve got to lock things down a little bit, but give credit to Russellville … They attacked, and kept playing fast. They hit some shots …
“When you are over here at Diddle Arena, you just try to do whatever you can do to get a win and move onto the next basketball game.”
Sherrill used his bench extensively in the second half, and 12 different Purples players scored in the game. Backup guards Luke Idlett and Kadyn Carpenter both finished with 12 points, Idlett closing the third quarter with a steal and nifty left-handed layup just before the horn sounded.
THE PURPLES’ M.J. WARDLOW (FROM LEFT),
DEUCE BAILEY AND MASON RITTER.
AND THE PURPLES WERE
ACTIVE ON THE BOARDS.
M.J. Wardlow, the Purples’ do-it-all senior guard, had 11 points and seven rebounds for the night, while 6-foot-8 senior center Mason Ritter was steady near the basket. Ritter finished the game with nine points, a team-high 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Sherrill admitted the long wait for Monday’s semifinal game against Cumberland County was less than ideal, but the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament will resume with the girls semifinals on Thursday before the championship game is held on Saturday night. The KHSAA girls Sweet 16 begins next Wednesday at Lexington’s Rupp Arena, with the boys’ tournament to take place the following week.
“I understand why the tournament is set up the way that it is, but it is difficult with these long breaks,” Sherrill said. “You play, and then you have a long break. It’s really hard to keep a rhythm going. You want no more than a couple of days off and then play again. I understand there is a girls’ tournament, too ,and the girls are going through the same thing we are, but it is hard to get a rhythm.”
Octavious McKeage led Russellville with 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Panthers teammate Eli McHenry finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
HIS TEAM WITH 24 POINTS AND 14 REBOUNDS.
LIKES THE FLIGHT OF TEAMMATE
KADYN CARPENTER’s 3-POINTER.
FROM DIDDLE ARENA AND
SEE PIPER WAITING FOR ME …