Jim Mashek

PURPLES CRUSH CUMBERLAND COUNTY, 68-34; STARKS, DRAGONS ROLL PAST GLASGOW, 71-36

Here we go again.

One year after Warren Central High School slipped past archrival Bowling Green, 52-50, in the KHSAA 4th Region championship game, the city’s premier programs are matched again with an opportunity to play their way to the Sweet 16 state tournament starting one week from Wednesday at Rupp Arena In Lexington.

Warren Central made the most of that opportunity, of course, closing an amazing 34-1 season with a gritty 64-60 victory over George Rogers Clark in the state championship game. The Dragons lost the bulk of that squad but returned for the 2023-24 season with plenty of promise, and they seem to have found an identity over the last two or three weeks of the season.

Warren Central drubbed Glasgow High School, 71-36, in the second of two 4th Region semifinal games on Monday night at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena, turning its attention to the championship game against Bowling Green on Tuesday.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Bowling Green, meanwhile, has been ranked statewide the entire season. The Purples won for the 23rd time in their last 24 games on Monday evening, trouncing Cumberland County, 68-34, in the first 4th Region semifinal. Bowling Green (29-5) will square off with Warren Central (17-11) for the fourth time this season, with the Purples having won all three of the previous matchups.

“This is what you want, a chance,” Warren Central coach William Unseld said.

The Purples are taking a similar approach. Bowling Green continued its hot shooting — the Purples have shot over 50 percent from the field in all four of their postseason games — in eliminating the Cinderella squad from Burkesville, Cumberland County, in the semifinals.

The Purples are playing in the KHSAA 4th Region championship game for the 11th consecutive year.

“What’s happened in years past,” veteran BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said, “is we have had over a long stretch of time — a great coaching staff and supportive administration. We are in a good moment. We have an opportunity and that is all you can ask for.”

The Purples and Dragons are pretty much back where it started, back to last year’s thriller in the 4th Region championship game. The stakes could not be any higher, but Warren Central forward Elijah Starks — a transfer from BGHS — said it’s best to keep a level head, with so much on the line.

“It’s really just another basketball game,” Starks said in the postgame press conference.

At least until it’s time to tip it up at Diddle.

BOWLING GREEN 68, CUMBERLAND COUNTY 34

Cumberland County was the feel-good story of the 4th Region Tournament, after winning at Diddle Arena for the first time since 1990, eliminating Barren County, 54-50, last week in quarterfinal play.

The Panthers couldn’t feel bad about how they played against Bowling Green. The Purples simply had too many weapons for Cumberland County to deal with, too much quickness in the open court, too many shooters on the perimeter.

“It’s different guys, on different nights,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said. “We have a lot of guys that can shoot the basketball.”

Junior BGHS point guard Deuce Bailey led the way on Monday, even though Bailey and the rest of the Purples’ starters watched the entire fourth quarter from the bench. Bailey finished with a game-high 13 points while adding three assists, three steals and two rebounds, all in 19 minutes.

Senior BGHS guard M.J. Wardlow, the Purples’ scoring leader, and his younger brother, Jace Wardlow, each finished with 10 points. Junior guard Braylon Banks hit four of six shots and had nine points and three assists, and the Purples’ big man in the middle — 6-foot-8 senior center Mason Ritter — had his typically sturdy game, scoring six points while leading Bowling Green with eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

“It’s a very selfless team,” Sherrill said.

Bowling Green shot 55 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line. Eleven BGHS players scored in the game, and the Purples stormed to a 33-10 lead at halftime. Cumberland County shot just 21 percent from the floor while hitting 2 of 14 shots from 3-point range.

“They’re a Top 10 team in the state,” Cumberland County coach Kurtis Claywell said. “We wanted to control the pace, but we couldn’t really shoot it, tonight … I don’t know if anybody had us here, in the 4th Region semifinals, but we had a little run.

“Bowling Green’s a good team.”

Cumberland County finished its season at 18-14. Byren Crawley led the Panthers with eight points, while their big man in the middle — junior Zachery Harwood — finished with six points and seven rebounds.

Sherrill tries to put together a challenging schedule every season, which he believes pays significant dividends come tournament time.,

“We want to measure ourselves against the best teams around,” Sherrill said.

William Unseld likes to do the same thing at Warren Central.

Bowling Green will be looking for its fourth victory of the season over the Dragons this evening.

WARREN CENTRAL 71, GLASGOW 36

Warren Central’s terrific twosome inside — senior forwards Elijah Starks and Drevin Bratton — took charge in the Dragons’ resounding victory over Glasgow.

Bratton led Warren Central with 18 points while adding five rebounds, while the 6-foot-7 Starks dominated in every way imaginable, finishing the game with 17 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Ten Warren Central players found their way into the scoring column as the Dragons began to pull away from Glasgow in the second quarter. Warren Central led 38-19 at halftime and never let the Scotties get back in the game.

Warren Central finished with a whopping 54-22 rebounding advantage while shooting 48 percent from the field. WKU signee Kade Unseld struggled at times with his outside shot, finishing the game with nine points, six rebounds and five assists.

Kade Unseld went 3-for-12 from the field.

“We can do that when we are focused on doing that,” Warren Central coach William Unseld said. “I’ve told them forever — we let them roam a little bit, then they forget about the rebounding part. We’ve really spent the last week, barking at them (in practice) about getting back in that paint and rebounding … Posting up and getting that back side cleaned up.

“To have 54 rebounds, I don’t think we’ve ever had that (many) in a game.”

Backup forward Jarek Kirk gave the Dragons a lift off the bench, hitting all four of his shots while finishing with nine points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Landon Minton led the Scotties with nine points while senior point guard J.C. Walbert finished with eight.

Bowling Green slugged out two victories, both by five points, during regular-season play, but the Purples hammered the Dragons, 78-54, last month in the KHSAA 14th District Tournament championship game at South Warren High School.

“(BGHS guard) M.J. Wardlow is a special player,” Warren Central coach William Unseld said. “In rivalry games, you just throw everything out the window. You can’t make it bigger than it already is.

“We’ve got to have guys do multiple things for us. We can’t get into a track meet with those guys.”