Jim Mashek

PURPLES CAN’T HOLD EIGHT-POINT LEAD AFTER THREE QUARTERS; DRAGONS PREVAIL, 64-57, IN OVERTIME

For three quarters, and some change, the Bowling Green High School boys basketball team seemed to be on the fast track to next week’s KHSAA Sweet 16 at Lexington’s Rupp Arena.

Bowling Green, looking for a four-game sweep of archrival Warren Central High School, was hitting shots from the perimeter. Outside of Warren Central star Kade Unseld, the Purples had largely held their crosstown opponent in check.

Bowling Green took a 45-37 lead into the fourth quarter at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena, in the championship game of the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament, when things started to change.

A lot.

First, Unseld drilled a 3-pointer over BGHS guard M.J. Wardlow. Then Warren Central’s Elijah Howard was fouled, hitting two free throws to pull the Dragons to within three points, 45-42. Suddenly, the Purples couldn’t get out of their own way. Turnovers, rushed shots, you name it.

Then Unseld, who will be playing at Western Kentucky next season, took over. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound senior swingman willed the Dragons back to the Sweet 16, striking for a game-high 26 points to lead Warren Central past Bowling Green, 64-57, in overtime Tuesday night.

Warren Central, last year’s Sweet 16 state champion, will get a chance to defend its title in Lexington after all. The Dragons improved to 18-11 overall and will face Harlan County (31-4) in the first game of the second day of the tournament at Rupp Arena. Bowling Green finished another splendid season under veteran coach D.G. Sherrill with a 29-6 record, but it was a bitter pill for the Purples and their fans to swallow.

On March 1, at South Warren High School, Bowling Green throttled the Dragons, 78-54, to win the KHSAA 14th District championship going away. Two BGHS wins over Warren Central in the regular season, a mere footnote.

Warren Central coach William Unseld said his team’s perseverance and attention to detail paid off. Backed into a corner, Kade Unseld and the Dragons came out firing. And unlike the 2022-23 Warren Central squad, which went 34-1 while winning the second state championship in school history, this team will be a decided underdog in a loaded Sweet 16 field.

“We’re playing with house money,” Warren Central forward Elijah Starks said.

Starks and Dragons teammate Drevin Bratton transferred to Warren Central from Bowling Green, and this was their last shot to play in the Sweet 16. On Tuesday night, it was an uphill climb, to be sure. But all the more rewarding for William Unseld and his Warren Central squad.

“I told our kids, before the game, ‘If we win this one, it’ll be the biggest one yet,'” William Unseld said. “They trusted me, they believed in our game plan … Kade was telling me all day, ‘Daddy, this is not the end. We’re gonna win tonight.’

“Kade put us on our back tonight.”

Bowling Green scored just three points in the fourth quarter and struggled with its shot selection down the stretch.

“We got away from moving the ball, on offense,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said. “We might have played not to lose at times. That’s on me. I have great kids, we’ve had a great year … I still think we’re one of the best eight or nine teams in the state.

“The walls just started closing in on us. They got offensive rebounds off missed free throws three times in the fourth quarter. Every little break they needed to catch, they caught. And they made the plays in overtime.”

It’s been an unusual season of challenges for Warren Central, who had a light December schedule while Kade Unseld recovered from offseason meniscus surgery. The Dragons lost their first four games, and five of their first six. Kade Unseld was on limited minutes for much of the regular season. But he played nearly the entire 36 minutes on Tuesday night, taking one break, of just 17 seconds, in the third quarter.

When the night was over, Kade Unseld’s line read this way:

A game-high 26 points, 7-of-11 shooting, 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals. And a big smile while hoisting the 4th Region championship trophy.

“I was telling our guys, ‘Get me the rock,'” Kade Unseld said. “I told them, ‘I’m not ready for this to be over.’ Deep down, I thought we’d win tonight. This team learned how to win.”

There were anxious moments, like Drevin Bratton’s troubles at the free-throw line. But Kade Unseld drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Dragons in front, 54-51, about midway through the four-minute overtime period.

Warren Central never trailed again.

“We talked about spreading the floor out, making them guard us,” William Unseld said. “In the fourth quarter, we tried to keep it out of M.J. Wardlaw’s hands, and Deuce (Bailey)’s hands … It never gets old, winning this tournament.”

M.J. Wardlow, playing in his last BGHS game, and his younger brother, Jace Wardlow, both finished the game with 14 points. Mason Ritter, the Purples’ 6-foot-8 senior center, had 13 points and a team-high five rebounds. After the third quarter, however, Warren Central outrebounded Bowling Green, 12-3.

“We’re not done,” Warren Central’s Drevin Bratton said. “We thought we were in good shape as long as we could keep it close.”

Bratton had 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Elijah Starks had eight points and six rebounds. WCHS senior point guard Cadin Hammer hit a critical 3-pointer just before the buzzer for halftime, and teammate Elijah Howard finished with nine points.

Bowling Green led for more than 25 minutes, in regulation, compared to just over one minute for the Dragons. It didn’t matter, because it was Kade Unseld’s night. The next time he’ll be shooting from the perimeter at E.A. Diddle Arena, it will be for first-year coach Steve Lutz’s WKU squad.

“I’ll go over what I could have done differently,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said. “You’d look up, and the ball was in Kade’s hands … “

Exactly where the Dragons wanted it.

“We stuck it out, believed in each other,” Kade Unseld said. “Practiced hard every day, fought for each other. We weren’t going home. Not tonight.”