WATCHES HIS LATE 3-POINT ATTEMPT
FALL THROUGH THE BASKET.
BGHS WILL PLAY HOST TO GERMAN AMERICAN BANK SHOOTOUT ON SATURDAY
Deuce Bailey got off to a late start with Bowling Green High School’s boys basketball team, and for the right kind of reasons.
Bailey was leading the Purples to their second consecutive KHSAA Class 5A state championship on the football field, just one month ago.
Bailey and the Purples tangled with crosstown rival Greenwood High School on Friday night, opening KHSAA 14th District play at The Swamp. Bowling Green opened a 12-point lead midway through the third quarter, but Nick Simpson, Asher Pettus and the Gators wouldn’t give in.
It took Bailey’s steal at mid-court, and subsequent dunk, to put Greenwood away, with the Purples claiming a hard-fought, 71-67 victory over the Purples before a packed house. Bowling Green’s Aniyah Smith scored a team-high 15 points to lead the Purples’ girls squad to a 45-42 victory over Greenwood in the first game of the night.
“We’ve got to stay disciplined, and keep our foot on the gas, late in the game,” Bailey said when it was over. “We’ve got to do a better job of finishing.”
SCORES ON A FIRST-QUARTER RUNNER.
IS FLANKED BY FELLOW PURPLES SENIORS
DEUCE BAILEY (LEFT) AND LUKE IDLETT,
ON A FOURTH-QUARTER DRIVE TO THE BASKET.
HER TEAM WITH 15.6 POINTS PER GAME.
Veteran BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill will certainly take it, and he was impressed with the Gators’ vast improvement from the 2023-24 season. Bowling Green won for the fifth time in six games, improving to 9-2 overall, while Greenwood fell to 10-2, heading into Saturday’s German American Bank Classic at BGHS.
Greenwood will square off with Calloway County (12-1) on Saturday at 4 p.m., while the Purples will face tradition-rich Woodford County (7-6) in the final game, scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.
“This was probably our first game with our full complement of guys,” Sherrill said. “We’re getting there. Greenwood is a quality team. We’re going to keep challenging our team, too.”
Greenwood coach Will McCoy guided his team to victory in last week’s Franklin Bank & Trust Classic at Franklin-Simpson High School, but he’s the first guy to admit getting out of the KHSAA’s 14th District and into the Fourth Region Tournament at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena is a major challenge.
CONFERS WITH BOWLING GREEN’s D.G. SHERRILL
BEFORE FRIDAY NIGHT’s 14th DISTRICT OPENER.
THE HOT HAND IN THE FOURTH QUARTER.
CLOSES THE FIRST HALF WITH
A DEEP 3-POINTER FROM THE CORNER.
LED ALL SCORERS WITH 25 POINTS.
(Last year, Warren Central made it to the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive season, claiming a 64-57 victory over the Purples in the Fourth Region title tilt. On Friday night, William Unseld’s WCHS squad trounced visiting South Warren, 71-41.)
The Purples said good-bye to veteran 6-foot-8 center Mason Ritter after the 2023-24 season, and Ritter is now playing at Columbia University in the Ivy League, averaging five points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Sherrill doesn’t have that kind of size to work with this season, but senior forward Joseph Hurt, a 6-foot-3 transfer from Louisville’s Fairdale High School, comes pretty close.
Hurt hit some tough inside shots in the fourth quarter, leading the Purples with 20 points. Sharpshooting senior guard Luke Idlett scored the game’s first seven points, and finished with 17 points. Braylon Banks (13 points) and Deuce Bailey (11 points) also provided balanced scoring, sending Bowling Green home with the victory.
“Mason was a big part of our team,” Islett said, “but we’ve got five guys on this team capable of scoring a lot of points. Deuce made some key passes at the end, and Joe (Hurt) really came through for us.”
Hurt believes the Purples also have some interchangeable parts.
“All of us can handle the ball, and shoot it,” he said. “We had a couple bad defensive possessions at the end of the game.”
No lead is going to be safe with the Gators. Senior guard Nick Simpson led Greenwood with 25 points, and senior forward Asher Pettus finished with 17.
“Bowling Green’s a hard team to prepare for, because they have so many (offensive) threats,” Greenwood coach Will McCoy said. “We fell behind a very good team tonight, but we scrapped and fought back, and it’s something we can build on. Our team is starting to let the game come to them. You can see the growth.”
Pettus got hot in the fourth quarter, hitting a 3 from the left wing to trim the BGHS lead to 61-60 with four minutes and change left in the game. But Bailey answered with a drive to the basket, and Idlett hit a deep 3 from the middle of the court to give the Purples some breathing room.
Bailey said the Purples’ “football guys,” which include himself, Kadyn Carpenter, Embree Dotson and Ethan Kirkwood, are getting their basketball legs under them, which should pay dividends over the next few weeks. Bowling Green will visit longtime rival Warren East on Tuesday night before resuming KHSAA 14th District play on the road Friday against South Warren.
HAS SHOWN EARLY PROMISE.
GIVES HER SQUAD SIZE NEAR THE BASKET.
BOWLING GREEN GIRLS 45, GREENWOOD 42
It’s been a challenging few weeks for BGHS coach Calvin Head and the Lady Purples, who lost senior guard NaTaya Wardlow three games into the season with a torn ACL.
Senior guard/forward Katy Smiley had limited minutes in the first half, because of foul trouble, but junior forward Aniyah Smith delivered some big baskets, leading Bowling Green with 15 points.
“I think this game will help push us in the right direction,” Smith said.
Head has taken the Lady Purples to the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen for five consecutive seasons, striking for a 52-39 upset over Fourth Region favorite Franklin-Simpson in semifinal play last year. Bowling Green finished 24-11 last year, with a victory over Owsley County in first-round play of the state tournament.
DRILLS A 3-POINTER, EXTENDING
HER TEAM’s LEAD TO 44-40.
CERTAINLY KNOWS THE WAY TO UK’s RUPP ARENA.
It figures to be tougher sledding for the Lady Purples this time, but Head likes his team’s tenacity, and he’s particularly impressed with Smith’s improvement.
“We’ve challenged Aniyah, and she had her best game of the year,” Head said.
Bowling Green earned its fifth victory against four defeats. The Lady Purples will square off with a talented Breckenridge County squad (10-2) in the German American Classic on Saturday. That game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. tip-off.
There’s plenty of new faces on the floor for Bowling Green, including sophomore guard Maddie Davenport. She’s the younger sister of former BGHS baseball standout Ben Davenport, and she hit the game’s biggest shot in the final 75 seconds, drilling a 3-pointer from the top of the key to extend the Lady Purples’ lead to 44-40.
“I’ve been in the gym a lot, and I’ve prepared myself to take shots like that,” Davenport said with a smile. “It felt good, coming out of my hands.”
ANIYAH SMITH HAD 15 POINTS IN THE VICTORY.
LED THE GATORS WITH 15 POINTS.
FINISHED WITH 10 POINTS FOR THE GATORS.
BGHS coach Calvin Head smiled at the thought.
“Maddie’s one of our best ‘catch-and-shoot’ kids. She’s fearless,” he said.
Freshman guard Molly Spidel led Greenwood with a game-high 17 points, while point guard Anzlee Hendrix, an EIGHTH GRADER, added 10. Hendrix even wears No. 1, like six-year starter Leia Trinh did for the Lady Gators before she graduated in the spring.
Greenwood’s Savannah White hit three of four field-goal attempts and finished with eight points.
Greenwood is on the road to face George Rogers Clark (4-5) on Saturday evening in Winchester.
WITH A HARD-FOUGHT
SWEEP OF GREENWOOD.
JUST NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT …