Jim Mashek

DRAGONS WILL OPEN 4th REGION PLAY AGAINST BARREN COUNTY ON MARCH 10; BGHS WILL SQUARE OFF WITH GLASGOW IN FINAL QUARTERFINAL

Braylon Banks didn’t have much time to think about it.

Bowling Green High School’s senior guard — it only SEEMS like he’s been playing for the Purples since the Y2K — knew the clock had become the ultimate adversary on Friday night at the BGHS Arena.

The opponent, the Warren Central Dragons, well, the Purples know them all too well.

Over the last three years, Bowling Green has had to watch the Dragons cut down the nets at WKU’s historic E.A. Diddle, with Warren Central punching its way to the prestigious KHSAA Sweet Sixteen at Lexington’s Rupp Arena.

That’s where both teams are headed after a 14th District Tournament championship game for the ages on the Purples’ home court.

After Banks changed everything.

Warren Central, protecting what was once a 13-point lead, had seen it dwindle to a single point in the final seconds. The Purples erased that double-digit deficit before halftime, and by the end of the third quarter, it had become anybody’s game.

It often turns out that way.

Warren Central spread the court in the final 90 seconds, holding a 60-59 lead and looking for a path to the basket, when the Purples’ Joseph Hurt forced a turnover with just 44 seconds showing on the clock.

Bowling Green was equally cognizant of the clock, once it got its hands on the ball.

The Purples passed it around the perimeter, and called a timeout with 20.2 seconds left. Veteran BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill covered the team’s options in the huddle, the packed house abuzz with anticipation. Senior guard Jace Wardlow got off a shot, a good look from just to the right of the key, but it was off the mark.

BGHS senior guard Deuce Bailey, the two-time MVP of the last two KHSAA Class 5A state championship football games, crashed the boards. Sandwiched between two taller Dragons players, Bailey secured the rebound and slipped the ball across the court to Banks, just eight to 10 feet from the baseline, outside the 3-point line.

No hesitation.

Swish.

Bowling Green 61, Warren Central 59.

The officials stopped play, adjusting the arena clock to three seconds. Warren Central couldn’t get off a shot, however, and the Purple Place went wild. Both teams are moving on to Diddle Arena, of course, and there’s always a good chance they’ll play for a fourth and final time, like they did in 2024, and in 2023, when BGHS guard Luke Idlett’s 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out, or ’22 … well, you get the picture.

But Braylon Banks was living in the moment, soaking it all in, as the Purples could celebrate their 10th KHSAA district championship under veteran coach D.G. Sherrill.

“I looked up at the clock, before I realized the ball was coming to me,” Banks said after a respectful awards ceremony. “Deuce (Bailey) got me the ball, and I saw Jarek (Kirk, the Dragons’ versatile 6-foot-6 center/forward) tried to move over, in front of me …I felt like I had an open look …

“It felt good, coming off my hand.”

The crowd’s reaction would confirm it.

Bowling Green takes a 25-6 overall record into KHSAA 4th Region Tournament play, but the Purples will have to wait awhile before they take the floor at Diddle Arena. The KHSAA has staggered the Girls’ and Boys’ Sweet 16 state tournaments because Lexington’s Rupp Arena isn’t available for the third weekend in March, because the UK Wildcats’ home court is being used for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

So the Purples and Dragons are in a fall-back mode, so to speak.

The KHSAA 4th Region girls tournament starts on Sunday, with the championship game set for Saturday, March 8. That means the boys teams will not hit the floor until two days later, and its champion won’t be determined until March 19, which is 18 days from today.

That’s an eternity.

“We’re gonna be playing awhile,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said.

Veteran WCHS coach William Unseld’s Dragons (23-6 overall) and 15th District champion Barren County (19-12) will kick things off in the 4th Region, before Logan County (19-11) takes the floor against 16th District champion Clinton County (28-2). One day later, Franklin-Simpson (11-19) squares off against Russell County (17-11), to be followed by another unlikely matchup, Bowling Green’s quarterfinal game against Glasgow (5-22).

The Scotties crashed the party at the 15th by outlasting Warren East in overtime, 74-66, in semifinal play. Barren County relegated Glasgow to the district’s runner-up status, but everyone seems to want to turn the page, and get to the knockout phase of the tournament.

“You gotta play somebody,” Unseld said. “You know it’s gonna be a good team …”

Bowling Green has a particularly long wait, and it happened because the Purples have learned to trust in Braylon Banks in critical situations.

“Braylon got his shoulders square,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said. “I’m proud of the way these guys kept fighting. We finished this game on a 9-2 run. That’s huge. We’ve seen Braylon make plays like this for years … Our defense was a lot better tonight, than in our other games with Central (both defeats).

“I’ve got six seniors on this team. We’ve got a week, before we play again. We’ll take a break, and we’ll come back to work …”

That’s what Unseld has in mind, too.

Jarek Kirk, the Dragons’ versatile 6-foot-6 forward/center, was in foul trouble for much of the game. Bowling Green closed its deficit from 13 to six points just before halftime. Joseph Hurt, the Purples’ senior forward, hit a 3 from the right wing, before Banks scored on a put-back to make it 36-28. Luke Idlett added two free throws, and Bowling Green took some momentum into the locker room.

Hurt drew a critical foul from Kirk, with 1:13 left in the third quarter, sending the Dragons’ defensive demon to the bench. WCHS forward Robert “Ant” McAfee, who’s headed to Louisville’s Beallarmine University, and his teammates stayed on the attack, but the Purples never relented, either.

Idlett’s open 3 from the left wing trimmed the Warren Central lead to 57-54, and BGHS teammate Kadyn Carpenter made an alert steal under the Dragons’ basket, hitting the layup to make it a one-point game with about 3:30 left in the game. Banks was fouled and converted two free throws to put Bowling Green in front, 58-57, but Warren Central sophomore Jayren Byrd answered with a put-back, and the Dragons regained the lead.

Banks’ 3-pointer proved to be the difference, and Sherrill used only seven players — Banks, Idlett, Hurt, Carpenter, Deuce Bailey, Jace Wardlow and Arlondo Davis — against the taller, deeper Dragons.

“For all that McAfee does for this team, Jarek Kirk’s our most critical player,” Unseld said. “Armani (Byrd) not being here hurt our depth. Give (Bowling Green) the credit; they played harder than us in the fourth quarter.”

Hurt, the Purples’ senior forward who transferred from Louisville’s Fairdale High School, led Bowling Green with 17 points and stayed active on the boards. Banks and Carpenter both finished the game with 10 points, while Warren Central’s McAfee led all scorers with 21 points.

Kirk and WCHS teammate Dominique Anthony had 13 points each for the Dragons.

“We’ve got a lot of good shooters, but we played A LOT better on defense, than our first two games with those guys,” Hurt said. “We were moving the ball, driving and kicking (out), getting the open shot … Now, we’ll get back in the gym, for practice, and see where we go from there.”

If there is a fourth and final BGHS-Warren Central game, it’ll take place on May 19.

Start your watches.