Jim Mashek

BOWLING GREEN’s D.G. SHERRILL WAXES PHILOSOPHICAL AFTER OPENING NIGHT DEFEAT

With each passing minute, the visitors side of the BGHS Arena stirred with anticipation.

Franklin-Simpson’s boys basketball squad, never lacking for ambition, was taking on Bowling Green High School, the KHSAA Sweet 16 runner-up just eight months ago.

And the Wildcats were clearly ready to play.

“We haven’t beaten (Bowling Green) in about a decade,” Franklin-Simpson point guard Ja’kai Partinger said after the Wildcats knocked off the Purples, 63-54, on Tuesday night at the expansive BGHS facility.

Actually, it’s been even longer.

Bowling Green might have had some Opening Night jitters, with a largely restocked roster from last year’s 31-7 team. Franklin-Simpson, on the other hand, hit the hardwood on Monday night in Franklin, and the Wildcats battled through a 57-53 victory over traditional rival Allen County-Scottsville.

Franklin-Simpson had not defeated the Purples since the 2009-10 season, a few months after Bowling Green turned back the Wildcats in the KHSAA 4th Region title game, 54-47.

About eight months later, former Wildcats coach David Clark guided Franklin-Simpson past Bowling Green, 62-57, in Franklin, en route to solid 20-10 season and 4th Region runnner-up finish.

You guessed it.

Bowling Green was the opponent.

Franklin-Simpson took charge in the second quarter of Tuesday night’s game at the BGHS Arena, and the Wildcats will take a 2-0 record into Friday night’s road game against Monroe County in Tompkinsville. Veteran F-S coach Dee Spencer liked his team’s tenacity, its patience on the offensive end on the floor, and ultimately, its mental toughness down the stretch.

Bowling Green used a variety of presses to get back within striking distance in the second half. But the Wildcats were far more efficient, at the free-throw line, and they withstood one challenge after another to complete the task at hand.

“We talked about playing together, in pregame,” Spencer said when it was over. “Everybody knew we needed to take our time, on offense, and play together, particularly on defense. That’s what we wanted … and in the end, that’s what we got.

“We played Allen County (on Monday night) … I feel like that game really took the jitters out, with our guys. We knew we’d face full-court pressure, and for the most part, I think we were ready for that.”

D.G. Sherrill, the Purples’ hard-charging, colorful coach, met with his team for a few minutes in the locker room before doing an extensive interview with Joe Brunk of the Sporting Times Network. By the time Sherrill descended to the floor, to do some Q-and-A with print reporters, he seemed ready to get his team back on the court for Game No. 2 …

(The Purples, however, will spend some time in the gym before next Tuesday night’s home game against Elizabethtown.)

“First of all, give some credit to Franklin-Simpson,” Sherrill said. “They hit some big shots, they hit contested 3s … Their point guard (senior Ja’Kai Partinger) is a good player. Their complementary players are solid. They beat us up, on the boards, on both ends. They hit free throws.

“They did all the things teams need to do, to win the game.”

Franklin-Simpson took a 36-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Wildcats’ Kason Himshoot drilled an open 3-pointer from the right wing, extending the Franklin-Simpson lead into double digits in the final minute or so of the first half.

The third quarter was more of the same, but Bowling Green showed considerable promise with freshman forward Anthony Davis — the starting quarterback on the Purples’ football team — hitting the boards along with teammates Embree Dotson, Arlando Davis and Ethan Kirkwood …

All BGHS football players, who had only a handful of practices after the Purples were eliminated in the KHSAA Class 5A quarterfinals, a 49-21 loss to Atherton at Louisville’s Waggener High School on November 21 in the Derby City.

“I started five guys that probably had four minutes of varsity basketball, ever,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said. “We know we’re in a re-set mode …”

Before long, Sherrill was ready to take that re-set mode and shift it into overdrive.

“I’ll just say this … If you get me, you better get me this year,” Sherrill said with a grin. “We’re not making any excuses. We had two or three missed dunks, in transition, kids trying to make a play … We missed some big free throws. We’ve just got some catching up to do.”

Ja’Kai Partinger, the versatile Franklin-Simpson guard, led his team with 18 points. The Wildcats’ Cole Sharer, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound power forward, finished with 15 points, while F-S juniors Brody McAllister and JahMir Brooks added 11 and nine points, respectively.

“Any time you come here and win, you know you’ve earned it,” Franklin-Simpson coach Dee Spencer said. “They’ve got some good athletes. They always do … We’ve got to get back in the gym ourselves, and get ready for Monroe County.”

Freshman forward Anthony Davis and two BGHS teammates, junior guard Brandon Anderson and sophomore guard Hudson Aikins, all finished with 12 points. After next week’s home game against E-Town, the Purples will play four consecutive contests away from the BGHS Arena, before opening KHSAA 14th District play across town against archrival Warren Central in January.

“We’ve got all the pieces, to win,” Sherrill said. “We might need to simplify some things, in the short term. Work on our spacing, on the floor, that kind of thing. The ceiling for this team is high, but we’re going to have to grind it out in every game.”

Franklin-Simpson also took the JV game, 36-33.