LED THE PURPLES WITH 20 POINTS.
BGHS REMAINS UNBEATEN IN SEVEN GAMES; LADY PURPLES ROLL, 58-39
D.G. Sherrill has an interesting boys basketball team at Bowling Green High School.
The Purples are ranked statewide, and they’re a team in transition, with the late arrival of football teammates Deuce Bailey and Trevy Barber.
They’ve got a proven post player in 6-foot-8 junior Mason Ritter and a polished outside shooter in junior guard MJ Wardlow.
They’ve got a pretty deep bench, and plenty of experience, all the more impressive when you realize the Purples don’t have a single senior on their roster.
The Purples had little trouble with Greenwood High School on Friday night, bolting to a double-digit lead in the first half before keeping the Gators at arm’s length, claiming a 69-41 victory.
IS EFFECTIVE INSIDE AND ON THE PERIMETER.
Sherrill’s BGHS squad fought tooth-and-nail with eventual Sweet Sixteen runner-up Warren Central last season, with the Dragons prevailing in both the KHSAA 14th District and 4th Region championship games. Bowling Green compiled an impressive 26-7 record and had Kentucky’s “Mr. Basketball,” senior guard Turner Buttry, now playing at Eastern Kentucky University.
All told, the Purples are in kind of a flux.
But they’re also unbeaten in seven games.
INSIDE AGAINST THE GATORS’ LOFTON HOWARD.
Ritter has grown significantly since his sophomore season and is drawing attention from several mid-majors in the Mid-South. Wardlow is also a promising college prospect, with a quick first step and a deadly outside shot.
When Deuce Bailey and football/basketball teammate Trevy Barber can get in “basketball shape,” usually a gradual transition after a football season that went more than four months, the Purples are going to have plenty of options in the backcourt.
“Mason Ritter is phenomenal player, right around the basket,” Greenwood coach Will McCoy said. “MJ got hot in the third quarter. He’s a talented young man. I was very happy with how we played in the first half. We kept the pace where we liked it.
“The second half was another story. Our kids played hard. They did. We just had too many turnovers, and they had 10 or 12 points off those turnovers. You can’t do that against a team of (Bowling Green’s) caliber.”
The Purples also have a sophomore shooter named Luke Idlett, who is particularly tough from the corner, which should come in handy when Bowling Green faces a zone defense. Idlett is sort of a “baby-faced bomber” from 3-point land, but ignore him at your peril.
LETS IT FLY FROM DOWNTOWN.
GETS AN OPEN LOOK AGAINST THE GATORS.
Ritter worked hard on his game over the summer, which has the attention of college recruiters. Bailey figures to be a high-profile football prospect next year, when he prepares for his junior year as the Purples’ quarterback. But he’s a strong, seasoned guard for the basketball team, too, and he’s just starting to find himself in that game.
CAN GET TO THE FREE-THROW LINE.
BY THE SPORTING TIMES’ JOE BRUNK AFTER THE GAME.
“With our team, it’s not about who starts every night but who finishes,” Ritter said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can start, or come off the bench. Luke’s a really good shooter. Deuce and Trevy are really quick.
“I knew I needed to work on finishing, near the basket, and rebounding. That’s what gets the attention of the college coaches. I need to finish through contact.”
Wardlow led the Purples with 20 points and Ritter finished with 13. Bailey added 12 points, off the BGHS bench, in limited minutes. Luke Stansbury led Greenwood with nine points while fellow Gators senior Lofton Howard finished with eight points.
Bowling Green (7-0) faces Madisonville-North Hopkins on Monday in the First United Bank Basketball Classic. Greenwood (1-7) will travel across the Commonwealth, to the Cincinnati area, for a first-round game against Mason County, the host school for the Mason County Invitational Tournament.
HAD 15 POINTS AGAINST GREENWOOD.
BOWLING GREEN GIRLS 58, GREENWOOD 39
Senior guard/forward Saniyah Shelton scored 15 points and directed the Bowling Green offense from the point guard position as the Lady Purples cruised to victory over Greenwood.
Bowling Green improved to 5-1 on the season, while Lady Gators coach Zach Simpson’s squad lost for the first time this season, while also checking in at 5-1.
Junior guard Leia Trinh led Greenwood with 20 points while senior forward Kayla Grant finished with six.
Veteran BGHS coach Calvin Head will be looking for improved defensive play when the Lady Purples face Bethlehem on Monday in the Queen of the Commonwealth Tournament. Greenwood is playing in the same tournament, and the Lady Gators will open tourney play Monday against Bullitt East.
“I thought we lost a level of engagement, defensively, in the second half,” Head said. “We’ve got to do a better job. Offensive rebounding also has been a point of emphasis, and we’ve got a ways to go there, too.”
Shelton, the Lady Purples’ dynamic senior, is headed for Eastern Kentucky University, and senior BGHS center Meadow Tisdale is on her way to Northern Kentucky University. Tanaya Bailey had 11 points for the Lady Purples on Friday night, and Tisdale finished with 10.
“I feel like Meadow and I have been playing together so long, we’ve got a tight bond,” Shelton said. “Away from basketball, too. We’ve got some things to work on, defensively, but I thought we were pretty solid tonight.
“We’re just taking it day by day, game by game.”
Bowling Green has reached the state tournament in each of the last three seasons.
SIGNED WITH EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY.
IS A PROVEN POST PLAYER AND DEFENDER.
TO BEAT IN THE KHSAA’s 14TH DISTRICT.
TO NEW ORELANS. PEACE OUT, Y’ALL …