BOWLING GREEN ON FRIDAY NIGHT.
QUARLES HAS SOUTH OFF TO 12-1 START; SOUTH WARREN GIRLS STOP BARREN COUNTY 48-36
GLASGOW — South Warren High School’s Andrew Goley had a confession to make.
OK, an admission.
Justin Posey wasn’t his first option on the game-winning play that lifted South Warren to a dramatic 67-66 victory over homestanding Barren County on Tuesday night.
THROUGH ON HIS GAME-WINNING 3-POINTER.
“I was looking for the trailer, for a 3-pointer in the middle of the court,” Goley said. “We only had 3.2 seconds, and had to push it as quickly as we could, regardless.”
That meant Goley, who peeled off teammate Brandon Rowe’s screen near midcourt, passed the ball upcourt to Posey, waiting in the left corner in 3-point territory.
AND TEAMMATE JUSTIN POSEY.
“We run that play, all the time, in practice,” Rowe said.
First-year South Warren coach Carlos Quarles said Gorley and his teammates pretty much ran the play the way it was designed in the huddle.
“We work on it, in practice,” Quarles said. “We want (Gorley) to have multiple options. The kids were very comfortable, running that play at the end of the game.”
Posey put up a rainbow of a 3-pointer from the baseline — “it took forever, to get there,” he said — that fell through the net to stun the Trojans, who had taken a 66-64 lead on Eli Brooks’ three-point play with 3.2 seconds to play.
Veteran Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said the Trojans broke down, defensively, on Posey’s game-winning shot.
“We left (Posey) there, we didn’t have anybody with him,” Cunningham said. “Give (South) the credit. They made the big shot.
“We just didn’t play with much consistency. When that happens, you’re going to lose as many games as you’re going to win, and we’re 8-6 right now.”
CONGRATULATES THE SOUTH WARREN PLAYERS.
South Warren improved to 12-1 overall, heading into its KHSAA 14th District opener on the road against Bowling Green High School (12-3), which has been ranked in the AP’s state rankings for nearly the entire season. On top of that, the Spartans have never beaten Bowling Green in boys basketball, something not lost on the South players themselves.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Groley said. “We just have to keep playing with the same attitude, the same toughness. Stay positive.”
LED BARREN COUNTY WITH 29 POINTS.
The lead changed hands several times in the second half, with senior forward Eli Brooks giving the Trojans an exceptional effort on his way to a game-high 29 points.
Barren County’s Aiden Miller missed some of the fourth quarter with foul trouble, but he hit a tough baseline shot to put the Trojans in front 63-62 in the final minute. Miller finished the game with 12 points, and teammate Corey Beckham added 11, nine of them on 3-pointers.
ARE 8-6 ON THE SEASON.
Senior forward Brandon Rowe led the Spartans with 17 points, while teammate Andrew Linhardt added 11. Posey finished with 10 points, the final three proving to be the difference.
It was South Warren’s 11th consecutive victory.
Carlos Quarles has seemingly changed the culture at South Warren, which went 14-16 under Jason Holland in the 2021-22 season.
INSTRUCTS HIS TEAM IN THE SECOND HALF.
South Warren’s Brandon Rowe and Barren County’s Eli Brooks were the individual standouts on Tuesday night, until Andrew Gorley pulled the trigger on a pass to Justin Posey in the corner with the game on the line.
South Warren’s bench mobbed Posey on the floor, and the Spartans could turn their attention to Friday night’s game against Bowling Green.
“Eli Brooks is one of the best players in the region, and Aiden’s a bull, really hard to defend near the basket,” Quarles said. “Brandon is kind of the straw that stirs the drink for us, but he’s a very good teammate. He plays hard. We’re improving but are still looking for ways to get better.”
THE FLOOR TO DEFEND AGAINST BARREN COUNTY.
WORKS THE BENCH IN THE SECOND HALF.
SOUTH WARREN GIRLS 48, BARREN COUNTY 36 — Freshman guard McLaine Hudson scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Lady Spartans to victory over the tradition-rich Trojanettes.
South Warren took a 28-14 lead into the locker room at halftime and kept Barren County at arm’s length in the second half.
Senior guard Gracie Hodges helped keep South Warren in front with steady play on the perimeter, and teammates Mila Munrath, Abigail Overbay and Ashley Overbay came up with some critical defensive plays as the Lady Spartans held on for the victory.
WORKS UNDER THE BASKET.
“I think we’re starting to figure out our identity,” South Warren coach Lane Embry said. “McLaine can score for us in a lot of different ways. The big thing for us is our girls don’t really care who’s doing the bulk of the scoring. They shared the basketball and contributed in lots of ways.
“We built a good lead early in the game and were able to hit the free throws when we needed them in the fourth quarter. Credit to Barren County; they never quit fighting and got back in the game.”
Barren County coach Piper Lindsey said senior forward Macy Lockhart has been lost for the season after undergoing ACL surgery. Lockhart averaged 8.2 points per game for the Trojanettes last season, when they were a KHSAA 4th Region semifinalist.
Abigail Varney led Barren County with 11 points on Tuesday night.
“I thought (South Warren) did a good job of moving the basketball,” Lindsey said. “We gave them a lot of layuups. We had some turnovers, missed some easy baskets. The positive is it’s just January. We want to be playing our best basketball when we’re going into the district tournament.”
Barren County plays host to KHSAA 15th District newcomer Warren East (4-8 overall) on Friday evening. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
CRITICAL FREE THROWS LATE IN THE GAME.