Jim Mashek

BOWLING GREEN SQUARES OFF WITH No. 1-RANKED WARREN CENTRAL ON FRIDAY

Mason Ritter’s teammates at Bowling Green High School knew what was happening.

They figured someone was goin’ down.

And with a berth in the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament on the line, not to mention another shot at No. 1-ranked Warren Central on Friday, the 6-foot-8 BGHS junior center took matters into his own hands.

Ritter delivered against the vastly improved Spartans, who prefer a half-court game with multiple passes on pretty much every possession. He struck for a game-high 26 points, adding 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, guiding the Purples to a workmanlike 65-50 victory over South Warren before a packed house at Greenwood High School.

“That’s the best game (Ritter has) played all year,” BGHS junior guard Braylon Banks said.

Ritter was active near the basket and effective when pulled away toward the perimeter. The Purples kept feeding him the ball, and he brought the crowd to its feet with a couple resounding dunks. The Spartans trimmed their deficit to 11 points with 2:15 left in the game, but BGHS junior guard Luke Idlett got the ball to Ritter for the dunk that pretty much put the game on ice.

South Warren finishes its first season under head coach Carlos Quave with an impressive 21-7 record.

“I’m forever indebted to this team, because they got us off to a good start, as far as getting this program rolling in the right direction,” Quarles told Jeff Nations of the Bowling Green Daily News. “So I’m proud of them. We’ve got some underclassmen that are hungry, and we’re looking forward to the offseason to get them ready for next season.”

Bowling Green’s players understood the stakes, too. The Purples (24-7) automatically qualified for next week’s KHSAA 4th Region Tournament at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena. They’ll square off with crosstown rival Warren Central, last year’s Sweet 16 runner-up, on Friday evening.

Tip-off is at 6 p.m.

The Dragons, who eliminated host Greenwood with a dazzling 76-45 victory in the first game on Tuesday night, have won 19 consecutive games. They’ll take a sparkling 28-1 record into Friday’s championship game against the Purples, like they’ve done for the last three seasons.

Veteran BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill knows what to expect.

“We know what we’re going to get in Warren Central,” Sherrill said. “They’re relentless on the offensive boards. They’re long, they’re athletic, but we’ve got two days of practice to work with, before we play them.”

Ritter and the Purples stayed on the attack against South Warren, taking transition opportunities when they had them and taking care of the basketball on longer possessions.

“South Warren runs the same half-court offense they do at Warren Central,” Sherrill said. “We knew, coming in, that it might feel like going in for a root canal …”

With Mason Ritter wielding the drill like comic actor Steve Martin as the evil dentist in the immortal “Little Shop of Horrors.”

“Mason, when he’s at his best … I don’t think anybody is going to stop him,” BGHS sophomore guard Deuce Bailey said. “He brings a lot of energy out there, he’s a great teammate.”

RItter’s prowess near the basket also created opportunities for Bailey and BGHS teammates Braylon Banks and M.J. Wardlow, who were aggressive in establishing the Purples’ mid-range game. South Warren was effective in controlling the tempo for much of the first half, but the Spartans faced deficits as high as 20 points, after the break, which was too much for South to overcome.

“We fought, to the end, and I’m proud of my team, our seniors,” South sophomore forward Bryce Button said.

It was simply Ritter’s night.

“If we get the right spacing, and I’m outside, other guys can go to the basket,” Ritter said. “It’s really about teamwork. I knew for us to win, I’d have to score more than 10 points.

“I just had more open looks tonight.”

M.J. Wardlow had 14 points for the Purples, while Braylon Banks and Deuce Bailey added 10 and eight points, respectively. Junior guard Drew Hudson led the Spartans with 14 points, while Button finished with 11.

Now the stage is set for another Bowling Green-Warren Central showdown. The Dragons claimed a 54-39 victory over the Purples in mid-January at the BGHS Arena, before holding off Bowling Green for a memorable 75-67 overtime victory on February 3 in the WCHS gymnasium.

“We know how good they are. We’ve got a challenge, in front of us,” Sherrill said.

WARREN CENTRAL BOYS 76, GREENWOOD 45

Warren Central pretty much put on a clinic in its 31-point thrashing of the Gators.

WCHS senior forward Chappelle Whitney, the KHSAA 4th Region Player of the Year, scored 22 of his game-high 26 points in the first half, giving the Dragons a comfortable lead to work with, in the final 16 minutes.

Warren Central took the ball to the basket, while keeping the Gators guessing, defensively, over the course of the game. Whitney has emphasized shot selection this season while scoring nearly 17 points per game. With valuable cogs such as senior point guard Izayiah Villafeurte, football/basketball star Omari Glover and relentless defender Damarion Walkup fulfilling their roles, at both ends of the floor, it simplifies things for longtime Warren Central coach William Unseld.

“We played well. We shared the ball, guarded well,” Unseld said. “We’re starting to play our best basketball … The best thing about us, it’s a different guy every night. It was Chappelle’s night, tonight.”

Kade Unseld, perhaps the Dragons’ best 3-point shooter, also is effective inside. Walkup had 12 points in Tuesday’s victory over the Gators, while Villafeurte and Glover added 10 and nine points, respectively.

“At the end of the season, we’re playing to get better,” Villafuerte said. “Coach Un tells us all the time, ‘You’re playing against yourselves.’ As we get deeper into the season, it’s going to get tougher. We’ve got to remain humble. We’re staying the course.”

Whitney is particularly effective from the corner, but he’ll create opportunities with drives to the basket, too.

“I wasn’t going to force anything,” Whitney said. “We had a lot of ball movement, offensively, and we were able to dig down deep and get it done.”

Greenwood, which lost seven seniors from last year’s 24-5 squad, isn’t likely to be down too long. The Gators finished the season with a 9-22 record. Veteran coach Will McCoy made sure to recognize his three seniors — forward Lofton Howard, guard Luke Stansbury and forward Brier Harris — with substitutions, and standing ovations, from the Gators’ fans.

Howard, who is headed to WKU on a football scholarship, led the Gators with 18 points. Freshman guard Chaze Huff finished with eight points.

“It was kind of a ‘bridge year’ for us,” McCoy said. “We tried to make it work the best we could with three seniors. We played our best basketball in the last couple weeks of the season.

“Warren Central has so many weapons. They’ve got a great team, easy to root for. They don’t talk … they just go out and play.”