Jim Mashek

KADE UNSELD’s CLUTCH BASKET SENDS DRAGONS BACK TO RUPP ARENA

The Warren Central High School boys basketball team has had a target on its back since November.

The Dragons became the Commonwealth’s No. 1-ranked team a few weeks ago and started hitting their stride in postseason play.

But a familiar adversary, the tradition-rich Bowling Green High School Purples, always seemed poised to turn things sideways, to deny Warren Central’s date with destiny and the chance to compete for a state championship.

WCHS teammates Omari Glover and Kade Unseld had other ideas.

Warren Central held the ball for the final minute of regulation but Damarion Walkup’s awkward jumper was off the mark, and the KHSAA 4th Region championship game went to overtime on Tuesday night. That’s when things REALLY got interesting.

Warren Central twice took the lead in overtime before Bowling Green’s Braylon Banks answered with field goals to tie things again at 50. Then, in the final minute of overtime, Walkup and the Dragons again held the ball with a chance to move back in front. After working the ball to the top of the key, Glover found Unseld about eight feet from the basket.

Unseld, the son of veteran WCHS coach William Unseld, had broken free from the defense, but he had to twist his body on his way to the basket, using the glass before the shot fell through to give the Dragons the lead one last time with five seconds left.

Bowling Green got the ball to midcourt before taking a timeout, and the Purples got a good look at a game-winning 3-point shot. M.J. Wardlow found BGHS teammate Luke Idlett on the right wing, and Idlett launched a deep 3-pointer before the horn sounded.

The shot was on line but caught a little rim on the front side, and Warren Central could finally celebrate its gritty 52-50 victory over the archrival Purples, sending William Unseld’s team back to the Sweet Sixteen in dramatic fashion.

Warren Central improved to 32-1 overall, extending its winning streak to 23 games in the process. The Dragons will square off with Pulaski County in first-round play of the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen on March 15. Tip-off for that game at Lexington’s Rupp Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. EST.

Bowling Green twice had the Dragons on the ropes this season but couldn’t make it happen when the Purples needed it. Bowling Green finished another successful season with a 26-9 record, and veteran BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill doesn’t have a single senior on his roster.

William Unseld has seven of them, seven seniors who went through last year’s Sweet Sixteen runner-up experience, including a 43-42 loss to George Rogers Clark in the championship game.

The Dragons can’t wait for another chance.

“You knew it was going to be a tough game,” William Unseld said. “It’s hard to beat a really good team four times in one season. (WCHS assistant coach Cedrick) Gumm called the play. We’d run it coming out of halftime, and got a bucket, and it worked again …

“We’ve got a lot of momentum but we’re going to have to play better.”

Kade Unseld was Glover’s first option on the game-winning shot, and his basket sent the Warren Central fans section into a state of delirium. Still, the victory wasn’t complete until Idlett’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim to end the game.

“I thought Luke’s shot was going in,” BGHS guard Deuce Bailey said.

D.G. Sherrill was gracious in defeat and will have the Purples loaded for bear when the 2023-24 season commences in about nine months.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think anybody gave us a puncher’s chance (beforehand),” Sherrill said. “The 14 boys in our locker room thought we could do it. The only thing we didn’t do was make that play at the end.

“I’m proud of Luke, taking that shot. You’ve got to give Warren Central a lot of credit, but we felt like the gap between us wasn’t as large as everybody thought.”

The Dragons relied on KHSAA 4th Region Player of the Year Chappelle Whitney to forge an early lead. The 6-foot-4 WCHS senior scored a game-high 24 points while grabbing 11 rebounds, keeping the Purples at arm’s length for most of the game.

Just not all of it.

Bowling Green’s M.J. Wardlow got the ball to 6-foot-8 junior center Mason Ritter in the final 75 seconds of regulation, and Ritter scored on a three-point play to tie the game at 46. Walkup brought Ritter out past the perimeter while the Dragons worked for a game-winning shot in regulation, but Walkup’s shot was off the mark and Glover’s put-back attempt fell to the floor, forcing the overtime.

Glover got the ball to WCHS teammate Kade Unseld with the game on the line, in overtime, and Unseld’s basket would send Warren Central to its fifth Sweet Sixteen berth in six years. (The 2020 4th Region championship squad didn’t get to play in Lexington because of the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.)

“These guys have been resilient their whole careers,” William Unseld said. “They love playing together. We’ve got some experience (at the Sweet Sixteen) … we’ll see what we can do when we get back there.”

Izayiah Villafeurte, the Dragons’ steady point guard, hit some big shots and finished with 13 points. Mason Ritter led the Purples with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and teammate M.J. Wardlow added 11 points and three rebounds. Deuce Bailey, the quarterback of the BGHS football team, finished with nine points, and he often was guarding the bigger Chappelle Whitney on defense.

“We were nervous,” Whitney said, “because we knew if we lost, it was over … I thought (Idlett’s final shot in OT) looked good, too.”

Idlett said the game’s last play was designed for M.J. Wardlow to look for a two-point field goal or get to the free-throw line.

“Their defense freed me up a little bit,” Idlett said. “It felt pretty good when I released it, but it fell a little short.”

The Purples took Warren Central to overtime in regular-season play, too, before the Dragons pulled out a 75-67 victory over Bowling Green in the WCHS gym on February 3. It wasn’t close in the KHSAA 14th District championship game, with Warren Central winning 75-56 on February 24 at Greenwood High School.

William Unseld tried to look at the big picture and said he’ll give his team a couple days off before returning to the practice floor.

The Dragons will square off with Pulaski County (26-6) in first-round play of the Sweet Sixteen on March 15. Pulaski County claimed the 12th Region championship with a 57-50 victory over Lincoln County on Tuesday night.