DOMINATED NEAR
THE BASKET.
DRAGONS EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO 24 GAMES, WILL SCRAP WITH ASHLAND BLAZER ON FRIDAY
LEXINGTON — The Warren Central High School boys basketball team took the fast lane to the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen quarterfinals.
The No.1-ranked Dragons dropped a first-quarter barrage on Pulaski County in first-round Sweet Sixteen play on Wednesday night, and Warren Central never trailed in cruising to an 80-55 victory over the Maroons at Rupp Arena.
Basically, Pulaski got boat-raced.
THE DRAGONS WITH 26 POINTS.
Warren Central improved to 33-1 while extending its winning streak to 24 games. The Dragons will now square off with the winner of Wednesday’s late game, Ashland Blazer. Ashland’s Braxton Jennings hit a 3-pointer in the final 15 seconcds to send his team past Owensboro High School, 66-65.
The WCHS-Ashland game will tip off at approximately 1:30 p.m. EDT, with the winner needing two more victories on Saturday to claim the state championship.
TO CHANCE IN ITS ROUT OF PULASKI COUNTY.
Warren Central left nothing to chance in this one. The Dragons raced to a 20-3 lead after the first quarter, with junior swingman Kade Unseld hitting one 3-pointer after another. Senior WCHS forward Chappelle Whitney was active around the basket, and the Maroons had no answers for Warren Central on the boards.
The Dragons finished the game with 36 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive end of the floor, while Pulaski County had just 20. Warren Central shot a sizzling 78 percent from the field in the first quarter and used its superior size, quickness and athleticism to confound the Maroons, who closed their season with a 26-10 record.
“We kind of ran into a buzzsaw tonight,” Pulaski County coach John Fraley said.
The outcome was never in doubt.
IN EARNING ITS 33RD VICTORY IN 34 GAMES.
Warren Central was too quick off the dribble, too tough under the basket and just too much for the Maroons, who twice cut the deficit to 20 points — not 10, mind you, 20 — over the last two quarters.
The Dragons were breathin’ fire and imposing their will on Fraley’s squad from Somerset.
“We had a great start,” Warren Central coach William Unseld said. “I think our experience, on the floor, really helped us. We guarded, in the first quarter. We were really engaged in the first quarter.”
Unseld found some nits to pick about the balance of the game, but the Dragons have set the bar pretty high after last year’s runner-up finish at the Sweet 16. Warren Central looms as the odds-on favorite in this year’s tournament, but Unseld is taking nothing for granted.
And neither are his players.
DUNKS IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
“We came out aggressive,” junior WCHS swingman Kade Unseld said. “We’ve been here before … there really was no nerves.”
That clearly wasn’t the case for Pulaski County, which had no answers for WCHS teammates Kade Unseld and Chappelle Whitney.
Unseld led all scorers with 26 points, hitting 11 of 16 shots, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. The son of the veteran WCHS coach turned in an all-around performance, grabbing eight rebounds to go with four assists and two blocked shots.
Whitney, meanwhile, hit 7 of 14 shots, most of them within six feet of the basket, and finished with 16 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, six assists and just a single turnover.
SCORES IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
Football/basketball star Omari Glover added 11 points and six rebounds, as the Dragons extended their winning streak to 24 games. Warren Central hasn’t lost since a 60-43 defeat at the hands of Mason County in a holiday tournament on December 27 at Lexington Catholic HIgh School.
William Unseld said he thought his team would be able to relax after pulling out a 52-50 overtime victory over crosstown rival Bowling Green High School on March 7 at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena.
“Our kids had more pressure on them just to get here,” Unseld said.
That didn’t seem to be a problem on Wednesday night, as the Dragons made a definitive statement on the opening day of the tournament. Warren Central will practice on Thursday, while four more first-round games unfold at Rupp Arena, before returning to the floor on Friday afternoon.
HIS BENCH IN THE FOURTH QUARTER.
IMPROVED TO 33-1 ON THE SEASON.
“They shot the ball really well,” Fraley said. “We knew we had to keep them off the boards, take care of the ball … They can move the ball really well. They’re unselfish. They’re a really good basketball team.”
Izayiah Villafuerte, the Dragons’ senior point guard, said his team understood how to handle the pressure of playing in Rupp Arena.
“We believe in ourselves like that,” he said.
Barek Williams led Pulaski County with 19 points and teammate Cayden Lancaster added 14.
SCORED THE GAME’s FINAL POINTS.
OVER OWENSBORO, IS NEXT FOR WARREN CENTRAL.