DRILLS A 3-POINTER IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
DRAGONS TAKE 34-1 RECORD, No. 1 RANKING INTO SHOWDOWN WITH WOODFORD COUNTY
LEXINGTON — William Unseld and the Warren Central High School boys basketball team are halfway there.
Halfway to the mountaintop. Halfway t the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen state championship that eluded them, by a single point, in last year’s thrilling title game against George Rogers Clark.
The Dragons outscored Ashland Blazer High School in all four quarters and pulled away for a rather methodical 64-48 victory over the Tomcats before a paid crowd of 13,085 on Friday afternoon at Rupp Arena. Now Warren Central can sit back and wait for the bottom half of the bracket to duke it out with two more spots in the semifinals on the line Friday night.
HAVE WON 25 CONSECUTIVE GAMES.
FINISHED 23-12 ON THE SEASON.
The No. 1-ranked Dragons improved to 34-1 overall, and they’ll take on Woodford County (22-12) in the first semfinal on Saturday morning at Rupp Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. EDT, or 10 a.m. in Bowling Green and South Central Kentucky.
Unseld, the Dragons’ veteran head coach, said his team was able to avoid too many anxious moments by stressing shot selection and hitting the boards like they did Wednesday night, when Warren Central crushed Pulaski County, 80-55, in its first-round Sweet 16 game.
“We had to lock in and guard. They shoot it really well,” Unseld said in the postgame press conference. “They were 5 for 9 (actually 5 for 11) from the 3-point line, and that was something we had to stop. We did a better job of getting to those 50/50 balls in the second half.
“In the first half, they got three 3s off loose balls.”
ARE POISED GOING INTO THE SEMIFINALS.
Senior WCHS forward Chappelle Whitney, the KHSAA 4th Region Player of the Year, had another terrific game while the Dragons eliminated Ashland Blazer.
The 6-foot-5 Whitney did most of his work near the basket, and he hit 6 of 13 shots, while going 8-for-10 at the free-throw line, to lead the Dragons with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Football/basketball star Omari Glover also turned in a brilliant effort for the Dragons, hitting six of seven shots while finishing with 14 points and three rebounds. Junior WCHS swingman Kade Unseld, the son of the Warren Central coach, had two of the Dragons’ three 3-point field goals while scoring 13 points with five rebounds.
“In my opinion, they’re the best team here,” Ashland Blazer coach Ryan Bonner said. “They’ve got all the ingredients, all the things you’re looking for … We had too many empty possessions, against a team like this.”
Rheyce Deboard, the Tomcats’ senior guard, hit 8 of 11 shots while finishing with 21 points and four assists. Ashland’s Zander Carter had 14 points.
The rest of the team combined for 13.
CAN PLAY VIRTUALLY ANY POSITION ON THE FLOOR.
Warren Central, true to form, had plenty of balance.
The Dragons finished with 24 field goals, and 20 assists. Seven WCHS players scored in the game. Warren Central led 34-27 at halftime and never trailed after the break.
Ashland Blazer, a strong 3-point shooting team, didn’t make it easy. But the Dragons have plenty of firepower, focus and motivation, after coming up one game short in the 43-42 loss to George Rogers Clark in last year’s championship game.
“It means a lot,” Warren Central’s Omari Glover said. “But we’ve been here before. We’ve just got to take it one game at a time at this point.”
ARE BACK IN THE SWEET 16 SEMIFINALS.
Louisville’s Male High School (26-10) and Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School (32-2) will tangle in the third quarterfinal, set for a 6 p.m. EDT tip-off, followed by the nightcap between defending Sweet 16 champion George Rogers Clark High School (28-5) and Lyon County (31-5).
I’m gonna boogie back to the hotel, take a swim in the indoor pool, go to Cattleman’s Road House in Georgetown and order me a steak. Watch some March Madness. I’ll have a thorough look at the entire tournament, and that story will move either tonight or early Saturday morning.
Manana fixin’ to be a very, very busy day. I’ll keep you updated, here and on Twitter, @MashekJim …
Thanks for reading.
WITH A 26-17 REBOUNDING ADVANTAGE.
