The state’s No. 1 team saved one of its toughest tests for last. It passed.

The state’s No. 1 team saved one of its toughest tests for last. It passed.

Covington Catholic closed out the regular season with a 63-45 win at Madison Central. It was a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams according to the latest edition of Dave Cantrall’s Rating the State.

C.J. Fredrick, a University of Iowa signee, scored a game-high 32 points on 13 of 21 shooting for the Colonels, who won their 14^th straight game and improved to 26-4. It was the only loss at home this season for the Indians, who fell to 22-7.

Only two of CovCath’s losses this season were to in-state opponents – Fern Creek and Cooper on back-to-back nights in the King of the Bluegrass tournament in Louisville.

Fredrick earlier in the day was named co-Player of the Year in the Ninth Region (along with Cooper’s Adam Kunkel), qualifying him as a finalist for this season’s Mr. Basketball award.

“It feels great to on a list with such great players in the state, but really right now the team and I, we’re not really worried about that,” Fredrick said after the game. “We were just worried about coming in here and getting a really big road win.”

The Colonels jumped out to an 18-7 lead after the first quarter but Madison Central pulled within 30-26 at the break. The Indians got two of CovCath’s big men – Xavier signee Jake Walter and sophomore Michael Mayer, a tight end on the football field who’s been offered by the University of Kentucky – tagged with four fouls apiece early in the third quarter and briefly tied the game, but CovCath quickly rebuilt its advantage and maintained a double-digit lead through the remainder.

CovCath neutralized the effectiveness of Madison Central star Isaiah Cozart, a junior who’s on the verge of breaking the state’s all-time blocks record. Cozart had two early blocks, improving his career total to 508 (the record is 541), but had few opportunities for swatting as the Colonels lured him away from the paint and thrived from outside the paint.

“I thought our guys were really disciplined on offense,” CovCath Coach Scott Ruthsatz said. “He’s such a good athlete. He blocks everything. We worked on, especially with our guards, you can’t get too deep on him. He’ll block it even if you think you’ve got space.”

A.J. Mayer, who quarterbacked CovCath’s state championship football team in December, had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Colonels. They’ll open against Beechwood in the 35th District tournament at Holmes on Wedneday.

Cozart led Madison Central with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The Indians will play Berea in the first round of the 44th District tournament Tuesday at Eastern Kentucky University.

This story was originally published February 16, 2018 at 10:12 PM with the headline "The state’s No. 1 team saved one of its toughest tests for last. It passed.."