Round 1 goes to Lexington Catholic in ‘electrifying’ rivalry with Dunbar
There has been a lot of high school basketball played since the season opened in December.
But here in Lexington, aside from a couple of holiday tournament thrillers, there hasn’t been anything yet quite like the atmosphere Lexington Catholic’s visit to Paul Laurence Dunbar delivered Friday night.
Both student sections turned out in force for the first round of this 43rd District rivalry, a series Dunbar had won the last two out of three games played, including last season’s 43rd District championship.
For a time, it looked as if Lexington Catholic (17-4) would win this visit in a blowout, but Dunbar (7-10) whittled what was a 14 point fourth-quarter deficit to two in the game’s final minute before eventually falling 61-56. The teams will meet again on Jan. 29.
“I love the way our guys fought back,” said first-year Dunbar Coach Murray Garvin, whose Bulldogs have lost five of their last seven games. “It’s been a tough stretch not only on the court, but with the snow days, we had no practice in between this game (and the last). …
“But what an atmosphere. That was my first game with Dunbar versus Catholic and it was really electrifying in the gym tonight.”
Lexington Catholic sophomore John Reinhart scored a game-high 31 points, including five three-pointers and converted 14 of his 15 free throw attempts — several in the final moments that helped seal the victory.
Reinhart’s late-game performance in last Sunday’s Kentucky 2A Championship game helped propel the Knights to that tournament title. Those good feelings carried over. Reinhart hit all three of his first quarter three-point attempts as LexCath built an early lead.
“Coach has got my back,” Reinhart said of his mindset Friday. “I talked to the coach after the 2A and we had a good talk. He just boosted my confidence again. Practice has been going well. It’s just been fun with all the guys.”
Reinhart’s last three-pointer came on the heels of falling completely on his backside after throwing up a miss. Reece Potter, LexCath’s 6-foot-11 center, slapped the offensive rebound back to Potter just as he got back to his feet on the left wing. He let fly again without hesitation.
“You always have to have the mindset that you are going to hit the next one,” Reinhart said. “Just let it go.”
Potter had a big night, as well, with 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, showing off his hook shot a couple of times and a deft shooting touch from 15 feet both on the baseline and at the elbow.
“Where Reece had started (at the beginning of the season) to where Reece is now is night and day,” LexCath Coach Brandon Salsman said. “There’s a reason why everyone’s recruiting him.”
Salsman was less thrilled that his team let Dunbar tighten the game up with a series of clutch plays and three-pointers.
“We’re getting healthy right now. Everybody’s starting to come together,” Salsman said. “I really like where we are. I didn’t like the last couple minutes of that game, but this is a tough place to play, and they are a very good team.”
Dunbar outscored LexCath 27-21 in the final quarter and got threes from Max VanDyke, Zach Carter and Nick Spalding all in the final two minutes of the game. A Hunter Williams drive cut the lead to 56-54 with 36.7 seconds left, but Reinhart continued to make his free throws when fouled down the stretch.
“As the game kept going, we made some plays here and there,” Dunbar’s Garvin said. “I thought we missed a couple of shots that we normally would have made, but I give credit to Lexington Catholic and Coach Salsman. They do an outstanding job.”
Spalding led the Bulldogs with 16 points. Shyheim Drew added 11, while Carter chipped in eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
LexCath’s second-leading scorer, senior guard Jack Gohmann, had a tough night with just four points after getting two quick fouls in the first half. When Gohmann hits his average (15.4 points) along with the emergence of Reinhart outside and Potter’s play inside, the Knights present a number of threats, something they might not have had last year, even though they had the state’s Mr. Basketball.
“Last year, everybody kind of knew the ball was going to go to Ben (Johnson). … This year, it’s a little different in the fact that we’ve got five or six guys that we can give the ball to at any point and they can do something with it,” Salsman said.
Reinhart sees the potential.
“We’re playing pretty well,” he said. “When we get Jack back to playing how he can play, we’ll be cooking by the end of the season. We’ll be dangerous.”
