Size matters in Covington Catholic’s come-from-behind win in Sweet 16
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2022 Boys’ Sweet 16 coverage
Click below to read all of the coverage from Kentucky.com and the Lexington Herald-Leader during the Boys’ Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament in Rupp Arena.
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Covington Catholic’s last loss came at the hands of Ashland Blazer in January. That 11-point defeat lingered in the mind of head coach Scott Ruthsatz.
The intrusive memory served the Colonels well in the lead-up to their bout with the Tomcats in the UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament. They flipped the script in round two, earning a 76-65 win and a trip to the state quarterfinals. The 9th Region champs were to face Lyon County for a semifinals berth on Friday night.
BOX SCORE: Covington Catholic 76, Ashland Blazer 65
An overwhelming advantage on the boards — 30 to 12 — and a stricter commitment to guarding the three-point line in the second half made the difference for the Colonels, who trailed 40-33 at halftime. They would have been down double digits going into the locker room if not for a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Mekhi Wilson, the first of only two makes from long range (and the second of only five attempts in the game).
“The difference, mentally, between being down 10 and being down seven is huge, especially in an environment like this,” Ruthsatz said. “We challenged the guys at halftime to be more physical.”
Ashland, guard-dominated and trigger-happy from long range, was 7-for-12 from three-point distance in the first half but made five of their 15 tries out of the break. CovCath countered from the paint, from where it delivered 50 points.
The Colonels had four dunks, three of them by Mitchell Rylee, who’s going to Miami (Ohio). He had just 11 points and six rebounds but Ashland was ever-mindful of his 6-foot-8 frame.
Guard Evan Ipsaro — responsible for the remaining dunk — led CovCath with 26 points. Chandler Starks turned in a performance to remember, scoring 21 points (more than twice his average), 12 rebounds and two blocked shots in 31 minutes.
“We just had no answer for ‘em inside,” Ashland head coach Jason Mays said.
Many of the shots on which CovCath connected Thursday night were the same ones it took at Ashland, they just didn’t drop. Ruthsatz estimated that his team missed eight “point-blank layups” in the first meeting.
“We just didn’t miss ‘em tonight,” said Ruthsatz, who oversaw CovCath title runs in 2014 and 2018.
Cole Villers, a senior playing on a torn meniscus since before Ashland’s season began, had 25 points and was 7-for-14 from beyond the arc to lead Ashland, the 16th Region champ for the fourth straight year.
Villers had 16 at halftime. Wilson started the second half and was assigned one job: stick to the Ashland star.
“Even though he made some big ones, my hand was in his face,” said Wilson, who added 15 points. “Just trying to contest as much as I can and we’ll live with the results.”
This result put Covington Catholic in the quarterfinal round for the fourth time in five official trips under Ruthsatz (his Colonels earned a sixth opportunity but the 2020 edition of the tournament wasn’t played due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Size and good guard play are staples of his best squads, and these Colonels have both. They’re in what’s perceived as the “tougher” side of the bracket, but might have cemented themselves as the favorite of the gauntlet with their revenge win Thursday night.
“We’ve got great ball handlers, great ball security,” Ruthsatz said. “You’re going to have to foul us in order for us to make a mistake.”
Ashland head coach Jason Mays was well aware of the size discrepancy at play; the Tomcats’ tallest player was 6-2. He was proud of the heart his guys showed as they tried to stay in it; the Colonels were up just one point, 53-52, going into the fourth quarter. Villers was the one who made that difference, connecting on a banked-in three-pointer as time expired as the period ended.
“He’s given this game so much and this game has taken so much from him, and he hasn’t flinched one time,” Mays said. “They just had a little bit more than we did. But when he hit that shot, I thought we had some hope. Absolutely.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 11:46 PM.
