Shut-down defense carries Warren Central to comeback win over Murray in Boys’ 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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For the second time in as many days, Warren Central held an opponent scoreless for more than eight minutes as the Dragons rallied for a 54-48 victory over Murray in Thursday’s final quarterfinals game of the UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16 in Rupp Arena.
Warren Central trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, allowing Murray to shoot 62 percent through two quarters. But that all changed with just under three minutes left in the third quarter as the Dragons went on a 14-0 run to take control of the game.
“I tell them that shot’s not going to come with you all of the time. It’s going to fall out of the luggage,” Warren Central Coach William Unseld said. “Defense and rebounding go everywhere you go and they bought into that. That’s kind of been our staple here late in the year.”
The Dragons actually had a pair of defensive stands. They held Murray scoreless for the last three minutes of the first half as they trimmed a nine-point deficit to 33-30 at the break.
“A lot of times when we’re getting down, it’s our own mistakes,” Unseld said. “The first half, we were just giving them wide-open looks.”
Murray missed five consecutive shots and committed three turnovers during its second-half drought, ceding the lead to Warren Central on a Kade Unseld three-pointer on the opening play of the fourth quarter. The Dragons’ 40-39 lead 41 seconds into the final period was their first lead since going up 2-0 at the start of the game. Warren Central never trailed again.
In Thursday’s quarterfinals, Warren Central held Male scoreless for more than eight minutes, as well.
The difference in the Dragons’ play Friday? “It was more effort because I mean, at the end of the day, we don’t want to end our season right there,” Warren Central point guard Izayiah Villafuerte said. “We’ve got to win the game to get to tomorrow and that’s all we were trying to do.”
Omari Glover scored five straight points during the 14-0 run capped by a layup and a foul shot that put the Dragons up 47-39 with 3:17 left in the game.
“It was a tough game. It was a fight,” William Unseld said. “We made big plays when we needed to and did a good job in the second half of defending the three point line.”
Murray (26-7) made 10 of its 14 shots in the first quarter, but went 10-of-24 thereafter, including going 1-for-9 from three-point range.
Grant Whitaker broke the scoreless drought with seven of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers could get no closer than two points down the stretch on a Whitaker layup that cut the score to 50-48 with 29 seconds left. A pair of Jaiden Lawrence free throws on the ensuing possession set the final margin.
Lawrence led the Dragons with 13 points. Glover added 12 and Kade Unseld scored 10. Murray’s Trey Boggess finished with 12 points.
Next, Warren Central (28-3) was to face Covington Catholic at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the state semifinals. Both teams played Friday evening and would be returning to action on little rest. Whoever’s successful in that game would have even less time to prepare for Saturday’s 7 p.m. championship game.
“It’s gonna be tough but you’re in the Final Four,” Unseld said. “You’re playing on the last day of the Kentucky high school season. You’re getting to the finish line.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 8:40 AM.
