Lexington Christian gets back to the All ‘A’ Classic with win over Sayre
Lexington Christian boys’ basketball is back.
That’s as in back in the All “A” Classic later this month at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond as the 11th Region small-school champs … back in contention for its first 43rd District title since it captured a third in a row in 2019 … and maybe back for even more.
Lexington Christian (14-3) earned the 11th Region All “A” Classic title and bid to the statewide tournament with a 67-59 win over host Sayre on Saturday in front of a crowd that nearly filled the Spartans’ tiny gym to capacity.
A season ago, the Eagles suffered through a 9-23 campaign, the team’s first losing season in nearly a decade. It also missed the full 11th Region Tournament for the third year and a row and fell to Sayre in the All “A” regional, a tournament LCA has won more than any of its fellow competitors (now 17 times).
“It means a lot,” LCA tournament MVP Saxton Howard said. “We had to get our get-back from last year. We had this on our calendars marked and we just went out there and showed what we had.”
A 9-2 run late in the second quarter, capped by Andrew Green’s three-pointer with 19 seconds until halftime, provided a cushion LCA largely maintained over the game’s final 16 minutes. Green and Howard, both sophomores, each had 16 points for the Eagles. Senior Tyler Hall led the team with 18 points, 12 of those in the second half.
“Last year was a tough year for us,” said Hall, one of LCA Coach Ted Hall’s sons. “We kind of had that taste in our mouth and the whole game we were talking about a ‘road to the championship,’ the road to EKU. It was a hard win against a great team.”
Coach Hall credits last season’s trials as a catalyst for this year’s team. His younger players got a ton of experience and the seniors on that team displayed an incredible work ethic and perseverance despite their struggles, he said.
“We had a good summer, and I just felt that continued into this year,” Coach Hall said. “It’s a learning process. We still have a lot of young guys, but they’re more experienced. This is hard. The more experience you have, the better you’re going to be.”
LCA players said the experience of letting slip a large lead against district rival Lexington Catholic at home earlier this month did not come into play Saturday against Sayre. The Eagles took an 18-0 lead over No. 3 LexCath to start on Jan. 3 and led 62-54 with 3:07 to play before the Knights’ miracle comeback that included nine straight points from 7-footer Reece Potter.
Saturday, Sayre (12-5) pulled within five points a couple of times down the stretch, but LCA answered each run. Ian Reesor led four Spartans in double figures with 15 points.
“Catholic was a tough loss, but we know we can beat any team,” Tyler Hall said. “When they made a little run at the end, we had the utmost trust in our guys and we showed our resilience.”
LCA won the statewide All “A” Classic in 2018 with players like Kyle Rode and Carter Hendrickson, who still return to campus during the team’s summer workouts. Coach Hall’s current team grew up watching their success and they draw inspiration from it, he said.
Sunday, LCA went to see Rode’s Liberty team play at Eastern Kentucky. Rode had a message for the Eagles heading into the All “A” and the rest of the season.
“Kyle said to those guys, ‘This is a big deal. It’s all a big deal,’” Coach Hall said. “These are huge games. Next week we’ve got another district game, then they are playing in Richmond and then it’s back to district games after that.”
But Coach Hall isn’t too worried about the grind. He thinks his players will be ready.
“These guys are very competitive people,” Coach Hall said. “I think we could wake them up at 4 o’clock in the morning and take them to Shillito and they would play hard. … It doesn’t matter the situation, they are always ready to go.”
Berea tops LCA in girls’ All ‘A’
Defense and a strong second quarter helped propel Berea to a 35-27 win over Lexington Christian to capture the Pirates’ fifth straight All “A” Classic 11th Region title and corresponding trip to the statewide tournament later this month in Richmond.
“They met that challenge, although Lexington Christian absolutely put them through the test,” Berea head coach Dammian Stepp said. “We just kept to the game plan. Run your stuff, pound it inside, try to get to the free-throw line and try to finish.”
LCA led 13-10 early in the second period, but Berea scored eight unanswered to close the half. Abigail Beard scored five of her game-high 12 points during the run. Maddy King added 11 for the Pirates (11-4). Nia Carr topped LCA (8-9) with nine points.
Stepp graduated six players who had been the core of Berea’s All “A” run to this point. The five juniors he started Saturday have “been around, but it’s kind of a new experience for them,” Stepp said. “And they stepped up really big.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2023 at 4:50 PM.
