‘We’re all nasty dudes.’ Opening-night mismatches set table for epic 11th Region semis.
Lexington Catholic’s 7-foot senior center Reece Potter scored 11 of his game-high 26 points in the first quarter Tuesday to help give the No. 2 Knights an early edge they would never relinquish in their 69-50 home win over Madison Southern in the first round of the boys’ 11th Region basketball tournament.
“I was just trying to get going early because I know if I get going, everybody else gets going because we feed inside out,” said Potter, who also had seven rebounds and five blocks. “Tonight was my night. Who knows who it’s going to be (Saturday).”
Like Lexington Catholic, every other district champion in the 11th won its first-round game on Tuesday. LexCath will face Great Crossing in Saturday’s first semifinal, tentatively scheduled to tip at 1 p.m. at Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena. Frederick Douglass takes on Madison Central at 3 p.m. Saturday. The girls’ championship game follows at 6 p.m.
Lexington Catholic Coach Brandon Salsman confirmed his team planned to get Potter going early. Potter scored LexCath’s first seven points and his next bucket, a dunk with 2:34 left in the first quarter made the lead 19-10 and prompted an Eagles timeout. Madison Southern narrowed the lead to five points a few times in the second quarter, but got no closer.
“Reese showed up, which is what our captain should do and did a great job,” Salsman said. “We’ve ridden him all year long. And we’re going to ride him hopefully for a few more games and see where he can take us.”
LexCath also got big games from Tyler Doyle (17 points, four assists) and Hudson Sparks (17 points, seven rebounds). Madison Southern (19-14) was led by Jay Rose, Zach Hudson and Braden Hudson, who scored 17, 12 and 10 points, respectively.
“We’re hot right now,” Potter said. “A couple of nights ago, Johnny Reinhart was electric, Tyler Doyle shows up every night, Hudson Sparks can go off. We’ve got five to seven dudes who can score. We’re all nasty dudes. We all want to rebound and play hard. That’s the difference in our team this year.”
Next, LexCath (31-2) faces Great Crossing, who has its own big man in 6-foot-11 sophomore Malachi Moreno. Potter is signed to play with Miami (Ohio) in college. Moreno is already attracting offers from schools such as Purdue and Ohio State.
“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” Potter said. “Malachi’s a great friend and a great big man. He’s going to be a star in college. … (and) they’ve got other dudes that are going to be able to match up with our dudes. It’s going to be a fun battle.”
Lexington Catholic defeated Great Crossing 61-52 on a neutral floor on Jan. 28 at Franklin County. Potter had 14 points, seven rebounds and one block. Moreno scored 17, grabbed 10 rebounds and had seven blocks.
“It’s two great teams, two big kids and a lot of great players around them,” Salsman said. “We will have to continue to do what we’ve done and battle, battle, battle.”
Tuesday’s other 11th Region games
Frederick Douglass 67, Lexington Christian 50: True to their style of play this season, the No. 8 Broncos (29-2) opened the scoring with a dunk by Aveion Chenault and soon overwhelmed visiting Lexington Christian.
Douglass’s Armelo Boone knocked down five of his six three-point tries on his way to a team-high 23 points. Boone also led Douglass in rebounds with 11.
In all, six different Broncos made three-pointers as they shot 52.6 percent (10 of 19) from beyond the arc. Chenault finished with 12 points. Douglass point guard Kai Simpson scored 11 and had five assists.
Douglass led 30-14 at halftime and never trailed.
Tyler Hall led LCA (23-10) with 23 points. Andersen Green added eight.
Douglass will face Madison Central in Saturday’s semifinals at 3 p.m.. The Broncos defeated the Indians 61-59 at The Farm on Jan. 20 thanks to a Boone tip-in basket at the buzzer.
Great Crossing 53, Scott County 42: After scoring only 10 points in the first half and trailing by four at the break, the No. 7 Warhawks (28-5) shook loose of their neighbor school in the second half by outscoring the Cardinals 26-8 in the third quarter.
Vince Dawson led Great Crossing with 19 points, Malachi Moreno added 12 points to go with 12 rebounds and Junius Burrell scored 10 to help advance the Warhawks to the region semis.
Scott County (11-22) was led by 18 points from Micah Glenn and 15 from Nick Mosby.
Madison Central 87, Western Hills 51: The Indians (19-14) broke open the game with a 29-11 run in the third quarter after leading 35-24 at halftime.
Jaylen Davis led Madison Central with 31 points, Jayden West added 22, making five of his 10 three-point attempts, and Robby Todd delivered a double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds.
The Wolverines (17-12) struggled from the field, making only 36.4 percent of their shots and only two of 25 three-point attempts. Elijah Thompson led Western Hills with 14 points, David Jackson added 13 and Walter Campbell had 11.
Boys’ 11th Region Tournament
At EKU’s Baptist Health Arena
Saturday’s semifinals*
1 p.m.: Madison Central (19-14) vs. Frederick Douglass (29-2)
3 p.m.: Great Crossing (28-5) vs. Lexington Catholic (31-2)
Monday’s finals
7 p.m.: Championship game
*Saturday’s tip-offs are subject to change if Eastern Kentucky’s men’s basketball team gets the opportunity to host Sunday’s ASUN Tournament championship game. An EKU win and Kennesaw State loss on Thursday would potentially trigger the rescheduling of Saturday’s 11th Region games.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 8:33 AM.
