Lexington Catholic edges Great Crossing to reach 11th Region championship game
No. 2 Lexington Catholic and No. 7 Great Crossing first met this season in a 61-52 battle that saw the Knights come out on top at the end of January.
And, on Saturday afternoon, the two programs matched up once more with a spot in the boys’ 11th Region Tournament championship game on the line. It was again Lexington Catholic emerging victorious 48-42.
“They’re a great team,” Lexington Catholic head coach Brandon Salsman said of Great Crossing. “And we knew we’d have to bring our A-game to be a part of it. So we just worked this week on making sure we understand the game plan of we had to rebound and we had to play defense, and the good thing is, that’s what we’ve done all along.”
The Knights (32-2), who hang their hat on defense, understood the power and athleticism that the Warhawks (28-6) bring to each and every game.
“We knew they have a good game plan coming in,” Lexington Catholic’s Tyler Doyle said. “We played them earlier this year, it was same game as this; it was a dogfight. We just had to play our game and we’d be fine. And we came out on top.”
Despite Lexington Catholic leading for more than 29 minutes Saturday, the advantage never made it to double-digits. An early nine-point lead brought fans to their feet, but LexCath never managed to completely take over.
In the first half alone, Great Crossing’s Vince Dawson delivered 12 points to keep things competitive. The Warhawks pestered the Knights defensively, leading to several errors that allowed for a pair of lead changes.
The Knights looked overwhelmed and out of sync. But a clutch three-pointer from senior Hudson Sparks with just over 22 seconds to play before the break put the Knights back on top.
Previously playing the Warhawks man-to-man, Lexington Catholic switched to a zone defense in an attempt to limit Great Crossing on the inside.
“I think we gave up some open shots in the first half that we don’t usually do,” Doyle said. “And I think the second half, when we switched to the zone, that really helped us.”
According to Salsman, the key to the victory was staying locked in mentally.
“Stay calm,” Salsman said. “You know, you’re getting a tournament like this and the crowds are bigger, the moment’s bigger and the pressure is bigger and you just got to take a deep breath sometimes and grab a rebound, dive on the floor. Skin your knee, do something. And you kind of get yourself in the situation where you calm down and you’re back in into the position you need to be.”
Great Crossing’s Dawson led all scorers with 21 points.
Doyle and Reece Potter carried the offensive load for the Knights, with Doyle contributing 15 points and Potter 13. Doyle grabbed five rebounds while Potter had four. Potter also led the team in blocks with four.
“Reece is our foundation,” Salsman said. “No doubt he’s our anchor. But Tyler is our juice. He’s our guy that gets us going. So, you know, those two are an unbelievable combo together and they just had an unbelievable year. And I think they’ll hopefully have one more super solid effort for us on Monday night.”
That’s when Lexington Catholic will return to EKU to play Frederick Douglass for a spot in the Boys’ Sweet 16.
The teams previously met on Nov. 30 with the Knights prevailing 71-59.
“We’ll see what we can do,” Salsman said. “They weren’t the team that we played in November and we know that. And so we’ll just have to see what we’ve got.”
Monday
Boys’ 11th Region Tournament championship
At Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena
7 p.m.: Lexington Catholic (32-2) vs. Frederick Douglass (30-2)
Tickets: Online purchase via GoFan.co or its app
Streaming: Pay per view at Go.PrepSpin.com
