How No. 1 Great Crossing and No. 3 Lexington Catholic stack up for Saturday’s showdown
No. 1 Great Crossing will face its biggest in-state test yet when it takes on No. 3 Lexington Catholic at Franklin County High School’s Gary Moore Classic in Frankfort on Saturday.
And the Warhawks could have revenge on their minds since LexCath swept them in both this Gary Moore event last season and the more important 11th Region semifinals a few weeks later.
The Knights (18-1), who are ranked No. 3 in both the latest media poll and Cantrall Ratings, suffered an 83-63 loss to No. 2 Lyon County on Dec. 30. So this game against Great Crossing (19-1) could shake up the rankings whatever the outcome.
LexCath and Great Crossing tip off at 7 p.m. Saturday at Franklin County High School. The game will be preceded by host Franklin County’s game against Scott County at 5 p.m. The games will be streamed on the NFHS Network, which requires a subscription.
Here’s a look at how Great Crossing and Lexington Catholic stack up and some of the milestone games ahead in Kentucky boys high school basketball.
Great Crossing
Leading scorers: Vince Dawson (17.5 ppg); Malachi Moreno (15.3 ppg); Junius Burrell (12.6 ppg); Jeremiah Godfrey (9.1 ppg).
Top rebounders: Moreno (13.3 rpg); Godfrey (5.7 rpg).
3-point marksmen: Burrell (33-66/50%); Gage Richardson (29-68/42.6%).
College prospects: Moreno, a 7-foot-1 junior, is a four-star recruit with offers from at least 23 Division I schools, including Kentucky; Dawson, a 6-foot-5 junior, has offers including Miami (Ohio), Eastern Kentucky and Southeast Missouri; Godfrey has reported interest from Tusculum, Cumberlands and Georgetown College.
Notes: Great Crossing ranks as the No. 25 team in the nation, according to MaxPreps. Its only loss came in double overtime, 77-74, to national No. 12 Bishop O’Connell out of Arlington, Virginia, in this season’s Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Lexington Catholic
Leading scorers: Tyler Doyle (17.6 ppg); John Reinhart (14.9 ppg); Rowen Williams (13.9 ppg).
Top rebounders: Williams (9.1 rpg); Doyle (3.8 rpg).
3-point marksmen: Doyle (23-47/48.9%); Reinhart (65-142/45.8%); Sam Smith (18-37/48.6%).
College prospects: Doyle, 6-5 senior, Bellarmine commit.
Notes: Lexington Catholic recently won its second Kentucky 2A Championship in three years with an 81-54 rout of Fleming County in which Reinhart set tournament records with 31 points and nine 3-pointers in the finals.
Games of note coming up
Friday: Boys: No. 13 Bryan Station hosts defending 11th Region champion Frederick Douglass in a game that could decide the No. 1 seed in this season’s 42nd District Tournament. Girls: Douglass begins play in the Louisville Invitational Tournament.
Friday through Sunday: All “A” Classic boys and girls quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Boys tournament features No. 2 Lyon County, No. 6 Newport and No. 10 Evangel Christian. The girls tournament features No. 4 Pikeville, No. 6 Owensboro Catholic and defending champion No. 8 Covington Holy Cross.
Feb. 2.: Boys: No. 3 Lexington Catholic at No. 4 Trinity (Louisville); Girls: Douglass at Bryan Station.
Feb. 6: Boys: No. 12 George Rogers Clark at Douglass; Girls: Lafayette at Douglass.
Feb. 9: Boys: Bryan Station at Henry Clay; Girls: Douglass at No. 3 Cooper; No. 1 Sacred Heart vs. No. 2 George Rogers Clark at St. Xavier
Feb. 13: Boys: Douglass at Henry Clay.
Feb. 14: Boys: Lexington Catholic at Douglass; Girls: Madison Central at Douglass
Feb. 20: Girls: No. 2 George Rogers Clark at Henry Clay.
Feb. 23: Girls: Douglass at No. 1 Sacred Heart; No. 13 North Laurel at Henry Clay.
Feb. 26-March 2: District tournaments.
March 4-12: Region tournaments.
March 13-16: Girls Sweet 16.
March 20-23: Boys Sweet 16.
