Great Crossing wears down Cooper but suffers injury that could hurt Boys’ Sweet 16 hopes
Great Crossing pulled away to a grinding 49-36 win over Cooper in the last quarterfinals matchup of the UK Healthcare Boys’ Basketball Sweet 16 on Friday, but it came with a potentially tournament-ending ankle injury to starting point guard LJ Holman.
Vince “Tre” Dawson III led Great Crossing with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and 6-foot-10 Kentucky signee Malachi Moreno added 13 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks as the Warhawks frustrated Cooper’s offense all night.
“I know Cooper is known for how well they defend, but I thought we matched that,” said Great Crossing coach Steve Page, whose team held Cooper to 29.2 percent shooting from the field. “Obviously, we lost our starting point guard this evening, and he’s probably questionable for the rest of the tournament, but that’s OK. Our kids gutted it out.”
Holman took an awkward step at midcourt as he crossed paths with teammate Gage Richardson during a fast break opportunity early in the second quarter. He immediately limped off. The 6-foot-1 sophomore averaged 11.3 points per game this season.
Great Crossing’s next opponent, Montgomery County, features Cayden Reed, one of the most dynamic senior point guards in the state. The loss of Holman could be a significant concern when their semifinal tips at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Dawson and fellow senior forward Richardson took over most of Holman’s duties running the offense the rest of the game against Cooper.
Despite falling behind by as many as nine points in the second quarter and 11 points in the third, Cooper hung within striking distance of the Warhawks until a key stretch of the fourth.
After Isaac Brown’s layup cut Great Crossing’s lead to 36-30 with 7:03 to play in the game, the Warhawks held the Jags scoreless for more than five minutes and went on a 10-0 run capped by a pair of Dawson free throws to make it 46-30 with 1:22 left.
Brown led Cooper with 14 points. Andy Johnson, the Jags’ co-9th Region player of the year, added 12.
“Hats off to Great Crossing, man. God, they’re good,” Cooper coach Tim Sullivan said. “We did everything that we could and we fought, but we just got beat tonight.”
Questions about Sullivan’s future at Cooper have swirled for weeks since word got out that the school’s administration had told the only boys’ basketball coach it’s had since its 2008 founding that his contract would not be renewed.
The team and many of its supporters rallied around Sullivan as he led the Jaguars to their second 9th Region title and its corresponding trip to Rupp Arena.
“I don’t know how many people thought we were going to be in this situation at the end, … but what they did this year — talk about leaving a legacy,” Sullivan said. “And the legacy they left is bigger than a state quarterfinal Sweet 16. They learned how to be men. They learned how to grow up and make decisions for themselves and stand up for what they believe in.”
The coach got emotional at one point of the media session and fought back tears.
“I can’t put it into words how proud I am to be their coach, how proud I am to be a part of the program,” Sullivan said. “I’m in love with these guys, and I just don’t want it to end.”
Later, Sullivan added that he would still be Cooper’s coach on Saturday. Whatever happens from there, “The sun will rise, and we’ll figure it out.”
This story was originally published March 29, 2025 at 12:03 AM.
