New-look Great Crossing pulls away to its eighth straight win over Scott County
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Great Crossing improved to 13-9 with an almost entirely new lineup from last season.
- Sophomore Brady Orem led the Warhawks with 22 points.
- Teams used a 35-second shot clock in regular season play; KHSAA mandates it in 2027-28.
This season’s annual Battle of the Birds boys basketball game between Great Crossing and Scott County had some new wrinkles at Coach Billy Hicks Gymnasium on Saturday night.
Great Crossing fielded an almost entirely new team from the one that won the school’s first Boys’ Sweet 16 state championship last season, while Scott County head coach Sean Woods got his first look at the Cardinals gym packed to near capacity in blazing shades of red and green.
Fans on hand also got to see the first use of a 35-second shot clock in a regular season game between 11th Region teams as both schools agreed to turn on the already-installed devices for this season’s matchup, something currently only allowed for games that don’t affect district standings but will be mandatory for KHSAA competition beginning in the 2027-28 season.
The constant between the rivals remained Great Crossing’s domination of the series that began in 2019 when Scott County’s enrollment split in half for the new school.
The Warhawks shot a red-hot 68% from the field in the second half to pull away to a 69-51 victory, Great Crossing’s eighth straight over Scott County and ninth overall in their 11 meetings.
“We’re pretty proud of the fact that we’ve won eight in a row in the rivalry,” said Great Crossing coach Steve Page, whose starting five last season included Kentucky’s Malachi Moreno and Morehead State’s Vince ’Tre’ Dawson III. “I think everybody thought it was because we had Malachi and Tre and people of that nature. We proved tonight that, yeah, those guys are good, but we still build a darn good program over here.”
Big shoes to fill for the Warhawks
Brady Orem led Great Crossing with 22 points while guards Travanti Cooper and Graham Swartz chipped in 17 and 16 points, respectively, and Colt Delimpo added three 3-pointers.
Orem, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, became more a part of last season’s state champions off the bench as the season wore on. This season, he’s coming in as “the guy.”
“It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s good pressure,” Orem said. “It’s a good thing that you’re the focal point of the team and you’re the guy everybody else leans on. They look to you to be the energizer and, really, just keep everybody going.”
Though the Cardinals trailed for most of the game, the final margin obscures the fact that Scott County trimmed Great Crossing’s lead to 36-35 on a Parker Sanders 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:51 to play in the third quarter.
Great Crossing answered with a 9-2 run to close the period that included four points from Orem. In the fourth quarter, a pair of Graham Swartz 3-pointers sandwiched around another by Colt Delimpo on consecutive possessions that put the Warhawks up 57-43 with 4:54 left in the game. Scott County couldn’t muster another rally.
“We competed. They had the answer with their big fella,” Scott County’s Woods said. “And then they hit some big shots down the stretch. With five minutes to go, they broke the game open and put the game away with some big-time threes. We didn’t capitalize.”
Montae Washburn led Scott County with 19 points. Tidiane Faye added 13.
No worries about the shot clock
The shot clock proved to be a non-factor. It only seemed to rush one possession, and it never went off for a violation.
“In this game, I didn’t expect it to make a bit of difference,” Page said. “Both of us are trying to get up and play and take quick shots. I think it’s great for high school basketball. I’m not big on it ‘making a difference’ for kids to get to college. Very few kids go and play college ball. … I just think it’s good for basketball because it teaches kids to make quicker decisions.”
Looking ahead for both teams
Great Crossing (13-9) is undefeated in the 41st District. Most of its losses have come to Kentucky Media Elite 16 poll ranked teams.
One of those, No. 4 Madison Central, endured a significant scare from the Warhawks on Jan. 9. Great Crossing led the Indians by 14 at half before being reeled in. Still, it had two attempts to win the game as time ran out in the 57-56 loss in Richmond.
“I’m very, very happy with how we’re progressing,” Page said. “The Montgomery County game (a 78-61 road loss on Dec. 18) is the only game that we kind of laid an egg in the second half. I think we’ve played everybody pretty close at times, and had stretches as the dominant team.”
Scott County (12-8) has more wins under Woods than each of the last five seasons as the University of Kentucky “Unforgettable” tries to return the two-time state championship program to its winning form. The Cards are 3-2 in the 42nd District with a home game against No. 15 Bryan Station on Tuesday and road games next week at Henry Clay and Douglass.
Despite the loss, Woods appreciated the moments the Great Crossing-Scott County rivalry creates for the community.
“This is what high school basketball should be about,” Woods said. “Unfortunately, we came on the short end of the stick. But, you know, better days are coming for us, and everybody knows that.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2026 at 12:03 PM.
