‘Everybody doubted us.’ Great Crossing stuns way to third straight region crown
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- Great Crossing defied low preseason rank to win third straight 11th Region crown.
- Sophomore Brady Orem had 25 points, 13 rebounds and a 10-1 late run.
- Warhawks defense held Frederick Douglass to just 2 points in the second quarter.
It seemed everything and everyone told Great Crossing its moment in Kentucky boys high school basketball’s spotlight was over.
All five starters from its back-to-back 11th Region champions and last season’s Boys’ Sweet 16 state title holders, including 2025 Mr. Basketball Malachi Moreno and second-leading scorer Vince “Tre” Dawson III, had graduated or moved on.
Great Crossing was ranked so low (tied for No. 24) in the Herald-Leader’s preseason coaches poll in December, that no one remembered it Monday night at Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena after the 11th Region Tournament finals. They never sniffed any other ranking all year.
That’s OK, because the Warhawks delivered a stunning 53-45 win over No. 7 Frederick Douglass on Monday for their third straight region championship on an evening no one there will soon forget.
“It was so great. Everybody doubted us,” said Great Crossing sophomore Brady Orem, who earned tournament most valuable player honors for a dominating performance that included 25 points and 13 rebounds. “We had a chip on our shoulder. But everybody doubting us just gave us extra willpower. And we got it done.”
Orem credited his teammates for helping put him in position for a series of plays that swung momentum and helped seal the outcome.
Over the last two minutes of the third quarter, the lead changed hands four times, the last on Travanti Cooper’s 3-pointer from the left wing at the horn to put Great Crossing up 32-30 going into the final frame. Cooper finished with 11 points and three steals.
Douglass guard Tate Robinson answered immediately in the fourth quarter with his second 3-pointer of the game to reclaim the advantage, 33-32, for the Broncos.
Orem took it from there, going on a personal 10-1 run over the next five minutes that included back-to-back layups and fouls he converted into three-point plays. He scored four more on two free throws from another drive and tacked on a layup that put Great Crossing up 42-34 with 2:29 to play. Douglass never recovered.
“Tonight, Great Crossing was the better team,” said Douglass coach Murray Garvin, whose Broncos ousted No. 1 Madison Central from the tournament on Saturday. “I thought Brady Orem played a grown man’s game. He dominated us on the glass with second chance points and ‘and-ones.’ To me, that was the story of the game.”
Orem has breakout season
Orem, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, mostly came off the bench last season, but was thrust into the starting lineup for the state semis and finals after an injury sidelined point guard LJ Holman, who left for a prep school in the offseason. Orem impressed, scoring 14 points in the semis and eight points in the finals. He’s averaged 21.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game this season.
“I knew Brady Orem was going to be really good this year,” Great Crossing coach Steve Page said. “He’s far exceeded my expectations on what we were going to get from him. He is a load on the inside. He’s a release valve for us. We just throw it in there and say, ‘Go. Give us two points.’”
The Warhawks (23-11) held Lexington Catholic to 22.7 percent from the field in the second half of their 50-42 win in Saturday’s semifinals. Against Douglass (23-7), Great Crossing held the Broncos to just two points in the second quarter as the Warhawks took a 21-15 halftime lead. Douglass shot 35 percent from the field for the game.
“We could never get in the flow offensively,” Garvin said. “They probably guarded us the best that anybody’s guarded us all year. And they just played half court man-to-man, and they really got us out of out of what we run.”
DeMarcuss Surratt led Douglass with 21 points. Tate Robinson and Nate Coen added eight and seven points, respectively.
Great Crossing fueled by being overlooked
Page practically “aw-shucked” his way through the tournament with his unheralded 41st District champs. “Any of the winners would want to play us,” he said after the Warhawks advanced through Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
But signs of Great Crossing’s potential had been there this season. On Jan. 9, Great Crossing led eventual end-of-season No. 1 Madison Central 38-24 at half before losing 57-56. They had two shots to win it at the end that missed.
Page had a simple explanation for Monday’s upset.
“We’ve got great players,” he said. “People didn’t know about them because they sat behind people for four years. … These guys wanted to be a part of something special, so they chose to stay around. They didn’t get many opportunities, but they practiced against the best team in the state last year.”
Great Crossing sophomore guard Aslam Ismail ranked among Monday’s starters who did not play much during the team’s run to a state title last season. He scored six points against Douglass, including five at the free throw line down the stretch to seal the win.
“It’s surreal. Watching them do it and then following their footsteps and doing it ourselves is like a dream come true,” Ismail said. “We worked our butts off in practice every day. We knew what we were capable of, even if they didn’t believe in us. At GC, we knew what we could do.”
Next game
What: The UK Healthcare Boys’ Basketball Sweet 16 State Tournament
Where: Rupp Arena
When: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Matchup: Great Crossing (23-11) vs. West Jessamine-Danville Christian winner in the 12th Region.
