HS hoops week in review: Mr. Basketball contender back, No. 1 team survives scare
A look back at the biggest stories, games and performances across Kentucky in the last week.
Henry Clay’s boys and girls have proven to be the most formidable teams in the Lexington-only division.
The Blue Devils have combined to go 12-0 against teams in town. The boys are 7-0 after sweeping Bryan Station, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Frederick Douglass — the last two on the road — in the last week while the girls improved to 5-0 this season after winning at Tates Creek and Paul Laurence Dunbar over the same period.
Marques Warrick, a junior, is averaging a team-high 23.1 points per game for the boys and shooting 40.7 percent from the three-point line. Harris Hawkins averages 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who are 16-4 overall and have only one game scheduled (home against Tates Creek) this week. That means they’ll have ample practice time to hone in on some things ahead of a brutal stretch to close out the month.
“The coaches think, and I think too, that we can improve more on team defense,” Warrick said. “We’ve allowed a lot of points but we try to eliminate the opposition and we’ve been working really hard in practice on defense, so that’s our main focus. ”
Senior Kiya Thompson and freshman Amiyha Jenkins pace Henry Clay’s girls. Thompson, who will play at West Virginia State, leads the team with 17.1 points per game while Jenkins is right behind her at 16.1 on nearly 60-percent shooting from the floor. Jenkins leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per outing.
“We’ve been doing good as a team at getting better so far the past few games,” said Jenkins, whose team has won three of its last four heading into a home date with Frederick Douglass on Friday. “We’ve just been working hard to get where we are right now.”
Upset avoided
Trailing by as much as 15 points in the second half, the top-ranked Scott County’s boys rallied for a 73-70 victory at then-No. 18 Madison Central on Tuesday.
Glenn Covington scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 18 for the Cardinals, who trailed by 10 points with four minutes to play and were down 68-60 with about two minutes remaining. Madison Central missed five straight free throws and Scott County pulled to within 68-64 on buckets from Terrin Hamilton and Bryce Long before Covington proceeded to score Scott County’s final nine points — got to the rim and hit a triple on consecutive possessions to put the Cardinals ahead, 69-68, with 34 seconds remaining.
Madison Central reclaimed the lead on a pair of free throws by WKU signee Isaiah Cozart with nine seconds to play but Covington drew a foul on the other end and put the Cardinals ahead, 71-70, with five seconds left. The Indians turned the ball over, Covington hit two more free throws, and Central turned the ball over again to finish the game.
“This was a comeback of all comebacks,” Scott County Coach Billy Hicks told Kal Oakes of the Georgetown News-Graphic. “I guess we were like the little engine that could. We kept trying and trying and trying until defensively we got going a little bit. I don’t know how, but we did.”
Cozart, the state’s all-time leader in career blocked shots, had 33 points, 23 rebounds and seven blocks.
Big return
David Johnson, who missed six straight games with an MCL strain in his left knee, suited up for No. 2 Trinity at home against Waggener, then No. 4 in the Cantrall Ratings, on Friday.
The University of Louisville signee and Mr. Basketball challenger poured in 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had four steals for the Shamrocks in a 59-39 rout of the Wildcats, who had won 11 straight since losing their only other game this season (64-58 at St. Xavier).
“I thought he did a nice job,” Trinity Coach Mike Szabo told the Courier Journal. “You never know how that first game is going to be after that long a layoff.”
Trinity opens against Bullitt Central in the Louisville Invitational Tournament, which begins Monday.
Ballers
▪ Nate Valentine, Lexington Christian Academy: LCA’s head coach picked up his 100th victory after the Eagles defeated North Hardin, 49-35, on Saturday. That win came less than 24 hours after the Eagles’ 50-47 win at home over 43rd District rival Lafayette. LCA led most of the way in that one but held off a rally that saw the Generals pull within a point with 22 seconds to play. Liberty signee Kyle Rode had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists in that one to help LCA end a two-game skid in the district.
▪ Lincoln County’s defense: The girls at Lincoln County allowed only three successful field goals to Boyle County, all in the first half, in a 64-10 rout at home on Friday. Kentucky Wesleyan commit Maddy Boyle had a game-high 18 points for the Patriots in the win while UK signee Emma King and Trevecca Nazarene commit Kaitlynn Wilks each scored 10.
▪ Jalen Burbage, Bryan Station: The Defenders picked up their third win of the season in a 74-64 upset of then-No. 24 Clark County on the road Saturday. Burbage, who will sign a football scholarship with the University of Cincinnati on Feb. 6, scored 24 points, had five rebounds and was 4-for-7 from the three-point line for Bryan Station, which ended a four-game slide.
▪ Lauren Schwartz, Ryle: The Rice signee had 31 points and 17 rebounds in the Raiders’ 78-47 victory over Boone County on Tuesday. Her eight rebounds in Ryle’s 78-58 loss at Mount Notre Dame (Ohio) made her the program’s all-time leader in that category.
▪ Jonathan Tillman, Frankfort: The senior had 15 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks en route to Player of the Game honors in the Panthers’ 71-64 victory over South Laurel in the U.S. Army Iron Warrior Classic at Southwestern on Saturday. Frankfort has won 11 of its last 12 games (it dropped a 77-76 decision at 41st District rival Franklin County on Tuesday) entering the 11th Region All “A” Classic, which it hosts this week. The Panthers play Frankfort Christian — a newcomer to the 11th Region — on Tuesday and the winner of that game will play Lexington Christian on Thursday.
▪ Lindi DeBilzan, Lafayette: The Generals have won eight straight games, their last two handily against other Lexington squads. DeBilzan had a triple-double — 26 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists — in a 71-47 win over Bryan Station on Thursday before finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a 71-42 victory against Frederick Douglass on Saturday.
▪ Brayden Sebastian, Garrard County: He scored 44 points in an 89-82 loss at Danville on Friday. The junior is averaging 25.6 points per game — ninth in the state — for the Golden Lions.
▪ Grant Disken, Covington Catholic: Last year’s state champions on Friday handed Cooper its first loss in the 9th Region this season, 53-47. Disken, a junior, had 18 points and was 4-for-7 from the three-point line for the Colonels.
▪ KyKy Tandy, University Heights Academy: He scored 44 points for the Blazers in an 87-78 loss to Mayfield, whom UHA could possibly see again if both qualify for the All “A” Classic state tournament; that hypothetical rematch would happen in the championship round. Connor Guthrie led Mayfield with 21 points.
▪ Tiarra East, Butler: The sophomore scored 15 points to lead the Bearrettes in their 47-39 win over Highlands on Saturday, their third win of the week and a 21-point turnaround from their 43-30 loss to the Bluebirds in the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic in December.