It took 77 years to return to the Sweet Sixteen. They’re sticking around a while.
When you have a 6-foot-10 center in Dieonte Miles, a three-star recruit who’s committed to a program like Xavier, he’s likely to draw a lot of attention.
But the rest of Walton-Verona’s team showed the Bearcats are much more than a one-man show, blowing out Knox Central 76-54 in Wednesday’s opening game of the Whitaker Bank KHSAA Sweet Sixteen in Rupp Arena.
“They were sagging on us and Coach said in the locker room, if we’re open, we’ve got to make it. There were three guys on Dieonte, so it helps when we’re open to put them down,” said Walton-Verona’s Kameron Pardee, who benefited the most from the focus on Miles, leading the Bearcats with 24 points, 12 in each half.
Even with Knox Central’s zone collapsing on him, Miles got 19 points. He added seven blocks and three assists.
“Coach really wants me to be aggressive on the offensive end because when I draw more attention to me, it opens up shots for everybody else,” Miles said.
Walton-Verona blew open the game in the third period thanks to a balanced scoring attack that saw four different players hit three-pointers after Knox Central looked liked it would hang in, cutting the lead to two on its first touch in the third quarter. But the Bearcats finished the third up by 14, 58-44.
“They made shots that we didn’t think they could make consistently and the big kid played really well against us,” Knox Central Coach Tony Patterson said.
Knox Central shook off early jitters to make a game of it for a while after falling behind 11-2 to start. Patterson had to call a timeout less than three minutes into the game.
“We just told them to relax and play our game,” Patterson said.
The Panthers settled down and got back into it, whittling what had grown to a 13-point lead to three, 27-24, when Jevonte Turner’s layup capped a 17-7 Knox Central run. The Panthers had a chance to cut the lead to two at the half after thwarting Walton-Verona’s final play, but Nick Martin’s dunk attempt on a fast break at the buzzer bounced out.
Jalen Adams led Knox Central with 19 points. Martin added 17.
Walton-Verona, making the program’s first state tournament appearance since 1942 when “-Verona” wasn’t a thing, relished the chance to play on the big stage.
“I wasn’t even expecting that many people to be here, but to go out and perform like that it definitely met expectations,” said Grant Grubbs, who scored 14.
Now, the Bearcats will take on the winner of Wednesday’s evening game between John Hardin and Campbell County.
“These guys are winners. Nothing’s too big for them and it never has been,” said Walton-Verona Coach Grant Brannen. “They’re going to take it on.”
BOX SCORE: Walton-Verona 76, Knox Central 54
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 1:39 PM.
