Kentucky’s final unbeaten basketball team falls in Sweet Sixteen classic
Kentucky for the 71st straight season will not have an unbeaten boys’ state basketball champion.
Campbell County defeated John Hardin, 61-60, in the first round of the 102nd Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen basketball state tournament Wednesday at Rupp Arena. The Camels improved to 30-4 overall while handing John Hardin, which entered 35-0, its first loss of the season.
BOX SCORE: Campbell County 61, John Hardin 60
“That’s a tough thing, to be coming to the Sweet Sixteen 35-0,” Campbell County Coach Aric Russell said. “It’s a big target on your back. We weren’t intimidated by that.”
The pair exchanged leads throughout the fourth quarter. Jachai Walker hit a three-pointer with 2:33 remaining to put the Bulldogs in front, 60-57. John Hardin twice with the lead inside the final two minutes missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity; the Camels took advantage, ultimately taking their final lead on a pair of Reid Jolly free throws with 27 seconds to play.
John Hardin had two shots in the final five seconds fall short of the basket.
“We lost on some tough shots in the past, so it’s nice to be on the other end of that,” Russell said. “John Hardin’s a great team. Obviously if you’ve won that many games, you’re a really, really good team. ... I thought the defensive stand at the end was exceptional. These kids deserve it.”
The Bulldogs scored the game’s first bucket but Campbell County built an 18-6 lead in the early going. John Hardin pulled within three points, 20-17, at the end of the first quarter after Darion Davis drove an inbound pass from the opposite baseline to the hole as time expired. The Bulldogs trailed most of the second period before briefly taking a lead; Drew Wilson converted a shot with about 30 seconds left to give Campbell a 35-34 edge at the break.
John Hardin built a 45-39 lead with a 7-0 run in the third quarter but Campbell County responded with a 9-3 answer. The teams were tied at 53 at the end of the third.
Jolly led Campbell County with 30 points, the highest scoring output for any player so far in this year’s Sweet Sixteen. He also had 10 rebounds to lead the Camels, who out-rebounded John Hardin, 28-26.
The Bulldogs were the state’s best rebounding team by average (39.6). Campbell County hit its average, which fell outside of the top 50.
“It’s disappointing because that’s one of our strong points throughout the year,” said John Hardin Coach Jared McCurry. “Alex (Matthews) consistently is getting us 10, 11 rebounds every game and I look down and he only has five. He was so keyed in on the Reid kid. I just felt like we didn’t have five guys rebounding tonight.”
Campbell County won its 17th straight game, now the second-longest active win streak in the state behind Madisonville (22). Its last loss was to Walton-Verona — 54-48 on the road — in January; the Bearcats are Campbell’s quarterfinal opponent.
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 8:08 PM.
