Warren Central cruises into Sweet Sixteen quarterfinals for second straight year
Warren Central defeated Mayfield, 73-55, Thursday night in the final first-round game of the 102nd Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen.
BOX SCORE: Warren Central 73, Mayfield 55
Dre Boyd stuffed the stat sheet — 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks — to lead the Dragons in their second straight first-round win at state.
Tayshaun Bibb went 4-for-4 from the floor and was 7-for-8 from the free-throw line to finish with 15 points for Warren Central. Tre Pillow had 13 points to round out the Dragons in double-digit scoring.
“We made shots tonight, we rebounded well and for the most part we guarded in long stretches,” Warren Central Coach William Unseld said. “And we moved the ball well on offense. Dre had a big first half, Tre had a big second half, Tayshaun had a big second half. “
Kobe Brents had six points on 2-for-8 shooting, all the attempts from behind the three-point line. He came into the Sweet Sixteen averaging 14.8 points, Warren Central’s team high.
“We’ve had different guys step up and lead us on different nights,” Unseld said. “Kobe Brents, he’s usually our leading scorer, we win the game by double digits and he had six points tonight. ... They love sharing the ball. We’re very unselfish, sometimes to a fault.”
The Dragons, who won their fourth straight, bolted out to a 12-4 lead before Mayfield settled in. The Cardinals used a 9-0 run early in the second quarter to briefly take their only lead, 20-17, before the Dragons answered with a 7-0 spurt. They led 30-26 at halftime. Mayfield got to within two late in the third but Warren Central used a 12-2 run at the top of the fourth quarter to push its lead to 15 points, 62-47, with about half the period to play.
Like many teams in the field, Warren Central didn’t win its region title until last weekend. Last year the Dragons had more than a week to prepare — and be doted on back in Bowling Green — between the region championship and Sweet Sixteen trip. Unseld liked the quicker turnaround.
“Last year we enjoyed the moment a little bit, cause you had a week and everybody wants to feed you and everybody wants to come by,” Unseld said. “You ain’t seen ‘em all year but now all of a sudden everybody wants to come by.”
Warren Central looked to knock off fellow western Kentucky challenger Madisonville late Friday night to reach the semifinal round, where the Dragons fell to Scott County in last year’s tournament.
It was Mayfield’s first time playing in the Sweet Sixteen since 1992.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted it to but these guys have big hearts and they played with big hearts,” Mayfield Coach Chris Guhy said.
It was Guhy’s first and last time coaching at state. He announced his retirement earlier this season.
“I’ve been coaching for 31 years and this was the first time I got to coach in Rupp Arena,” Guhy said. “ ... I can go into retirement a very happy man.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 10:01 PM.
