Kentucky 2A Championships get monster lineup for semifinals, including state’s No. 1
It’s hard to imagine a better scenario for the fledgling Kentucky 2A Championships than the one that’s going to play out in Saturday’s boys’ semifinals in Owensboro.
Four top-15 teams, including No. 1 John Hardin, will battle to see who gets to try for the second-ever Kentucky 2A title. John Hardin will take on No. 11 Warren Central at 1 p.m. Saturday. Then it’s No. 9 Lexington Catholic facing No. 13 Bourbon County at 3 p.m. All times are Central Standard. All rankings are according to the latest Cantrall Ratings.
“When you play in something like this, you always know you’re going to go up against great teams, and we signed up for it because the district that we play in and the region that we play in, you’ve got to play in tournament atmospheres to get ready for those types of things,” said Lexington Catholic Coach Brandon Salsman after his Knights defeated Calloway County 70-58 in Thursday’s quarterfinals at the Owensboro Sportscenter. “I wish it wasn’t as hard as it’s going to be, but when you got four team ranked in the top whatever we are, I mean, holy cow. What a venue to be in and it’s going to be a lot of fun for fans for sure.”
Warren Central topped Knox Central 83-59 in the first quarterfinal Thursday. John Hardin beat Christian Academy-Louisville 71-54 and Bourbon County defeated Lawrence County 68-56.
Each of the teams arrived in Owensboro after sectional tournaments last week. The Kentucky 2A Championships include boys’ and girls’ teams from 40 member schools that are bigger than teams that have been able to compete in the smaller-school All “A” Classic. over the decades.
The girls’ quarterfinals Friday saw Belfry beat Warren East at 1 p.m., No. 18 Mercer County top Rowan County, Marion County beat Calloway County and No. 6 Christian Academy-Louisville defeat Bell County. Their semifinals begin at 5 p.m. Saturday with Belfry vs. Mercer.
Salsman remembers playing for Lexington Catholic in the early days of the All “A” Classic and sees the same potential in the new 2A event.
“It’s awesome. … The people who are putting it on, I’m real happy with it,” Salsman said. “It really made me excited to bring my team to play in something that’s very similar (to the All ‘A’). They’re going to do a great job with this and it’s just going to grow and grow and grow.”
LexCath sophomore Jack Gohmann scored a career high 23 points and junior standout Ben Johson hit three three-pointers in the second half as the Knights pulled away for the win.
“Jack’s coming into his own,” Salsman said. “Coming off the football field it took him just a little bit of time, and we have seen his growth. … We’ve had him since the fifth grade and known he’s going to turn into a great player.”
Next up for LexCath is a Bourbon County team that’s experiencing its best season since the days when Salsman was their coach back in the early 2000s.
Bourbon County’s win Thursday came after an apparent bus breakdown on the trip to Owensboro.
“It’s been a rough day,” Bourbon County Coach Lamont Campbell said. “I’ve got to give a shout out to Daviess County bus garage. They came out and fixed our bus. It’s been a long day, man, but our guys did what we’re supposed to do at the beginning … We’re a team that still has to get better. People think we’re a team that’s kind of climaxed and we’ve been what we’re going to be, but we’ve got plenty of room to get better.”
Kentucky 2A Championships
Where: Owensboro Sportscenter
When: Boys’ semifinals start at 1 p.m. Saturday. Girls semifinals begin at 5 p.m. Saturday. Finals are at 1 p.m. (girls) and 3 p.m. (boys) Sunday.
Streaming: Prepspin.com
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 8:11 AM.
