‘I think they wanted to show everybody that Scott County is not over with’
Entering the postseason, Scott County’s record stood at 15-15.
This year’s Cardinals seemingly bore little resemblance to the teams that have dominated the 11th Region over the past three years, running to back-to-back boys’ Sweet Sixteen finals.
Gone was hall of fame head coach Billy Hicks. Gone was now-Eastern Kentucky standout Michael Moreno and six other key players from those heady days.
Gone was more than half the school’s enrollment and half its basketball talent pool as the new Great Crossing High School opened 2 miles away.
But here’s what’s back: the 11th Region championship trophy — for the fourth consecutive year.
Scott County stunned Lexington Catholic 65-62 in the region finals Saturday evening at Eastern Kentucky’s McBrayer Arena by shooting a blistering 63 percent from the field in the first half and playing exceptional defense throughout to knock off a Knights team ranked No. 1 in the Kentucky High School Athletic Associations’ RPI — 86 spots ahead of the Cardinals.
“Everyone was underestimating us. That’s what we were expecting,” said senior Terrin Hamilton, a sometime starter last season who led the Cardinals with 23 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks in the championship and was named tournament MVP. “We came out and tried our hardest and did everything we could to win.”
Moreno, the former Cardinal, counted among the faithful not surprised by the effort.
“Like I said on my signing day, I didn’t think it was going to change much. It’s a rebuild, yes, but these kids played against us for years,” Moreno said. “Us beating up on them for so long, they grew up through that. And now they’ve finally got their shot at it. …
“I think they wanted to show everybody that Scott County is not over with.”
Scott County, the 42nd District runner-up, had a team three-point shooting percentage of 31.7 percent for the season. They made six out of 10 in the first half, four of those in the first period, as they took a 33-29 lead into the intermission. Chase Grigsby fired off the opening shot, a deep three from the left wing. He finished with 12 points. Overall, Scott County made 12 of their 19 first-half shots.
“Yeah, and it scared me,” Coach Tim Glenn said of how hot his team was shooting, worrying the effect might wear off. “Before we came out, I said, ‘Boys, if you believe it now before we go warm up, then we’re going to be fine. But if you don’t believe it? We might as well get on the bus and go home.’ And, every one of them, I could see it in their eyes — they all believed it.”
The Cardinals knew they would have a hard time stopping the 43rd District champion’s offense and LexCath’s standout junior Ben Johnson. Senior Mikaleb Coffey drew Johnson as his primary assignment.
“I wasn’t trying to stop him. I was just trying to contain him from what he usually does, which is score a lot,” said Coffey, who added 10 points, including a basket and foul shot that gave the Cardinals a 49-45 cushion in the fourth quarter and stymied LexCath’s momentum.
Johnson still led LexCath in scoring with 23 points, but he took 29 shots to get them and was only two of 13 from three-point range.
“You can’t guard him with one guy …,” Glenn said of Johnson. “So, we guarded him with all five of them. And then to be able to cover out and guard it as a unit in that way, that was going to be a big key.”
Lexington Catholic (31-3) struggled from the field as a team, shooting only 38.7 percent for the game, almost 11 percentage points below their average. LexCath took the lead once in the second half, by a single point just over midway through the third quarter. The Knights got it no closer than a one-point deficit in the fourth quarter and were down 60-51 with just over two minutes to go.
“They made a couple of long-distance threes to start the game off and that kind of set the tone for them there,” Lexington Catholic Coach Brandon Salsman said. “We were switching back and forth between defenses and out of presses and just couldn’t get a flow and a run. They had a great game plan.”
Now, the Cardinals’ attention turns to the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen that will begin March 18 in Rupp Arena. Scott County (19-16) will open the first night session at 6:30 p.m.
Their opponent will be the winner of Monday’s 13th Region championship game between Knox Central and Harlan County.
“I’ve been almost moved to tears three different times this week. And I don’t cry,” Glenn said. “My marriage, the birth of my kids, the Lord in my heart, those types of things (move me), but basketball in this setting and what happened here tonight and this group of young men, the way they came along? It moves me to tears. It’s a special thing. As hard as you work and the time you put in it just tickles me beyond compare for these young men and what they’ve done.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 10:26 PM.
