Congested schedule worth the hassle for teams trying to reach All ‘A’ Classic finals
Lexington Christian’s hectic end-of-regular season schedule just got a little more complicated, but the Eagles will happily play five games in five days if it means they get to hoist the All “A” Classic championship trophy at the end.
“Every year it’s our goal to get there,” said LCA junior Tanner Walton after scoring a game-high 19 points Wednesday in the Eagles’ 53-42 win over Pikeville in the Classic’s redrawn quarterfinals. “We have a picture of EKU up in our room just to know we want to get there. For smaller schools, it’s really big.”
After the biggest winter storm of the year wiped out the original All “A” Classic boys’ and girls’ small school state championship round of 16 that was to be held last month at Eastern Kentucky’s McBrayer Arena, organizers salvaged the decades-long tradition by creating a new sectional format where the 16 qualifying teams (boys and girls) would match up according to closest geography until the semifinals and finals rounds.
Lexington Christian’s win over the Panthers on Wednesday punched its ticket to a semifinals matchup Friday with defending champion St. Henry, the only Associated Press ranked team in the Classic field at No. 4.
“Obviously, I think we can win,” Walton said. “But, really, that’s the game where nobody thinks we’re going to come out and beat them, so we have nothing to lose. … We’re definitely going to come out fighting.”
LCA and St. Henry have each played No. 1 Lexington Catholic close before eventually falling to the Knights. LCA had a double-digit lead against LexCath in their game on Feb. 19 before losing 67-63. St. Henry suffered one of its only two losses to LexCath, 80-78, on Jan. 7.
Wednesday night, Pikeville had to play without leading scorer Rylee Samons due to injury and fell behind in the second quarter, trailing 34-20 at halftime. But the Panthers stormed within three points, 42-39, by the end of the third quarter.
“They had a tough break with Samons getting hurt for sure, but I knew it was going to be a battle to the end,” Hall said. “I was relieved we had some cushion because I knew we’d need every bit of it at the end.”
A three-point play converted by Walton after a no-look dribble drop-off pass from Jeff Selby helped LCA extend its lead to 50-42 with just under two minutes to go, and the Eagles saw the game out from there.
Every scorer for LCA reached double figures led by Walton.
“The character oozes out of these guys, just how unselfish they are and how they play for each other,” Hall said.
LCA also faces the challenge of having to fit the All “A” into its jam-packed district schedule. Coach Ted Hall sat down most of his starters after the first quarter against Dunbar after falling behind early in order to save their legs for Wednesday. They face a similar problem against Lafayette on Thursday night.
“We’re getting into that load management a little bit,” Hall said, using a term that has become popular phrasing for rest in the NBA. “But our guys I’m sure would rather play a game than practice.”
All ‘A’ Classic
Here’s a look at the teams remaining in the boys’ and girls’ All “A” Classic tournaments. The semifinals in both will be played Friday with each finals on Saturday.
Where: All games at Eastern Kentucky’s McBrayer Arena
Tickets: Sold in advance via teams. No sales at the gate.
Streaming: Pay per view at Go.PrepSpin.com
BOYS’ TEAMS
No. 4 St. Henry (13-2)
Cantrall rating: 83.1
Top scorers: Wyatt Vieth (20.0 ppg); Jude Bessler (14.4 ppg).
How they got here: 9th Region All “A” champ; Defeated Walton-Verona 73-29 and West Carter 65-48 in sectionals.
Lexington Christian (11-8)
Cantrall rating: 67.9
Top scorers: Tanner Walton (21.7 ppg); Tyler Hall (11.5 ppg).
How they got here: 11th Region All “A” champ; defeated Harlan 61-48 and Pikeville 53-52 in sectionals.
Clinton County (17-2)
Cantrall rating: 64.3
Top scorers: Nick Delk (17.2 ppg); Chase Stines (11.1 ppg); Nick Brown (11.0 ppg).
How they got here: 4th Region All “A” champ; defeated Owensboro Catholic 64-40 and Murray 70-56 (OT) in sectionals.
Evangel Christian (7-9)
Cantrall rating: 43.7
Top scorers: Dawson Black (20.2 ppg); Cyr Malonga (12.5 ppg), Keion Scrivener (9.2 ppg).
How they got here: 6th Region All “A” champ; defeated Kentucky Country Day 68-63 (OT) and Somerset 59-57 in sectionals.
BOYS’ SCHEDULE
Friday’s semifinals
Clinton County vs. Evangel Christian, 5 p.m.
Lexington Christian vs. St. Henry, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s finals
Championship, 11:30 a.m.
GIRLS’ TEAMS
No. 8 Bethlehem (18-3)
Cantrall rating: 84.6
Top scorers: Ella Thompson (18.4 ppg); Amelia Hodges (15.8 ppg)
How they got here: 5th Region All “A” champs; defeated Danville 75-57 and Whitefield Academy 72-25 in sectionals.
Crittenden County (13-3)
Cantrall rating: 56.1
Top scorers: Taylor Guess (18.8 ppg); Nahla Wooward (12.0 ppg).
How they got here: 2nd Region All “A” champ; defeated Hancock County 58-48 and Murray 64-53 in sectionals.
Walton-Verona (14-6)
Cantrall rating: 72.8
Top scorers: Hayley Neeley (12.2 ppg); Maggie Buerger (8.4 ppg).
How they got here: 8th Region All “A” champ; defeated West Carter 62-32 and Newport Central Catholic 53-48 in sectionals.
Berea (8-7)
Cantrall rating: 57.4
Top scorers: Madison Howell (14.9 ppg); Alexis Newman (10.8 ppg)
How they got here: 11th Region All “A” champ; defeated Pineville 41-39 and Owsley County 63-52 in sectionals.
GIRLS’ SCHEDULE
Friday’s semifinals
Crittenden County vs. Bethlehem, noon.
Walton-Verona vs. Berea, 2:30 p.m.
Saturday’s finals
Championship, 9 a.m.
