Boys’ region roundup: Clark County, Paintsville win at the horn as Boys’ Sweet 16 takes shape
Twelve tickets were punched to this year’s KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 in regional championship games held Saturday.
Those region champions will join winners from earlier in the week — Bowling Green, Knott County Central and Highlands — and Sunday’s 3rd Region title winner at Rupp Arena for the state tournament which begins Wednesday.
Here’s a look at Saturday’s title games.
Buzzer-beaters
10th Region — Clark County 60, Campbell County 59: Cardinals’ guard Jerone Morton took a midcourt inbounds pass with 4.4 seconds left and drove around his defender for a layup off the glass as time expired to give Clark County its second straight 10th Region title.
Moments earlier, Morton missed a contested jumper in the post and Clark County had to foul with 7.7 seconds left, but Campbell County’s foul shooter missed the front end of the one-and-one free throw. Campbell County stopped the clock with a foul as Clark County brought the ball upcourt to set up Morton’s redeeming play.
“Definitely didn’t think the lane would open up like that. I prayed to God when I came out there with that 4.4 seconds left. I was praying, straight praying and sure enough he came through,” Morton told The Ledger Independent (Maysville) after the game. “Coach trusted me, said we’d live or die by it and it worked for us.”
Morton led all scorers with 27 points. Jared Wellman added 15 for the Cardinals (19-4). Garrett Beiting and Eric Davie scored 24 and 15 points, respectively, for Campbell County (18-9).
The loss marked the third time since 2016 that Campbell County has fallen in the region championship on a buzzer-beating play, according to The Ledger Independent’s Evan Dennison. Mason County’s Antwavon “Pig” Williams and Scott’s Jake Ohmer provided the other heartbreakers in 2016 and 2017. The Camels won the title in the two years prior and the two years after.
15th Region — Paintsville 48, Johnson Central 46 (OT): Jaxon Watts’ third putback attempt underneath the basket dropped through the hoop just before the overtime horn sounded, sending Paintsville to its first Boys’ Sweet 16 since 2008.
Tigers leading scorer Colby Fugate tried for the win on a contested jumper but it fell short, catching the side of the rim and dropping into Watts’ hands. Watt’s first attempt was blocked but fell back to him. His second attempt didn’t make it over the rim, but his third hit off the square, then the front rim and dropped through. It was Watts’ first basket of the game.
“Pure joy. That’s the stuff you dream about. That’s the stuff you sit at home all week about before you play this tournament,” Watts told Unwired Appalachia after the game. “I didn’t think I had much time left to be honest, but luckily I had a few chances there when that one went in.”
Fugate scored 26 points to lead Paintsville (15-8). Johnson Central (21-4) was led in scoring by Grant Rice and Cory VanHoose, who had 15 apiece.
Nail-biters
16th Region — Ashland Blazer 62, Rowan County 58 (OT): Battling back from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter, Ethan Sellars hit a pair of three-pointers to help get the Tomcats back into the game and then scored all seven of his team’s points in overtime to help Ashland to its third straight region title.
Cole Villers put Ashland in front 55-52 with 39 seconds left, but Rowan’s Mason Moore calmly shot-faked two defenders and nailed his own three-pointer to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining. A deep Villers heave for the win in regulation lodged between the rim and the backboard, sending the game to overtime.
Sellars, who led Ashland with 22 points, hit a three-pointer in OT and made four free throws down the stretch to seal it. Villers scored 16 and Colin Porter added 15 for the Tomcats (20-4). Mason Moore and Nathan Goodpaster led Rowan County (15-4) with 16 points each.
2nd Region — University Heights 63, Madisonville-North Hopkins 61: Amani McGee’s three-pointer with under a minute left put the Blazers (15-9) in front for good in a back-and-forth title game against the defending champions.
Madisonville rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to get back in the game and had a 60-59 lead with 52 seconds left. Two steals by the Blazers’ Will Bryan down the stretch helped seal University Heights’ ninth regional championship.
McGee led UHA with 22 points, followed by Bryan with 13, DJ Quarles with 11 and KJ Crump’s 10. Zach Tow and Kale Gaither scored 24 and 18 points, respectively, for Madisonville (16-5).
Around the state
12th Region — Boyle County 54 at Lincoln County 48: Luke Imfeld scored 20 points, including making 13 out of 14 free throws, and state title-winning quarterback Jagger Gillis added 14 as the Rebels established a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and held on for the school’s fifth trip to the Boys’ Sweet 16.
Lincoln County trailed by two at halftime and actually led 30-29 midway through the third quarter, but Gillis three-pointers in the third and fourth quarters kept Lincoln at arm’s length. Gillis had four three-pointers in the game.
“They just battled their tails off and they deserved it,” Boyle County Coach Dennie Webb told WKYT after the game. “I can’t be any more pleased with the effort and the group of guys I’ve got.”
1st Region — McCracken County 45, Murray 40: The Mustangs (22-6) overcame a nine-point first half deficit to rally to their second straight region championship. An Ian McCune three-pointer capped a 10-0 rally in the third period as McCracken took the lead and held a 34-30 edge going into the final frame.
Noah Dumas, the 1st Region’s co-player of the year, led the Mustangs with 12 points, followed by McCune’s 10. Grant Whitaker and Gabe Taylor led the Tigers (17-8) with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
5th Region — Elizabethtown 72 John Hardin 63: Jaquias Franklin scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter as the defending champion Panthers (19-2) broke open a game that was tied at halftime with a run that had them up by nine entering the fourth quarter.
Camden Williams and Alandre Murphy scored 19 and 18 points, respectively for Elizabethtown. Anthony Bowen led John Hardin with 19 points.
6th Region — Bullitt East 69, Western 49: The balanced Chargers had five players score in double figures and jumped out to an 18-4 lead over Western.
Bullitt East (15-8) has caught fire since entering the postseason with a 10-8 record and has toppled highly regarded Fern Creek and DeSales along the way.
Collin Powell led the Chargers with 16 points, with Tucker Blanford and Camron Brogan each scoring 13 and Adam Pruitt and Will Blanford adding 11 each. Trent Hinkle led Western (12-8) with 10 points.
7th Region — Ballard 83, Manual 55: Keno Hayden scored 28 points and the Bruins jumped out to an 11-0 lead to start the game and never looked back in a rout. Ballard earned its first trip back to the Boys’ Sweet 16 since 2017 and its 18th regional crown overall.
Ballard (19-2) also got 18 points from Gabe Sisk and 14 from Jalen Buford in the team’s fifth straight win since losing by one in the finals of the Louisville Invitational Tournament to DeSales.
Damone King led Manual (11-8) with 14 points. Manual had stunned Herald-Leader preseason No. 1 Male with a 68-62 overtime win in the region semifinals.
Ballard will face 11th Region champion Madison Central at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Boys’ Sweet 16, a rematch of their 2013 state championship game.
8th Region — Oldham County 62, North Oldham 56: Trailing by two points at halftime, the Colonels went on a 13-2 run in the third quarter to take a 36-34 lead on a Tyler Slone layup and and never trailed again to win the school’s 17th crown in the 8th Region Tournament.
Slone led Oldham with 17 points while Deaton Oak and Sam Campbell each added 11. Dallas Roberts led North Oldham with 20 points.
Boys’ Sweet 16
At Rupp Arena
Wednesday’s games
Knott County Central vs. Elizabethtown, 11 a.m
Bowling Green vs. University Heights, 2 p.m.
Madison Central vs. Ballard, 5 p.m.
Clark County vs. Oldham County, 8 p.m.
Thursday’s games
Region 3 vs. Highlands, 11 a.m.
Bullitt East vs. McCracken County, 2 p.m.
Boyle County vs. Paintsville, 5 p.m.
Knox Central vs. Ashland Blazer, 8 p.m.
