EKU commit nails three-quarter court shot, leads Bowling Green to Sweet 16 romp
As time wound down in the second quarter, it appeared Bowling Green junior Turner Buttry’s flawless first half was destined for a blemish.
Not content to follow NBA fashion and release a seemingly impossible shot a split second after the horn in order to preserve a pristine shooting percentage, Buttry went for it.
The Eastern Kentucky University commit got a running start and fired up a three-quarter-court prayer at the halftime buzzer. The ball splashed through the bucket drawing nothing but net, and Buttry got hype with his teammates as Bowling Green’s student section erupted.
“If you watch a lot of games this year, I usually just sling it up at the end of the clock,” Buttry said. “This time, it just happened to go in.”
It was that kind of afternoon for the 4th Region champion Purples, who dominated University Heights 85-57 in the opening round of the the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 in Rupp Arena on Wednesday.
Buttry’s “Sportscenter”-worthy heave gave Bowling Green (24-2) a 42-28 halftime lead and capped a first-half performance in which the shifty, 5-foot-10 guard scored 14 points, making all four of his field goals and all three of his free throws. Ironically, Buttry missed his first shot of the third quarter, but went on to finish with 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting and four assists.
Buttry had plenty of help. Jacobi Huddleston pitched in a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Northern Kentucky University commit Isaiah Mason added 16 points and six boards. Jaxson Banks and Conner Cooper each went 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.
“With this team, nobody can really key in on me or Isaiah or anyone like that,” Buttry said. “With Jaxson hitting some threes early and Conner hitting some threes they had to press up on me, and getting into the lane is easy for me.”
The Purples were dialed in on offense, shooting 50 percent from the field and hitting nine of 18 from long distance. Bowling Green dominated the rebound battle 49-25.
University Heights (15-10) hung with the Purples through the first quarter. The Blazers led 17-16 after KJ Crump completed an and-one, but Bowling Green reclaimed the lead on a Huddleston layup and never trailed again. Cooper’s transition three gave the Purples their first double-digit lead at 35-23.
Crump led University Heights with 20 points and five rebounds. William Bryan had 16 points and five assists in the loss.
It’s a promising start to Bowling Green’s first Sweet 16 appearance since winning the state title in 2017.
The Purples have the right man at the helm in their quest to raise another championship trophy. Bowling Green Coach DB Sherrill returned to the sideline this season following a three-year absence. After leading the team to the Sweet 16 title in 2017, Sherrill resigned to take a job in the district office. He rejoined the program last April and apparently the relationship has picked up right where it left off.
“This is a very unselfish basketball team. It’s a veteran team of guys that have played together for a long time,” Sherrill said. “Their biggest mission is to just push this thing as far as they can and go as deep as they can. It’s a fun locker room, it’s a fun group of boys to work with.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 3:54 PM.
