‘We’re a hard team to beat.’ E-Town blows out top-ranked Ballard in state semifinals.
A highly anticipated battle between the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams in the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 presented by UK HealthCare Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine in Rupp Arena turned out to be a mismatch.
Led by the steady hand of senior guard Khia Sherrard and the scoring prowess of senior guard Jaquias Franklin, second-ranked Elizabethtown dominated Ballard 69-53 in the semifinals on Saturday morning to earn a shot at the program’s first state championship since 2000 on Saturday night.
Sherrard controlled the game from the outset, helping the Panthers jump out to a big first-quarter lead they’d never relinquish. He finished with 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Sherrard made three of five shots from the field and all six of his free throws. His twin brother, Kam Sherrard, also scored 13. Franklin led Elizabethtown with 19 points on 5-for-10 shooting and added six assists and five rebounds.
The 5th Region champion Panthers forced 19 turnovers and converted them into 20 points.
“We (played) defense well, we were getting our hands on a lot of balls, helping on ‘D’ and talking,” Franklin said. “Everything really starts with our defense. When we’re all playing defense and cheering on each other we’re a hard team to beat.”
Elizabethtown (22-2) hit the floor with a purpose, jumping out to a 5-0 lead on a Camden Williams three-pointer. Williams hit two more treys as part of an 11-0 run that gave the Panthers a 21-8 edge.
The Panthers befuddled the Bruins through much of the second quarter, leaning on their transition game to stretch the lead to 30-13.
“This team is excellent in transition,” Elizabethtown Coach James Haire said. “They go from playing defense to offense faster than any group I’ve ever had.”
Down 17, it looked like Ballard (21-3) was in danger of being run out of the gym. But the 7th Region champs — who entered the tournament No. 1 in the Cantrall rankings — rallied behind a huge stretch from sophomore Matt Hayden.
Hayden nailed consecutive threes and moments later finished off a fast-break layup as part of a 15-5 run to pull the Bruins within 35-28 at halftime.
But Elizabethtown got right back to business in the third quarter. The Panthers again dialed up the transition game and buried the Bruins with a 14-0 barrage to open the second half. Khia Sherrard capped the deciding run with a steal and run-out layup to stretch E-Town’s advantage to 21.
Ballard’s DJ Tilford stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer, but the damage was done. Khia Sherrard’s wide-open three made it 60-43 Elizabethtown with 4:26 left in the game.
Ballard’s Maker Bar scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, but E-Town was able to prevent the 6-foot-10 star from taking over the game by routinely running two defenders at him in the post. The Panthers dominated the game despite losing the rebound battle 33-22.
“Ballard is probably the strongest team that we’ve played all year ... physically,” Haire said. “At every position they have quality players and it’s an excellent-coached team. They never quit ... There was nothing to exploit, but we just did what we do.”
Boys’ Sweet 16 championship
Saturday night’s championship game of the Boys’ Sweet 16 ended too late to include a story in Sunday’s Herald-Leader print edition. Please visit Kentucky.com for a recap of all the action and watch for follow-up coverage in Monday’s print edition.
