With 3rd Region upset of its archrival, Owensboro Catholic ‘exorcised a lot of demons’
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Sweet Sixteen stories
The 2020 Boys’ Sweet 16 was postponed before it began because of the coronavirus pandemic. The stoppage of our annual high school basketball state tournament denied 16 schools and their communities — for many — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for recognition on one of Kentucky’s most prominent stages. In the absence of basketball, the Herald-Leader is telling their stories. Click below to read the stories published so far.
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Editor’s Note: The 2020 Boys’ Sweet 16 was postponed before it began because of the coronavirus pandemic. The stoppage of our annual high school basketball state tournament denied 16 schools and their communities — for many — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for recognition on one of Kentucky’s most prominent stages. In the absence of basketball, the Herald-Leader is telling their stories.
Of the 16 teams that won regional championships in the 2019-20 Kentucky boys’ high school basketball season, it seems possible to identify the one riding the highest wave of euphoria.
The stunning upset that made Owensboro Catholic the 2020 3rd Region champion is one giddy Aces fans will relish for all eternity.
Going into Owensboro Catholic’s 3rd Region championship game matchup with cross-town rival Owensboro, the trends working against Coach Tim Riley’s Aces were severe.
One of the most tradition-packed programs in Kentucky high school basketball history, Owensboro entered the game with 44 previous region titles.
Owensboro Catholic entered the game with one all-time region crown — 2016.
Owensboro has four state titles and 47 all-time wins in the Sweet 16.
Not only has Owensboro Catholic never won the boys’ state tournament, the Aces have never won a state tourney game.
In three prior meetings between the teams in 2019-20, Owensboro had swept them all, winning the two previous games by 22 points and 16 (in the 9th District championship).
“Owensboro was a heavy favorite. And Owensboro was playing exceptionally well coming into the postseason,” says Jim Pickens, longtime sportswriter at the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. “What happened, no one saw it coming.”
What happened was that Owensboro Catholic, defying history, tradition and this season’s prior results, took an early lead and never relented.
The result, Owensboro Catholic 56, Owensboro 45, is the biggest boys’ basketball victory in school history for the Aces.
“There had been a lot of bad nights for the Owensboro Catholic people against the Red Devils,” says Riley, the Catholic coach. “For all the old-line Owensboro Catholic people, a lot of demons were exorcised that night.”
An uphill climb
Had the coronavirus pandemic and the efforts to contain it not intervened, Riley, 59, would have coached in his 10th state tournament March 19 when Owensboro Catholic (21-14) was to face 15th Region champion Martin County (22-12) in Rupp Arena.
The first eight of those Sweet 16 trips came at 4th Region power Warren Central, the team that Riley led to the 2004 state championship and a 2005 state runner-up finish.
Owensboro Catholic’s path to Riley’s 10th regional title was all up hill.
The Aces lost three straight games in December. They had a four-game losing skid in February. They played five overtime games, losing three.
“We had some bad nights, too,” Riley says. “We had a running clock put on us by Owensboro (in the 22-point loss) and John Hardin (an 81-50 loss in December).”
Part of the issue was youth. Four sophomores, a junior transfer and two seniors comprised Catholic’s regular seven-player rotation.
The two most talented players, lead guard Brian Griffith (16.6 points) and post Ji Webb (13.1 ppg, 7.1 rebounds), are sophomores.
Seniors Drew Hartz (11.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg) — a standout football quarterback pledged to Georgetown College — and Andrew Riney (7.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and junior Gray Weaver (9.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg), round out the starting five.
“We struggled this year. I was worried for a long time,” Riley says. “But the thing about basketball, one good game can allow you to build some momentum.”
After Owensboro Catholic made a second-half charge in what became a 61-59 overtime loss at Muhlenberg County on Feb. 21, Riley says he went in the locker room and told his players “that the team that played in the second half tonight can win the 3rd Region Tournament.”
‘As good as it gets’
To turn the tables on Owensboro in the region finals, Riley’s plan called for limiting turnovers, keeping the Red Devils off the offensive glass and controlling the pace.
It worked to perfection.
In a game in which they scored 56 points, the Aces put all five of their starters in double figures.
Griffith, who had struggled vs. Owensboro’s defensive pressure in the 9th District finals, controlled the game when it mattered most.
“He had eight turnovers in the district championship game,” Riley says. “He tried to beat Owensboro by himself. We had to convince him to give the ball up, trust he would get it back. And he did. He may not have had one turnover in the region championship. He played a flawless game.”
For a fan, is there anything sweeter in sports than seeing your team play a persistent nemesis for an important championship and score a victory that defies all expectations?
“This is the 30th season I’ve covered them, and that is the best game I’ve ever seen an Owensboro Catholic boys’ team play,” says Pickens, the Owensboro sportswriter. “Riley has changed the culture there. ... They are not intimidated by Owensboro the way they used to be.”
What has resulted is a euphoria with which longtime Owensboro Catholic backers have little experience.
“Beating Owensboro to win the region was an important moment in the history of our school,” says Frank Hein, the longtime keeper of the scorebook for the Owensboro Catholic boys’ basketball program.
Jim Hartz watched his son, Drew, score 11 points and grab six rebounds for Catholic in the 3rd Region title win. In Jim Hartz’s days (1985-87) playing for Owensboro Catholic, the Aces never beat Owensboro at all, much less to win the region.
“Other than winning the state championship, beating Owensboro to (win the region) was as good as it gets,” Jim Hartz says. “It’s just an amazing feeling.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 9:13 AM.
