Citizens First Holiday Classic @ Bowling Green High School

Central Hardin vs. Bowling Green 12-20-07

Nothing says Christmas in Kentucky like 45 degrees, gray skies, and rain coming down like someone was pouring it from a boot. Yes, I feel the yule tide ache in my stiff fingers and throbbing knees. Also, nothing says Christmas like ditching work for an afternoon of at the local holiday basketball tournament. I'd much rather hear the bounce of basketball and the squeak of sneakers than the Christmas music and the electronic beeping of a cash register at a department store.

I missed the early games of the day, and I almost missed the afternoon games. When I got to Bowling Green's arena, I discovered that I didn't have my wallet, but a good friend of mine bailed me out and paid my way into the games. With a Pick and Roll budget numbering in the tens of dollars, a handout from a friend is always appreciated. His wife even bought me a "D.G. Dog" from the concession stand. Man! I was flying first class this afternoon.

I looked forward to the game between Central Hardin and Bowling Green because I felt like the two teams were evenly matched. The Purples cruised to a 19 point victory over Cumberland County the previous evening, and the Bruins beat the same Cumberland County squad in the nightcap by 30 points. I figured Bowling Green took something out of the Panthers in the first game.

In the first quarter, both teams played tight defense and were kind of like a couple of bantam weight boxers jabbing and poking at one another, trying to see what punches they could land. Central Hardin opened in a 3-2 zone that moved right with the ball and clogged up the middle while Bowling Green pressed and played man-to-man. The Purples didn't like the zone, and they seemed reluctant to attack it. They stood around and were content with just passing the ball on the perimeter.

At the end of the first quarter the score was 11-9 in favor of Central Hardin.

The Purples came to life in the second quarter and went on a 20-8 run powered by good defensive play by Jared Carpenter and Billy "D" Williams, Jeb Richardson's shooting, and Jarren Nixon's ability to slash to the basket through the zone.

Central Hardin's coach, J.C. Wright, has done a masterful job at teaching his team how to switch defenses and to keep opponents guessing at what kind of defense they're going to throw at them. They showed a lot of zone in the first half, but they could switch right into a man-to-man. Their defense got things going for them late in the second quarter. Bowling Green had a 29-19 lead after their run, but Bruins fought back and pulled within two of the Purples at halftime, 34-32.

The Bruins have a solid starting five. Each player can play superb defense and each can score in multiple ways. I was most impressed with Chris Nichols. He a 6'3" senior and plays as a guard. The kid has a quick first step to the basket and wreaked havoc on Bowling Green when he got onto the baseline. Forward Tony Harding is a 6'2" senior with fantastic leaping ability and a nose for getting rebounds.

Central Hardin opened the third quarter with a man-to-man defense, and Bowling Green continued to press and to pressure who ever had the ball.

There were an extraordinary number of charging/blocking calls in this game. Ordinarily, I'd gripe about the officiating at this point, but both of these teams like to attack the basket. Both teams are good at stopping teams from attacking the basket, so there were a lot of whistles for blocking, charging, and player control. The officials probably missed a couple, but they did a good job at calling that part of the game.

When two teams attack the basket like the Bruins and the Purples, I get a little nervous watching the game. I'm always afraid that a player is going to get hurt. I have to remind myself that young athletes can take a tremendous amount of abuse.

Third quarter score? I wish I knew. I didn't right the danged score down, and I can't recall it. I even asked a friend about it, and he didn't know. The important thing is that the game was close, and heading into the final quarter it was still anybody's ballgame.

In the fourth quarter, Central Hardin just couldn't get over the hump. They'd run at Bowling Green, but the Purples countered with their own big basket. Tony Harding made a great play in the fourth that probably went unnoticed by most people. I hope Coach Wright saw it. On a missed shot, Harding came off of his man and jumped way up in the air and grabbed rebound with both hands and went straight back up with the ball and made a basket. He made no fakes. He didn't hesitate. He did what a basketball player is supposed to do in that situation: use athletic ability to outplay everybody and go up strong with the ball.

It was a very good basketball game for fans. Bowling Green prevailed 70-66.

OBSERVATIONS

Shorts and T: This call gets my Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Award. In the second half, D.L. Moore was standing near the Bowling Green bench talking to his coach. One of the referees comes over to Moore and signals a technical foul. Everyone in the gym was completely confused. At that moment, the Purples had a nine point lead and the basketball. Central Hardin got three points on the free throws and possession, cutting the lead to six. That's a big turn around in a tight basketball game.

The infraction? The referee gave the technical to Moore for pulling his shorts up too high. I later heard that the ref thought Moore was trying to show him up. What? Most likely D.L. Moore is going to be playing wide receiver for South Carolina next fall, and he couldn't care less about showing up some high school basketball official. I hate to tell that official, but he doesn't hit Moore's radar screen. Steve Spurrier will in a few months.

Watch Out Nancy Kerrigan!: I pointed out to some Bowling Green students that Tony Harding's name was dangerously close to being "Tonya Harding." Thank goodness there's no Jeff Gillooly on Central Hardin's team or a Shane Stant. Tony! I sympathize. My name is dangerously close to Captain Kirk's.

Gotta Get a Gorman: It's nice having Doug Gorman, the voice of Hilltopper Basketball at Diddle Arena, doing the public address at Citizens First Holiday Classic. He's a true professional, and I'm sure his paycheck has the same amount as my Pick and Roll paycheck.