Central Hardin 60 - North Hardin 48

Central Hardin High School, Cecilia, Kentucky, 02-01-08

By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent

I guess I've been spoiled over the last few weeks because I have picked some great match ups to attend. I was thinking the same thing on Friday night because it was a district match up with a number one seed on the line and North Hardin Coach Ron Bevars was going after his 700th career win. When I pulled up in Cecilia and found my parking spot, a television camera man drove past, and I was getting pumped to see two of the best teams in the Fifth Region.

Central Hardin High School is a big place, and the parked cars were spread out, so I couldn't get a grasp of how many people were really there. As I walked in, I was on the phone trying to get my daughter some Hannah Montana movie tickets for Saturday night -- the things fathers will do for their kids. If you don't know who Hannah Montana is, I don't have time to explain.

Editor's query: I checked my Montana highway map and could not find a town called "Hannah." I did, however, find Hungry Horse, Montana, which is between Kalispell and Glacier National Park. Would your daughter want to go there?

With just a handful of regular season games left, teams are trying to position themselves into taht number one seed in the district tournament. Friday night, if North Hardin won, they could do it, but the Bruins had other ideas. They could also get a piece of that one seed. Central Hardin is flying under the radar in the fifth because they have played somewhat of a tough schedule. They have one bad loss to Louisville Central in the Louisville Invitational Tournament and a tough four point loss to the very good Bowling Green Purples. They were trying not to remember the ten point loss North handed them back on January 3rd.

North controlled the tap, and they were pushing the ball like crazy. They were hot, too. NH went up 7-0 before I could even look up. It didn't take long for Central Hardin Coach J.C. Wright to make adjustments. Instead of calling a timeout, he instructed his team to change to a 2-3 zone. That's all it took. NH went cold. During one stretch, the Trojans made five turnovers in 16 possessions. CH used those turnovers to inch closer on North's lead. By the time the first was over, NH had only a small lead, 13-10. You could feel the momentum shift to Central Hardin.

The Bruins opened the second with a flurry. They stayed in the zone, and North had trouble finding the basket. The refs were letting them play. The Trojans called a timeout at the 6:15 mark, and Coach Bevars and the Trojan faithful let the refs have it. It didn't do much good because Central applied good defense and finally took a lead at 20-17. They never looked back. I have heard from other fans around the Fifth that North was a good shooting team. I haven't seen it yet this year. They shot their share of bricks tonight. The Bruins were pulling away and led at the half, 28-13.

There was no entertainment at halftime except for some kids running around and shooting some hoops. I like that, and I think Pick and Roll was somewhere one night and the kids were out there shooting baskets (Note: it was Calloway County). It makes you wonder how many of them you'll be watching in a few years. There were even two little girls/cheerleaders running and flipping down the sidelines. A look into the future, if you will.

When I stood up to stretch my legs, I noticed Coach Wright was already working the refs before the game resumed. He and his team wanted this win badly. His team was about to step it up. The two teams went back-and-forth until the four minute mark, which is when Central began their quest for the number one seed. The Bruins hit everything in the third, and they had the lead at the end of three 45-29. There were a lot of sad faces on the North bench. This was not the game I expected.

I could see the North players getting frustrated as the last quarter started. Coach Bevars tried to spark his team, and finally NH tried to press, something they haven't done all night. It hurt CH, and North's LaRod King was the spark for which Bevars looked. He ran off six quick points in the fourth, but a Central timeout helped the Bruins to settle and figure out how to break the press. Man! Did they ever learn how to break a press?! I haven't seen a team break a press better all season. It just took them a couple of minutes to figure it out.

The Bruins ran away with a bit of a shocker, but, then again, I hadn't seen Central Hardin all year. They are a very good team. CH wins, 60-48.

OBSERVATIONS

The Three Musketeers: Daniel Linder, Tony Harding, and Chris Nichols combined for 48 of Central Hardin's 60 points. These three are being overlooked in the Fifth. Nichols is a shooter, Harding is a slasher, and Linder is a work horse. I said earlier that Central Hardin is under the radar, but Coach Wright and his teams are used to this. His teams don't get much attention in the 17th District. Look for these guys to make a run in the district tournament, but they have to beat Fort Knox on Tuesday to get the number one seed. Last season, they number one didn't make it out of the district.

The Perfect Wife: During the game I started looking around the "Bruins Den" and noticed something I didn't expect. The wife of LaRue County's Coach Paul Childress was in the stands. I thought it was odd since they were playing at Elizabethtown tonight. I laughed and thought, surely he didn't send her to scout these teams. You've got to love a wife who's willing to do that. I found out that she has a family member who plays for Central Hardin. I saw her on her cell phone a lot, so I'm sure she was checking in on the Hawks or maybe telling her husband which offense to run.

The Man on the Mic: Central Hardin has a great PA announcer. He has the right voice. I don't know his name, but I know he has been there for years. He does something that you normally don't hear at any gym. If he knows the players' nicknames, he will yell it out when they score. He does this for opposing teams as well. That's great! Other schools should look into doing this. I may be crazy, but I think it is cool.

Denial Doesn't Flow Through Hardin County: Even though his team came up short for him tonight, Coach Ron Bevars sits on 699 for his career. I know several people say they don't like him, but give the man some credit. First of all, he does a job that helps kids grow for later in life. As a former player myself, I can't tell you how many times I look back and say, "man, I'm glad my coach was there for me. Second, he really is a good coach. He is 15-0 in regional tournament championship games. That's unreal. There's not many coaches who can claim that. We all know that Coach Bevars will get his 700th win. So, if I don't get to see it in person: congrats Coach, you've had a great career.