Central Hardin 64 - Elizabethtown 52

17th District Championship, Central Hardin High School, Cecilia, Kentucky 03-01-08

By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent

With a 19-10 record, Central Hardin is having the best season in school history. Since becoming a high school in 1991, they have never held the number one seed in the district, and they have only been to the regional tournament twice. So, they were going to make the most of it. It wasn't going to be easy. They had little trouble with their first round game against John Hardin. Saturday's opponent, the E-town Panthers were looking to spoil the party for the Bruins.

Regular readers of Pick and Roll know that I've been saying all year that you can't count out a James Haire coached team. After the Panthers beat North Hardin on Thursday night, he had made his way back to the regional tournament. After what they had lost last year -- Kentucky's Mr. Basketball, Steffphon Pettigrew -- no one expected them to be here. Even Coach Haire was quoted as saying "we are rebuilding." It seems like at tournament time he always has his teams ready.

I almost didn't go to this game because there was another championship game going on tonight I had my eye on: Taylor County was playing Adair County. I knew it would be a war. I also knew that it would be a packed house in Campbellsville, and I didn't want to fight the crowd. I got word at the Central game that the fire marshal turned people away about a half hour before the game got started. It's a small gym, and it had to be hot in there.

I arrived in Cecilia a little early, expecting a huge crowd, but I had no problems finding a parking spot up close. I thought the gym should be packed considering this could be Central's first district championship. Even seats on the front row were empty. Oh well, I guess it takes getting a number one seed more than once to get any support. I forgot they are a girls golf school instead of basketball.

Before the game began, the Central Hardin PA announcer put a spin on things. Instead of announcing just the starting five, he called out every player on the roster for both teams so that grandma and grandpa could see their grandkids on the floor at least once.

After the long intros, the game got underway with Central getting the tap. Both teams were under control, and the first three field goals were three pointers. Elizabethtown got two of them. I heard that they burned the nets against North Hardin, so they were trying to start where they left off. The first quarter was typical, both teams feeling each other out. E-town had a four point lead, but that would not last long.

Coach J.C. Wright must have told his team to get a bear hug on the Panthers or at least he told the poppa bear, Tony Harding. He clawed the Panthers in the second, hitting four three pointers in a matter of minutes. He must have thought that Nancy Kerrigan was dressed in a Panther uniform because he was really busting them.

The second quarter was difference in the ball game. Central out-scored the city boys 19-5. They had the half time lead, 26-16.

Tonight, I did something a little different. In the first half, I sat on the E-town side of the gym, and at the half I gave up my seat to travel over to the Bruin side. As I was getting up, I noticed some of the other fifth region coaches in attendance. I went over to say something to Green County Coach Toby Curry. I congratulated him on his win the night before. He's a very nice guy. On the Central side of the gym was my old pal Coach Paul Childress from Larue. I asked how he was doing, and he said, "licking my wounds." He did sound excited about the regional tournament. His team had a bad shooting night, and they are looking to bounce back.

The third still belonged to Central. About halfway through the quarter Coach Haire threw up his hands and had a seat on the bench. Central Hardin began to smell victory. Everything was just a formality now. Although E-town was hanging around within reach, the Bruins were too hot for them.

To make things worse for the Panthers, they inbounded the ball to start the fourth and turned the ball over to Tony Hardin, who skated down the floor for a flush. The Central crowd showed some life. With about 3:00 to go and the game still with-in reach, Central Hardin went stall ball. They had a 13 point lead. Coach Wright couldn't rest his starters because E-town is dangerous from the outside. Central made me nervous with the slow down. Coach Wright must've got nervous, too, because he called a time out and told his team to finish the game.

They got a scare with 1:20 left. Tony Harding went in for a lay-up and got fouled hard. He hit the floor hard and held on to his wrist. You could hear the Bruins holding their breaths. He was OK and Central won the game, 64-52.

OBSERVATIONS

Still in Hibernation: The Bruin fans really disappointed me tonight. YOUR school was playing for it's first even district championship, and I heard very little noise out of the fans. Heck, only a handful of football players were brave enough to run out on the floor to celebrate. The rest of the fans were more worried about getting their clothes dirty. YOUR school is going to the regional tournament as a winner and with a good draw, I don't see why they can't make it to the regional finals. Girls golf is not until the fall, so get behind these coaches and players.

The Big Three: Once again, Central was led by their big three: Chris Nichols, Tony Harding, and Daniel Linder. I double checked my stats, and Linder had a quiet 20 points. I know I mentioned Harding a lot in my post, but all these guys had big games. That makes it hard for opposing teams. They have many weapons. Editor's Note: When I read the post, I thought maybe they were going to change the name of the school "Central Harding."

How Good is the 17th: This has to be one of the hardest district in which to play. Besides the 9th and the 43rd, I don't think another one stacks up. This is a five team district, and lately four out of five have competed year-in and year-out. I can't remember the last time Fort Knox competed.

All District Tournament Team

I must first apologize. I didn't get the first two names of the team because I was saying good-byes to some fans and other coaches.

Chris White - John Hardin
Maurice Gosa - North Hardin
Sean Bouthilette - Elizabethtown
Aaron Pedigo - Elizabethtown
Chris "Go-Go" Gohman - Elizabethtown
Tony Harding - Central Hardin
J.R. Glover - Central Hardin
Chris Nichols - Central Hardin
Daniel Linder - Central Hardin