Sweet Sixteen: First Round; Session One

Oh boy! The KHSAA bills the Sweet Sixteen as the "Greatest Show in Hoops." It isn't all hype, either. The KHSAA officials and the Rupp Arena staff work their tails off to host one of the biggest gatherings in the Commonwealth. Think about it. In the course of four days they will put on 15 basketball games and host over 100,000 basketball fans in the arena. I wouldn't even guess at how many media, participants, and staff also attend the Sweet Sixteen. It is a great show, even before they tip up the first basketball.

First Session; Game One Lexington Catholic 69 - University Heights Academy 54

It was the battle of the small private schools. I expected this to be a real battle between two very good basketball teams. Both teams are loaded with Division I prospects, and they've put up some impressive numbers over the course of the season.

I saw University Heights play Bowling Green in December when the Blazers cruised into the Purples' gym and cruised out with a victory. That night, Tyshwan Edmondson caught my eye, and he came into the state tournament averaging 18.2 points a game while hitting 42 of 106 three point goals and dishing out 143 assists in 34 ballgames. Scotty Hopson was the leading scorer for the Blazers with 24.4 points a game, and he averaged 11.4 rebounds per game. He gets all the attention, and rightly so with those gaudy numbers. DaQuan Brown ads 12.8 points per game for UHA.

I knew about those guys because I saw them play, and I talk to people in "Hopsonville" about the Blazers.

I knew very little about Lexington Catholic. I knew they were good, and I know from experience to respect anyone who navigates their way out of the Eleventh Region. They have three solid Division I prospects in their starting lineup. Vee Sanford averages 12.7 points a game and is a big 6'3" guard. Taylor Stewart is the leading scorer with 17.6 points a game. Jordan Smart adds 12.3 points a game and Nathan Novosel puts in 13.3 per game.

The Knights are a well balanced basketball team, in scoring and in any other stat you can conjur.

Lexington Catholic threw a wicked press at the Blazers from the opening possession, and UHA withered under the pressure. They had trouble moving the ball and holding on to it. Vee Sanford had four steals in the first half, and the Blazers committed 13 turnovers in the half.

The Knights had a commanding 42-22 lead on the Second Region champions. I think everyone in the arena was as surprised as I was at the whipping the Knights were putting on UHA. DaQuan Brown had four turnovers, and Tyshwan Edmondson had five.

Lexington Catholic opened the second half right where they left off in the first half. They took a 23 point lead, 47-24, on UHA early in the third quarter.

UHA made a courageous comeback. They outscored the Knights 18-9 in the third quarter and eventually cut the lead to six points. Lexington Catholic caught a late surge in the fourth quarter and downed the Blazers 69-54.

Scotty Hopson scored 21 points, 13 of which were in the second half, and grabbed nine rebounds. Tyshwan Edmondson grabbed 10 rebounds, scored 13 points, but had an ugly seven turnovers for the game.

Taylor Stewart scored 25 points for the victorious Knights, and teammate Vee Sanford scored 22 points and had seven steals. I decided that "Vee" stands for victory. I'd watch out for the Knights because they are a well balanced and tough basketball team.

Game Two
Owensboro 63 - Louisville Central 48

Nearly every year a team "captures lightning in a bottle" in a regional tournament and plays its way into the Sweet Sixteen. This year, the Central Yellow Jackets from Louisville came into the tournament with a 15-11 record, which means they started post season play with a .500 record. In the Sixth Region tournament, the Yellow Jackets beat a 22-10 Fairdale team and a 25-4 Pleasure Ridge Park team. So, Central was capable of beating some pretty good teams.

The magic runs out, though. On Wednesday, the Red Devils from Owensboro busted Central's bottle full of lightning on the hardwood of Rupp Arena.

I saw Owensboro play in the Citizens First Bank Classic in Bowling Green right before Christmas. I guess they were doing their best impression of Tubby Smith's 2006 Wildcat team because -- looking back -- they might have been the high school version of "Team Turmoil." They dropped back-to-back games to Greenwood and Central Hardin, and they were without one or two players because of discipline. In Bowling Green, the Red Devils registered a lackluster performance, and Coach Wayne Breeden seemed inactive in their game against Central Hardin. I nearly commented on it then, but I sensed that his team was having problems.

I never figured them for a Sweet Sixteen team, but they won 22 ballgames and beat a good Apollo team twice in the postseason. Apollo did their rival a favor when they took down top ranked Muhlenberg North by one point in the regional semifinal.

The two teams played fairly even in the first quarter, but things changed in the second. Owensboro played like a regional champ that belonged in the state tournament, and Central looked like a 15-11 team that peaked several days ago. The Red Devil defense held them to four second quarter points, and they took a 30-14 lead to halftime.

Central played tough in the third quarter. They picked up their defense and nearly played their way back into the game. Ridge Wilson hit a basket late in the quarter that pulled the Yellow Jackets to ten points, 38-28, I thought they might have some life.

Something that might have hurt Central's effort was when their point guard Chris Starks hurt his toe. Starks isn't a scorer for them, but he's a floor leader and had accumulated 105 assists during the season. He never made it back into the game. They still challenged the Red Devils, but Central's performance in the second quarter doomed them. Owensboro advanced to face Lexington Catholic with a 63-48 win.

OBSERVATIONS

A Court Full of Talent: When the Blazers and the Knights took the court in the first game, there were at least six, possibly seven, Division I prospects on the hardwood. The two teams were big, quick, and athletic. I really expected a better game, but Lex. Cath had too many tools and a great press.

Bibby, Baby: I mean that in the context of Al Davis saying, "Just win, baby" and not that Central's Coach Doug Bibby is a baby. I really like his coaching style. He very rarely gets onto the officials and is always instructing and teaching his kids on the court and on the bench. His players seem to respect him, too. I don't know anything about Coach Bibby, but I think he played for Central back in the 1980s. I think, but I remember a kid named Bibby that frustrated the Male Bulldogs for a couple of seasons.

Percussion Concussion: Central's band absolutely rocks. They warmed up the crowd with about 15 minutes of drum lines that bumped and grooved. Man! It was fun. Their cheerleaders are great, too, and actually cheered their team.

Moorman Tabernacle Choir: Brock Moorman for Owensboro had a dandy ballgame. He had a about 25 points, and I lost track of his rebounds. If he continues to play that way in the tournament, he'll have people singing his praises. He'll have to have the same kind of game if Moorman and his Devils get past the Lexington Catholic Knights. Pick and Roll is glad it's not stormy in Lexington because he'd be looking out for a lightning strike after that last line.