Sweet Sixteen: First Round; Session Three

Since I'm a semi-native of Louisville, it disappoints me that "da-Ville" isn't a good host to the Sweet Sixteen and has lost the opportunity to host it for time's immemorial. I see why Lexington's a better host, though. Rupp Arena being in downtown and immediately adjacent to nice hotels sets up an atmosphere that Louisville cannot duplicate. Fans can go from hotel to hotel through hamster tubes that allow them to stay out of the rain and cold and stay out of Lexington traffic.

Lexingtonians run red lights as if it were a sport. They drive under the speed limit until the light turns red, and then they gun it. If I were going to take up Figure-8 stock car racing as a hobby, I'd practice by driving through Lexington green lights at full speed.

I used to work in Lexington in a previous life. I grew to hate New Circle Road with a passion. It's part expressway and part parking lot. The genius who decided that it was smart to design a road that goes from expressway to a jungle of stop lights in 1.1 seconds should spend eternity driving a Yugo without heat or air around New Circle Road.

I've decided that New Circle is a metaphor for UK's football and basketball programs. One part of it is speedy and well designed while the other part of it is congested and does not work the way it is designed.

Game One

Hazard 50 - South Laurel 47

Like New Circle Road, this game was sort of a match up of opposites. South Laurel is a newer school with a large enrollment, and Hazard has been around for along time and only has 286 students. Old and small versus new and big. This is the 28th time Hazard has made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Hazard made the most of it from the opening tip. They jumped on the Cardinals with sticky defense in the first quarter that allowed them to take a 14-4 lead. Opening with an active defense and trying to shock an opponent in the first quarter may be a very good strategy for the state tournament. It can expose the nerve of a team. It's sort of like basketball's "shock and awe" strategy, but it can't result in a frustrating occupation that drags on for five years.

Hazard's point guard is a sophomore by the name of Josh Whittaker. This kid is one of the best ball handlers I've seen this season, and is unflappable under any kind of pressure. He played like he belonged on the Rupp Arena court. He played all 32 minutes of the game and scored 17 points. He did have six turnovers, but, hey, he's a sophomore.

South Laurel got over their shock. I doubt that they were ever in awe of Hazard. The Cardinals were not getting in position and had poor shot selection, but in the second quarter they turned things around and closed the gap on the Bulldogs. They outscored them 13-10, but Hazard had a 24-17 lead at halftime.

The two teams played evenly in the third quarter, and Hazard took a 34-26 lead into the final frame.

South Laurel played with great intensity in the fourth quarter and made a heroic effort to upend Hazard. Late in the game, the Cardinals' Jordan Bortnem, who scored 21 points, canned two free throws to bring his team to within five at 44-39. They got a chance to cut it to three when Wes Dean drove the lane with a beautiful layup. The ball hung on the rim for what seemed like an eternity and creaked over and fell into the hands of a waiting Hazard player. It seemed like South Laurel's hopes ended there.

They pulled within two on a couple of possessions down the stretch, but when Hazard's Whittaker hit a well challenged running jump shot with under a minute left, South Laurel's hopes really faded. Hazard withstood their late game challenge and advanced with a 50-47 victory.

Game Two

Shelby County 70 - Lincoln County 58

When I posted on Shelby County's February 15th game with Elizabethtown, I confessed that I probably had a bias toward the Rockets. I lived in Shelbyville for seven years and made a lot of good friends there, and I followed Shelby County basketball during those seasons. These days, my nephew, Tyler Layton, pitches for the Rockets, so I still have a soft spot for them.

If my post has bias, I apologize.

Shelby County took control of this game early on and controlled it all the way through. They were bigger and stronger than Lincoln County, and their defense frustrated the Patriots. Lincoln County lives and dies by the three point shot, and on Thursday afternoon they fell on their sword in the first half. They shot 1-13 from the arc in the first half.

They did hit eight threes in the second half, but it was too little too late for them.

Shelby County is one of the best interior passing teams I've ever seen. They make short, quick passes, and all of their interior players have great hands. Alex Matthews, who is a forward, had eight assists. Coty Minnis, often the beneficiary of Matthews' passing, scored 25 points. He's very good at the two hand lay-in off the glass. No one is going to slap the ball away from him when he gets it in the paint.

Shelby controlled the boards, too, out rebounding the Pats 38-15.

Shelby County advances to meet Hazard with a 70-58 victory.

OBSERVATIONS

Nice Shot Layton: My nephew, Tyler Layton, participated in one of the promotions at halftime in which contestants have to hit as many shots as possible in 45 seconds. They try to outscore someone from the other school. Layton kept shooting threes that shanked off the front of the rim. Hey, Tyler, quit playing on the eight foot goals!

Turn Out the Lights: Lincoln County had a huge crowd on hand. I used to spend a lot of time in that county, and made me think that no one was left down there. I hope the last one out turned off the light, checked to make sure the stove was off and the iron unplugged.

Best Band Music of the Session: South Laurel's band broke out into a great rendition of J. Geils Band's "Freeze Frame." You gotta love that.