Bowling Green 51 - Franklin-Simpson 49

Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

It started out looking like a very long night for the Bowling Green Purples. Franklin-Simpson opened the game with a sticky defense that forced the Purples into turnovers and forced shots and generally sloppy play. The Wildcats were up 9-0 just two and a half minutes into the game, and they eventually expanded the lead to to two touchdowns -- 14-0. Finally, Joe Gorman broke the ice for the Purps with a three pointer, and Bowling Green played their way back into the game before the end of the first quarter. After holding a 14 point lead, Franklin found themselves clinging to a 20-12.

In the second quarter Bowling Green used its defense to outplay the Wildcats. The forced Franklin into a series of bad possessions that included a 10 second call, a five second call, and turnovers on bad passes. Bowling Green's press is not smothering, but it is constant. It frustrated Franklin throughout the ballgame, and if you throw out the first five minutes of this game, the Purples outplayed their opponent through the remainder of the contest.

Bowling Green outscored Franklin 19-14 in the second frame to cut the lead to three at 34-31.

The Purples held F-S to just nine points in the third quarter, but they could only muster 10 points themselves. They opened nearly as ice cold as they opened the ballgame. They seemed to be stuck on 31, but by the end of the frame the hosts were behind by only two points, 43-41.

Franklin-Simpson looked tired in the fourth quarter, and I think that is directly attributable to the effectiveness of Bowling Green's nearly constant pressure. Again, the Purples' defenders pressed after turnovers and missed shots, and they did it a lot better than they did against Glasgow a week ago. Franklin didn't get any cheap baskets like the Scotties did.

Bowling Green didn't get their first lead in this game until 1:02 left in the contest, when they hit a layup to make it 49-47. Franklin tied the ballgame with just a few seconds on the clock, but the Purples got the ball back up the court in a hurry. They moved the ball around an active and seemingly desperate Wildcat defense. I thought they made one pass too many, but they scooped the ball into D.J. Ray, who was low on the blocks. Ray released the ball on a "gimme" layup just before the time expired and the ball bounced through the hoop. The home team won 51-49. It was an exciting end to otherwise ugly game.

OBSERVATIONS

Chip and Dale: I used to laugh at the "Chip and Dale" cartoons when they were so polite to one another that they couldn't get anything done. For awhile on Friday night I thought that Bowling Green and Franklin-Simpson were trying to give each other the ballgame like Chip and Dale. Neither team seemed to want to win it. One side threw the ball out-of-bounds and the other obliged with a turnover.

Poncho Wright Award: Eric Smith shoots rainbow jump shots from a kind of funny looking release. I've heard people call this type of shot a "rainmaker" because it knocks moisture out of the clouds. Back during the Doctors of Dunk era at Louisville they had a player named Poncho Wright, who could shoot the ball with the best. Poncho had a high-arching, rainmaker jump shot and was deadly from the corner. I've always said that it's too bad Poncho played prior to the three-point shot in college basketball. Eric Smith's shots remind me of Wright's. Eric even has a high arc on his free-throws.

Courtney Dalcourt Watch: He's the best athlete in this part of the state. He's better football player than basketball player, but his athletic ability is unmatched. He's big and fast and strong. I've lost track of who is recruiting him for football, but my guess is that a 1-AA program is going to make a steal. I may be his biggest fan.