By J. Trace Kirkwood
I never learn. No matter how many high school basketball games I attend I still step into the gym with a lot of preconceived notions about the two teams taking the court. At last night's University Heights visit to Bowling Green, a game Coach Randy "Real" McCoy schedules every other year so he can make Christmas returns at the Greenwood Mall, I figured that it would be a track meet game with a lot of possessions and a lot of fast break points. It's sort of the same thing that the Kentucky basketball universe expected out of Kentucky and Louisville yesterday.
Nearly the same thing happened. It was ugly. Bowling Green jumped out to a quick lead and seemed as if they might pound the Blazers, but UHA got hot late in the first quarter and made a run on the Purples that put them right back in the game.
Thankfully, these high school players didn't resort to the foolishness that the Cats and the Cards did yesterday. There were no technicals. No forearm shivvers.
I don't have a count on the turnovers that Bowling Green and UHA committed last night, but I could've filled a tally sheet very quickly. Both theams are quick and explosive, but neither of them could take care of the ball last night. I kept waiting for my friend Eddie to insist that the ball was over-inflated, but I think I've made too much fun of him for saying that before. Maybe officials filled the ball with helium.
I'm still searching for something positive to say about this game, but I keep going back to it being just plane, mudfence u-g-l-y. It was almost as ugly as these Pennyrile Pick and Roll staffers.
University Heights did a good job at neutralizing Chane Behanan in the first half. I don't have any stats on the game, but he couldn't have had more than five or six points in the first two quarters. He was out-of-synch and never established an inside game on a much smaller Blazer front line. Behanan finished the game with 15 points. He had two fouls early in the half and spent a long time on the bench.
UHA made a good run at Bowling Green in the second half by using their guards to break from the basket all along the perimeter. Blazer guard Matt McGowan broke down the Purple defense with quick moves into the lane (he got away with two obvious walks, though), and he either scored or dished the ball to someone in better position. [James] Tiberius [Kirk] Smith and David Vance were able to put in 14 and 12 points apiece in the game.
UHA is a good team but young. They don't have the size that they usually have, but they have some good athletes. They are 7-7 right now, and I don't see them being a threat to win the second region this season.
Bowling Green has some problems but not enough to make other Fourth Region teams to think that the Purples won't compete for the championship. Last night they had trouble with guards penetrating their the top of their defense, which resulted in Behanan getting into foul trouble during the first half as their last line of defense. The Purples have got to move their feet on defense or they can expect Dee Anderson to speed past them on his way to lay-ins and about 20 points later in the week. They cannot be matadors.
The Purples also have trouble handling the ball. Behanan and DJ Ray both dribble right into trouble. It seems like they pick the biggest pack of defenders on the court and dribble the ball right into the middle of them. They have no patience. They need to pass the ball more instead of thinking about going coast-to-coast so much.
Bowling Green took control in the fourth quarter and won 65-56.
OBSERVATIONS
One Man Band?: Here's something that Fourth Region teams need to think about. Bowling Green is still a good team when Behanan is on the bench. They are a lot smaller, but the Purples exhibit great speed when the big guy is on the bench. BG played well when Behanan was pine riding with foul trouble.
Now It's Getting Serious: Now, teams settle into playing teams within the region and the season starts to count. Every game is big. Every game is important. For the 14th District, the top seed is golden this season. No offense to the fine folks at Warren East, but the Raiders aren't going to put up much of a fight this year. The team that pulls the top seed will have an almost automatic spot in the regional tournament. The two-three seeds are perilous. No one wants those two spots. I love it.
Blinding Ray: DJ Ray is one of the best in the region at getting to the basket. He is deceptive. He doesn't look quick, but no one seems capable of getting in front of him. I enjoy watching him play.
Tis the Season: Starry nights. Frigid air. Those things can only mean one thing: It's basketball season. Until college football can put together a tournament to choose a champ, I have little respect for it (I am a life long Crimson Tide fan). I still think that Kentucky high school basketball has the perfect format for choosing a champ. I love it.
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