While the Red Devil’s typical guard duo of Kenyatta Carbon and Amari Robinson-Wales took control of the game offensively, it was Owensboro’s rambunctious defense that helped them defeat the Aces 59-49 en route to their fifth straight 9th District Championship.
Owensboro Catholic made a conscious effort to use its size advantage early on, as junior Ji Webb and sophomore Jari Barber did a good job of sealing their man in the post. The two traded buckets to help the Aces jump out to a 9-0 lead with six minutes left in the first.
“They did [use their size advantage] and [when] they tried we just laid back behind people,” Head Coach Rod Drake said. “We weren’t aggressive tonight in the first two quarters defensively. We laid back in the cut and we played on our heels tonight in the first two quarters.”
Carbon ended the run by grabbing back-to-back layups for the Red Devils, but Owensboro Catholic responded swiftly. Minutes later Webb swatted junior Caymen Powell’s layup off the glass, scoring in transition on the other end to make it 16-7 with just under three minutes to go in the first.
But Owensboro had one last push in them, as they started to get out in transition and take control of the pace of the game. This helped the Red Devils cut their deficit to 18-16 heading into the second.
Shortly into the second, Carbon showed off his court vision with a near fullcourt bounce pass that found the hands of junior Talas Taylor. He laid it in giving Owensboro its first lead of the night at 22-20 with 5:06 left in the quarter, as the Aces took a timeout.
From there the Red Devils held Owensboro Catholic until about the three-minute mark. However, the Aces would only score one more basket, getting just four points in five minutes and going into halftime trailing 26-24.
Owensboro came out of halftime not letting up, grabbing the first five points of the quarter. Webb converted an and-one to cut it to 31-27 with just under six minutes left in the third, but then came a flood of turnovers.
The Red Devils continued to turn Owensboro Catholic’s miscues into points, flying back and forth all over the floor to take a 40-29 lead and force a timeout with about three minutes left in the quarter.
“We turned it over like crazy at the start of the third quarter,” Head Coach Tim Riley said. “Turned it over like crazy. You just can’t do that. That’s what they live off of. They live off of layups and turnovers… We just got in trouble. The pressure got to them and we just didn’t make the right decisions.”
Following the timeout Owensboro got another steal, but Riley felt that Webb was fouled trying to make the catch and was issued a technical after making his opinion known to the officials. Carbon hit one of two at the line to make it 43-30 and the Red Devils proceeded to expand their lead.
Drake said that the first half was nowhere the intensity they needed defensively, but after halftime they were able to flip a switch.
“It switched at halftime yeah,” Drake said. “We came in and made some adjustments and guys picked it up. In order to survive next week we’re going to have to play 32 minutes.”
Owensboro led all throughout the fourth, seemingly having the game all but wrapped up. The Aces gave one more push by cutting their deficit to 58-47 with 1:20 left thanks to back-to-back buckets by Webb.
However, it was too little too late for Owensboro Catholic, as the Red Devils came out on top with a 59-49 win for their fifth straight 9th District Championship.
“It was ugly, but we’ll take it,” Drake said. “Thing about it is both teams got to advance. We played a little raggedy for two or three quarters, but we picked it up in the third and fourth quarter… It was a sloppy ballgame we won, but we’ll take it.”
Carbon led all scorers with 27 while he and Robinson-Wales led the charge for Owensboro, combining for 45 of the team’s 59 points.
Following the win, Drake and the Red Devils are trying to soak it all in, knowing that their hard work all season has gotten them to this level of success.
“We’re just fortunate to be here with this group of guys,” Drake said. “They’ve worked hard and we’re excited about the next game. You can’t take these opportunities for granted… We’re just excited to get through here. We played a tough schedule and we deserve to be here because we put the work in.”
While playing for the title, Owensboro Catholic already had their eyes set on the 3rd Region Tournament. This led to the Aces decision to rest standout junior guard Brian Griffith, noting he could’ve played in the district championship.
“We knew coming in resting Griff, it was going to be hard,” Riley said. “He could’ve probably played, but you don’t win the regional title tonight and that’s the ultimate goal.”
Regardless, Riley felt that Owensboro Catholic played well early on, but then the team ran out of gas. Webb led Owensboro Catholic with 19 and while Barber followed closely behind with 13, as the twin towers for the Aces were the only players to finish in double figures.
Both Riley and Drake noted how tough the 3rd Region is and that anybody can come away with the title. Riley tipped his cap to the Red Devils as a favorite, but made it known that they’re capable of winning just like their counterpart across the Commonwealth.
“If you don’t play well, there’s people that can beat you in this tournament,” Riley said. “I think that Owensboro’s the favorite, Muhlenberg’s the favorite and we’re in that mix. Honestly, I think that everybody coming over can beat you if you don’t play.”
Both teams will hope for matchups to fall in their favor with the regional tournament starting this week, as the 3rd Region draw is set for 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
