Trailing Daviess County by six with less than a minute left in overtime, Owensboro Catholics Luke Beickman made a move and pulled up for a clean three. After a defensive stop, Beickman drove to the hoop, finishing through two defenders and drawing the foul. He sank the ensuing free throw to send it to double overtime, where the Aces would eventually close it out 78-74.
“They have a really good team, so to come here and beat them on their court in double overtime – it was a heck of an outing by our kids,” Owensboro Catholic head coach Tim Riley said.
The Panthers jumped out to a 13-11 first quarter lead – highlighted by two thunderous fastbreak dunks by DeAaron Watkins. In the second quarter, the Panthers slowly started to pull away thanks to Jonathan Moss scoring six of his 23 points. But the Aces refused to go away quietly, finding a way to hang around and entered halftime only trailing by six.
Early in the third quarter, the Aces hit back-to-back threes and then scored a layup to retake the lead. After only scoring five points in the first half, Beickman exploded for seven points, while Dre’Mail Carothers added six points in the quarter.
The fourth quarter was back and forth, but the Aces started to pull away in the closing minutes. Needing a response, Moss repeatedly attacked the lane, finishing through contact and drawing multiple and ones. Tied with only seconds remaining, Daviess County’s Jaxon Brown’s potential game-winning fadeaway three rimmed out, sending it to overtime.
“I am proud of how we battled after we were down and came back,” Daviess County head coach Neil Hayden said. “Obviously, I am disappointed because I thought we had a chance to close out the game in the first overtime. Luke made two big plays. I am proud of our efforts, but we have got to figure out how to take care of the ball and finish that game.”
In overtime, the Panthers seemed on the verge of closing it out before Beickman’s heroics tied it. With under 10 seconds left in overtime, Owensboro Catholic had a chance to win it on a fast break, but the Panther’s DeAaron Watkins recovered and swatted the ball to end the period.
Daviess County jumped out to an early lead in the second overtime period, but the Aces’ Davyn Randolph hit a huge three to give his team a two-point lead. They would never trail again. Solly Smith, Beickman, and Randolph combined for 23 of Owensboro Catholic’s 24 points in overtime.
For the Panthers, Kaden Payne, Watkins, and Brown combined for 15 of their 20 overtime points. Beickman led all scorers with 29, nine of which came in overtime. Smith was second on the Aces with 15 points, while Randolph added 13.
Daviess County’s Moss finished with 23 points and five assists, while Watkins recorded a double-double of 22 points and 16 rebounds. Randolph finished 2-5 from deep to go along with his 10 points, while Payne was an efficient 5-6 from the free throw line.
The Panthers shot 4-18 from deep, but were 24-28 from the line, compared to the Aces who shot 8-18 from deep and 12-21 at the line.
Both teams are back in action with Owensboro Catholic traveling to Warren Central to take on Jeffersontown at noon, while Daviess County will play Hopkinsville tonight at 7:30 at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
