Daviess County and Owensboro Catholic hung on for wins in close battles on Tuesday, while Apollo and Trinity (Whitesville) fell just short in its respective matchups.
Daviess County vs. Meade County
A strong fourth quarter on both ends of the floor pushed Daviess County past Meade County on Tuesday, grabbing a 52-45 win to extend its winning streak to three games.
Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively in the first quarter, as the Panthers went into the second owning a minimal 8-4 lead.
The Green Wave made up some ground in the second quarter, tallying 16 points to go into halftime trailing 21-20.
Meade County continued to chip away at the lead coming out of the locker room, outscoring Daviess County for the second straight quarter and taking a 37-36 lead into the fourth.
In the fourth the Panthers turned it on, holding the Green Waves to single digits and sparking their offense as a result. Rattling off 16 points in the quarter, Daviess County’s all-around effort in the fourth pushed them past Meade County for the 52-45 win.
The Panthers shot 50% from the field and went 15-20 from the charity stripe, while struggling to connect from deep (1-8). They were able to hold the Green Wave to a 40% clip from the field, while they went 6-23 from beyond the arc.
Senior Max Dees led Daviess County with 14 points, while junior Cole Burch followed with 13, senior Devonte McCampbell had 11 and sophomore Gage Phelps had nine.
Owensboro Catholic vs. Hancock County
After owning the lead for the first three quarters of play, Owensboro Catholic had to pull together a solid defensive effort in overtime to defeat Hancock County 56-54.
Getting eight points from junior Parker Gray, the Aces got off to a strong start and took a 15-12 lead into the second.
Both teams tallied 16 points in the second quarter, as junior Devyn Powers and sophomore Tutt Carrico had three triples each for their respective teams. It was Owensboro Catholic who had the slight edge thanks to its play in the first, as they took a 31-28 lead at halftime.
Hancock County brought things even at 39 going into the fourth thanks to a strong showing defensively in which they held the Aces to single digits. The two teams matched either blow-for-blow in the fourth, forcing OT tied at 50-50.
Both teams played sloppy in the extra period, with Owensboro Catholic struggling to put the Hornets away despite numerous opportunities.
A late steal and transition layup helped put the Aces up 55-54 with 46.1 seconds left to play, as Hancock County came back down and had a wide open layup opportunity. However, the pass was mishandled and junior Ji Webb was quickly sent to the line with 3.4 seconds left to play.
Webb hit the first at the charity stripe to make it 56-54, before missing the second. The Hornets were unable to secure the rebound following the miss thanks to some physicality from sophomore Deuce Sims and the clock ran down to 0.1 seconds left.
With Owensboro Catholic retaining possession, they would pass the ball in to put a bow on a nerve-wracking 56-54 win over Hancock County.
Gray and Webb led the Aces with 12 points each on the night, while Carrico and sophomore Jari Barber had 11 points each in junior Brian Griffith’s absence following the first quarter.
The win moves Owensboro Catholic to 9-9 overall on the season, as they will look to grab a district win over Apollo at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Apollo vs. Breckinridge County
Struggling to find the bottom of the net in the fourth quarter, Apollo was unable to hold onto its lead and fell to Breckinridge County 51-50 on Tuesday.
The Eagles got off to a scorching hot start thanks to some prolific three-point shooting, as they got 15 points from deep and went into the second owning a 19-16 lead.
Apollo did not have that same success in the second quarter, as the Fighting Tigers held them to single digits. However, they were able to hold onto the lead and went into halftime owning a 27-26 lead.
Both teams relied on the deep ball once again in the third, with each team getting nine points from beyond the arc while the Eagles retained a 40-38 lead going into the fourth.
While Apollo had momentum on its side, its offense went flat in the fourth with senior Jaden Kelly being responsible for all 10 points. Not getting any help from his supporting cast, the Eagles were able to fend off Breckinridge County on the defensive end and fell 51-50.
Kelly led Apollo with 20 points, while sophomore Eli Masterson was the only other player in double figures with 13 points.
The Eagles losing streak now sits at five straight, while they fall to 2-15 on the season before a district matchup with Owensboro Catholic at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Trinity vs. Union County
Despite a strong fourth quarter that led to a late comeback attempt, Trinity’s (Whitesville) offensive struggles in the third quarter came back to bite them as they lost to Union County 60-58.
Union County got off to a strong start offensively in the first half, but thanks to a combined 27 points from junior Landon Huff (15 points) and senior Bailey Wright (eight points) the Raiders went into halftime narrowly trailing at a score of 39-31.
But some key defensive adjustments quickly stifled Trinity’s offense in the third quarter, as the duo of Huff and Wright scored two points and the team as a whole was held to single digits. These struggles paired led to a 49-37 deficit for the Raiders going into the fourth.
Thanks to some solid shooting from beyond the arc, Trinity’s offense came back alive in the fourth. They were able to get 12 points from deep, as the Raiders had their strongest offensive quarter of the game with 21 points.
However, the hole that Trinity had dug themselves was too deep, and despite limiting Union County to 11 points in the fourth they fell 60-58.
Huff and Wright led all scorers on the night with 15 points each, while no other players finished in double figures for the Raiders
The loss moves Trinity to 7-8 overall on the season, as it will have a day off before another home game against Muhlenberg County at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
