Despite Daviess County cutting its deficit to single digits going into the second half, a strong third quarter from the Red Devils defensively—and offensively from senior Amari Robinson-Wales—led to a 79-47 home district win.
It was a fouling frenzy to open up play, with neither team able to get much going in the first three minutes of the night. Up 2-1 with five minutes left in the first, Owensboro rattled off a 10-0 run.
The Red Devils continued to expand their lead with their fullcourt pressure and aggressive offense, taking a 17-5 lead into the second.
With refs quick to blow the whistle the second quarter was a long one, as Daviess County found themselves in the bonus two minutes into the quarter.
Despite trailing all game, the Panthers started to claw their way back into the game in the final two minutes of the second quarter.
Breaking through Owensboro’s zone and knocking down 10-11 free throws, Daviess County had cut it to single digits. Following a vicious dunk from senior Devante McCampbell, the Panthers went into halftime trailing 35-29.
Red Devils’ Head Coach Rod Drake said that they got laxed defensively and failed to execute the defensive principles that helped them jump out to their early lead.
“We got a little selfish on defense,” Drake said. “You can be selfish on defense by not guarding your guy, reaching, grabbing, trying to get steals and putting them in the bonus and that’s what happened there. We let them play through it in the first half and in the second half we were focused and I thought it was a great turnaround for us.”
Owensboro did flip the switch in the third quarter, taking momentum back by holding Daviess County to single digits and a strong quarter of play from Robinson-Wales.
The Panthers were not getting to the line nearly as often thanks to disciplined defense from Owensboro, only scoring eight points while Robinson-Wales scored 10 himself to help the Red Devils take a 55-37 lead into the fourth.
Robinson-Wales led all scorers with 22 points on the night, as Drake said his leadership on the floor was what really helped Owensboro succeed on both ends of the floor.
“I think Amari played with a sense of urgency tonight,” Drake said. “There was one point there he had like 10 straight baskets I think there in the second half. He played like a leader tonight. He played well.”
Daviess County’s struggles continued in the fourth, as they were limited to just 10 points while the Red Devils had its strongest quarter offensively. Owensboro kept flying out in transition in the fourth like they had all game, rattling off 24 points and securing a 79-47 win.
Along with Robinson-Wales, juniors Talas Taylor (13), Kenyatta Carbon (12) and Cayman Powell (10) all finished in double figures for the Red Devils.
Eighth grader Jonathan Moss led the Panthers with 12 points on the night, while McCampbell finished closely behind with 11 points.
Owensboro advances to 15-5 and 4-0 in district play, now owning a three-game winning streak and separating themselves in the 9th District. However, Drake and company don’t want to get comfy with plenty of regular season still left to play.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Drake said. “If we can just stay healthy and stay focused… We got three more weeks. Anything can happen, so right now we’re just taking it one game at a time.”
Owensboro will return to action after a couple days of rest, as they are set to take on Breckinridge County at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, the loss has Daviess County sitting at 8-11 overall and 2-2 in district play. Riding a two-game losing streak, the Panthers will have to refocus as they have a quick turnaround and will host Warren East at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
