Playing in front of a rambunctious road environment, Owensboro silenced the home crowd by jumping out to a blistering 12-0 lead. Never looking back, the Red Devils fought off every Owensboro Catholic counterattack, winning 60-45.
Recovering from a lopsided loss to Bowling Green on Tuesday, the Red Devils couldn’t seem to miss early and carried that momentum throughout the game. Will Hume was the catalyst in the first quarter, shooting 3-3 from deep. He finished with five threes on the night.
“He opens it up for a lot for a lot of things,” Owensboro head coach Rod Drake said. “We can play inside or out. Our guys have learned to look for him in the transition. Since he’s coming back from his ankle injury he has been on a role. He’s a big part of what we do.”
The Aces Stephen Eaves stopped the bleeding, scoring in the paint to put his team on the board. Owensboro finished the quarter on an 8-7 run to take a 20-9 lead.
Hume cooled off in the second quarter, but Michael Acton stepped up, scoring eight of his team-high 16 points. Owensboro Catholic began to storm back in the second quarter, entering halftime trailing 32-27 and with momentum. It was a balanced attack that led to the comeback, with six different Aces scoring.
In the third quarter, Owensboro recaptured the momentum – jumping out to a quick 9-0 run. This time Keaton Hughes was the star of the show for Owensboro, scoring eight of his 12 points in the quarter. The big man also came down with multiple key rebounds down the stretch.
Leading by 12 entering the fourth quarter, Owensboro slowed down the game and only attempted open looks. They ate up the clock and repeatedly found themselves at the line where they shot 7-10 in the quarter and 12-16 on the night.
Acton led all scorers with 16 points, while Hume added 15. Keaton Hughes and Richardson both finished with 12 points. For the Aces, Waryn Ebelhar led the way with 12 points, while Luke Beickman added 10 points. Solly Smith scored six of his eight points in the second half.
Owensboro’s success stemmed from being able to calmly respond anytime the Aces would start to go on a run.
“That shows that we are getting better,” Drake said. “A lot of times we haven’t been able to stop those runs. This year we have had trouble with that. Tonight, we countered those runs.”
The Red Devils plan to soak in the win, before returning to action Saturday afternoon against Lyon County. Owensboro Catholic is off till Tuesday, when they travel to Breckinridge County.
