The Aces offense was firing on all cylinders on Friday, as they scored their way to an 80-66 district win over Apollo with four players finishing in double figures.
Owensboro Catholic wasted no time going to work in the first quarter, using a 6-0 run to take the lead with 5:30 left to play. Struggling offensively as well, the Eagles had no answer for the Aces and found themselves down 19-6 going into the second.
Able to connect throughout the quarter from deep, Apollo started to figure things out offensively for 21 points. However, Owensboro Catholic matched them and went into halftime owning a 40-27 lead.
The second half was much of the same for both teams, with Apollo only able to make its deficit at single digits once in the third.
With the Aces offense staying consistent, they were able to secure an 80-66 home win to improve to 2-2 in district play.
Sophomore Brian Griffith led the way with 20 points for Owensboro Catholic who had four players finish in double figures, including junior Parker Gray (16), sophomore Jari Barber (16) and sophomore Ji Webb (14).
Meanwhile Apollo was led by sophomore Eli Masterson who hit a plethora of tough shots over Webb for his 19 points. Senior Jaden Kelly followed behind with 17, while junior Zjhan Tutt finished with 10.
Riley was pleased with the Aces execution on the offensive end, but he felt that defensively his team left much to be desired.
“We had the ability to score, my concern is giving up 66 points,” Riley said. “I mean, we’re just not a very good defensive team. That’s my big concern right there, because we’re going to score enough points to give ourselves a chance against people. But giving up 66 points tonight was very disappointing.”
Considering that Apollo has only eclipsed the 60-point mark three other times this season, Riley said that while his team will score they have to find a way to string together stops.
Offensively Owensboro Catholic was led by its usual trio, with the addition of Barber’s double-figure night. Noting that people have been zoning off of him as the season goes on because of his first instinct to move the ball within the offense, Riley said that Jari Barber hasn’t been a threat to score. Here recently, that has changed for the sophomore big.
“He didn’t miss a shot tonight,” Riley said. “He was 2-2 at the line and 7-7 from the field… It’s nice to see Jari give us [a lift].”
The win moves the Aces to 10-9 overall with a two-game winning streak under its belt as they now turn their attention to a tough portion of the schedule that will test them.
“We got Christian County and then we got the All-A [tournament],” Riley said. “The All-A is going to be really tough, because we open up with Pikeville and they’re just the opposite of what we are. They’ve got a bunch of tough kids, they play really hard and they’re going to be really physical.”
Apollo on the other hand falls to 2-16, as its losing streak extends to six games. The Eagles have a quick turnaround, as they are set to host Monroe County at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
