The Aces lost the battle from beyond the arc and struggled with Ohio County’s size and length on Tuesday, falling in a tough 3rd Region battle 76-64.
Owensboro Catholic got off to a slow start, as the Eagles started the game up 7-2 with 4:36 left in the first quarter. The Aces started to find a rhythm later though, getting back-to-back threes from sophomore Luke Beickman and senior Brian Griffith to even things up at 13-13 with 2:15 left in the first.
Ohio County grabbed a late bucket to take a 15-13 lead into the second, but 6-0 runs from both teams had things tied at 21-21 with five minutes to go in the first half. The two 3rd Region standouts traded buckets for the next few minutes, before some jawing from both sides led to offsetting technical fouls for Owensboro Catholic and the Eagles head coaches.
This ramped up the intensity in the game, but it was Ohio County who went into halftime up 37-28 after a missed three fell into the hands of senior Parker Culbertson and he floated one in at the buzzer. The Eagles efficiency from deep on the night played a big part in building their lead, as they followed up four in the second quarter with three more in the third.
This combined for seven of Ohio County’s nine on the night, helping them take a 58-45 lead into the fourth. Aces Head Coach Tim Riley was happy his team also finished with nine threes on the night, but was not happy with the 23 shots it took to get them.
“We’re not getting to the line enough,” Riley said. “We settle too much. We don’t attack the basket. We don’t get down in there and shot fake and try to draw fouls. We just don’t do it. The team that shoots the most free throws is going to win most games. That’s documented from years and years of basketball and we shot eight free throws in the game because we want to be a jump-shooting team.”
But Owensboro Catholic was determined to claw back into the game, using a 13-4 run thanks to some Eagles turnovers to cut it to 62-58 with 4:44 to play. Ohio County was able to slowly figure out the Aces press though, going on a 14-6 run to end the night and secure a 76-64 win.
Riley tipped his cap to the Eagles after the game, noting that they played strong on both ends of the floor while Owensboro Catholic could’ve given a better effort.
“I thought they did a nice job defensively in man,” Riley said. “Their length bothered us. We didn’t attack and create opportunities for our teammates. I thought they kind of manhandled us defensively… They killed us on the glass and they shot lights out.”
Culbertson led all scorers with 27 points on the night, shooting lights out from three and setting the tone for Ohio County’s offense throughout the contest.
“He was good tonight, really good,” Riley said. “I know he missed one. I don’t know if he missed any other threes. He’s a good player surrounded by a bunch of guys that made the extra pass and they knocked down their shots.”
Meanwhile, junior Carter Young (17), junior Elijah Decker (13) and sophomore Carson Kennedy (12) all finished in double figures for the Eagles. Griffith and Beickman led the way for the Aces with 22 and 19 respectively, serving as the only two players in double figures on a night when Riley felt his team’s offense was stagnant at times.
“We have to be better in the half-court,” Riley said. “Which we were not very good in the halfcourt… Our movement, our cuts, our screening was just not very good.”
Hoping to learn from this game knowing that they could potentially see Ohio County down the road later in the season, the Aces (16-2) will look to bounce back starting Friday with a road district matchup against Apollo at 7 p.m.
