A hot start from the Red Devils on both ends of the floor swung momentum their way and had them never looking back on Tuesday, topping Owensboro Catholic 63-41 in a packed Owensboro Sportscenter to grab their first 3rd Region Championship in five years.
The Aces got on the board first with a free throw from senior Brian Griffith with 6:35 to go in the first, but Owensboro’s standout senior guard Kenyatta Carbon quickly responded with a bucket of his own on the other end. Junior Jody Hopgood and sophomore Luke Beickman helped reclaim the lead with back-to-back buckets in transition, but a corner three by senior Cayman Powell put the Red Devils back in front 7-5 with 4:14 to go in the first quarter.
The big three kickstarted a 20-2 run for Owensboro—led by Carbon who finished with 12 points in the first quarter—as Owensboro Catholic was rushing things offensively and struggling with Owensboro’s press defense. With the crowd roaring behind them, the Red Devils went into the second quarter leading 22-7.
The Red Devils wanted to get off to a hot start coming into the game, as Carbon said afterwards that he told his teammates that if they came out with energy and intensity from the jump.
“We just had to come out playing hard,” Carbon said. “It was a winnable game if we came out playing hard. We couldn’t go down early like we did that second game… I just told the guys if we come out swinging first it can go a different way. That’s what we did and I think it went a different way the whole game.”
Griffith tried to get the Aces off of a better foot in the second, getting two quick free throws after drawing senior Ji Webb’s second personal foul and making it a 22-9 game with 7:20 to go in the first half. Owensboro Catholic couldn’t get going though, grabbing one more bucket before suffering a two minute scoring drought that had them down 31-11 with 4:44 to go in the half after another layup by Carbon.
The Aces were able to get a pair of free throws after another two-minute scoreless drought to end the run, helping start an 8-0 run of their own as Owensboro Catholic got a layup from Beickman to make it 31-19 with 45 seconds to go in the first half. Owensboro’s lead held strong though, getting a late layup by Carbon before a pair of free throws from Beickman sent the Aces into the locker room down 35-21.
Owensboro Catholic came out of the locker room and had its best quarter of the night offensively though, as Griffith (seven) and Gray (six) combined for 13 points and a mid-range jumper from sophomore Vince Carrico cutting the Red Devils lead to 10 with under 30 seconds to go in the third. Owensboro got one more from Webb at the line to close the quarter as he (seven) and Carbon (five) combined for all of the team’s points to keep them out in front 47-36 heading into the fourth.
Both teams traded free throws to start the fourth, but a quick minute and a half 9-0 run put the Red Devils up 56-37 with four minutes to go. This was all the momentum that Owensboro needed, holding the Aces to five points in the quarter and coming away with a 63-41 3rd Region Championship victory for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.
Sitting at 14-10 overall coming into the postseason, Owensboro now has a five-game winning streak. But it was a rough 68-48 road loss to the Aces, as that loss paired with the roster solidifying late in the season helped the red and black turn a corner.
“One Sunday after we got beat by Catholic, we had a come to Jesus meeting and that was it,” Drake said. “Guys start believing, then after two or three practices we could see it coming… I told those guys ‘for four years, all the chewings and all the bus rides comes down this right here.’ They responded well this past month. They really did.”
Webb played a huge role in making the Red Devils roster whole, as his presence on both ends of the floor in the paint and on the glass has made him an invaluable addition to the team. He proved that again on Tuesday, controlling the battle of the boards and altering shots time and time again while finishing with 12 points.
“Since Ji has been there, he rebounds the ball very well and contests shots,” Head Coach Rod Drake said. “Teams are aware of him. When Ji is in the game there are no more straight line dribbles… Looking from a coaches perspective, Ji was what we needed. He gave those guys confidence where they could really be tough out front and be aggressive.”
Freshman Jonathan Moss added 10 points as well, but it was Carbon who led all scorers with a whopping 31 points. Drake sang the senior guard’s praises following the game, saying that he is the true player of the year and that he doesn’t think that anyone can stop him from getting to the rim one-on-one.
“Kenyatta’s the real deal,” Drake said. “He’s the real deal… We know who’s the real champ. He’s the real deal. He’s here. What can you say? He had 31 tonight. I don’t know how many rebounds he had. He’s the No. 2 all-time leading scorer in the program for Owensboro High School.”
Kenyatta was getting his baskets in just about every way imaginable as he now sits 75 points away from being the school’s all-time leading scorer. While he’s glad to be in that company, he’s even more happy now that he was able to utilize multiple facets of his game offensively to have a chance to compete at state.
“It feels great,” Carbon said. “I didn’t want to be the only one on the 1,000-point club to not be able to go to Rupp. So I had to kind of make some changes.”
Riding a five-game winning streak after a rough three-game losing streak at the hands of Bowling Green, Owensboro Catholic and Ohio County in February, Drake said that his team is gelling at the right time and their confidence is at an all-time high. This will be the first time that Owensboro has been to state in five years, falling to Ashland Blazer in the first round 58-50 in the 2018-19 season.
Facing Ashland Blazer again this time around, Drake and company are looking forward to competing for the Red Devils first state tournament win since the 2014-15 campaign when they take the floor at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, at 8:30 p.m.
“Since I was in junior high school, the first time I went to Rupp Arena, I tell the kids all the time this is like my trip to Disney World every once in a while,” Drake said. “I love it. This is the reason why I coach. I want to get to the state tournament, I know what it does for my life and I know what it can do for these kids’ lives. It can change a life in a heartbeat. Who knows what can happen when you get up there.”
Owensboro Catholic on the other hand has their season come to an end with a 28-6 overall record, falling just shy of their postseason goals. Griffith led the Aces with 18 points in the loss, while Beickman had nine and Gray finished with eight.
Head Coach Tim Riley and company had a strong season, making history on numerous occasions. While they may not have reached the ultimate goal that they had in mind, Owensboro Catholic had an impressive season led by a solid class of seniors—including the pure scoring Parker Gray and the Aces all-time leading scorer in Brian Griffith.
