Daviess County suffered a tough 79-68 defeat against Butler County to end their regional run, and their impressive season. Jonahtan Moss scored 34 points to lead the Panthers during the game.
Butler opened the scoring with a score from the paint, and Moss answered immediately with a 3 pointer to set the tone going forward. Butler made 2 back-to-back threes before Moss got a steal and a quick layup. Moss kept his momentum going hitting 2 free throws, a drive through the lane for 2 and then stole the ball to assist on a bucket from Gage Phelps. Moss had 10 points in the quarter to help DC keep the score close at 19-17 with Butler leading at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw the Panthers take the lead thanks to their 5 threes and tight defense. Moss had 4 of those 5 threes as part of his 14 points in the quarter. Daviess County’s ball movement got DeAaron Watkins open for two in the paint to open the quarter at 19-19. After Butler drove to the post for 2, Moss made the first three of the quarter to take the lead at 22-21. Butler took the lead back with a mid-range jumper, but Moss hit a step back three and another three off an assist by Phelps to lead 28-26. The Panthers went on short run starting with threes from both Moss and Watkins that resulted in a 10-point lead at 38-28 for DCHS.
Daviess County went into the third quarter leading 40-34. Moss and Brown kept the scoring going for DC with a three and multiple scores from drives in the paint, but their defense had trouble containing Butler as they were outscored 22-12 in the quarter. A converted and-1 play by Butler tied the game up at 50-50. Ayden Ayer drove in and scored with a finger roll at the rim to give Daviess County the lead for what would be the final time at 52-50. Butler hit a three to take the lead and then got a steal, a fast break layup and a free throw to end the third quarter leading 56-52.
Butler’s star player Ty Price scored 19 points in the final quarter to put the Bears’ lead out of reach for DCHS. Coming into the game Panthers head coach Neil Hayden knew Price would be a problem for the team. He made it a focus to try and limit him on the glass, but Hayden said he was simply just a hard guard.
“We wanted to mix up our defenses as much as we could to try and keep him off the glass,” he said. “I thought he did a good job late at finding his teammates, especially when we were trying to trap. He’s just a hard guard. I don’t care what you’re doing. He makes tough shots. They got some offensive rebounds that bothered us. They’re more than just him, but he’s hard to handle.”
Price scored twice on drives to the basket to open the fourth before Phelps scored a driving layup of his own. After 6 more points from Price, Daviess County began to find success on offense and brought the gap down to 66-60 with a finish through contact from Moss, a block and a bucket from the post by Watkins and a driving basket from Jaxon Brown. After Butler made 2 free throws and Moss drove through contact for a layup again, Butler drove to the basket to take their lead to 72-62. Phelps made 5 free throws and Brown pulled up from mid-range for 2 before Butler closed out the game from the free throw line at 79-69.
Moss’s impressive 34 points, 6 threes, and his 4 of 6 shooting on free throws led the Panthers in scoring. Phelps followed behind with 14 points while shooting 7 of 8 on free throws.
This loss ended the Panthers season at 24-8. Despite their impressive record, Hayden said the team was still short of their goal of making a deep run in the postseason. Hayden also said he was proud of the team for the amount of time and effort they put into this season.
“We’re short of what we wanted, but there’s not another group of guys I’d rather coach,” he said. “I’m really proud of this season and proud of the time they put in. One thing we can’t hang our heads about is the effort and the time they put in, so there’s not another group I’d rather coach.”
