FERN CREEK 65, TRINITY 57

2017 King of the Bluegrass Champions Fern Creek High School

The 2017 Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass wrapped up with a stellar match up between Top 5 opponents as No. 1 Trinity looked to defend their KOB crown against No. 4 Fern Creek. The Shamrocks were playing in their third straight King of the Bluegrass final while the Tigers were making their first appearance in 19 years. Trinity sophomore Justin Powell got off to a fast start scoring four of the Shamrocks first seven points as Trinity jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Ahmad Price scored four of the next five points as Fern Creek went on their own run to cut the lead to 9-7. The Shamrock defense held the Tigers scoreless for nearly two minutes to end the quarter building their lead back to 16-9. It was Fern Creek who would end the first quarter with their own run scoring four points in the final 30 seconds of the quarter to trail 16-13 at the quarter break. Anthony Wales scored scored the first eleven points for the Tigers to open the second quarter as they took their first lead of the game and extended it to 24-18. Trinity would capitalize on a Fern Creek turnover and connect on two straight three-pointers to tie the game at 24-24 midway through the second quarter. Stan Turnier and Clint Wickliffe would exchange baskets knotting the score at 26 before Ahmad Price put Fern Creek ahead 28-26 going into halftime. Jay Scrubb converted an old fashion three-point play on the Shamrocks opening possession to cut the Fern Creek lead to 29-30. The two teams would exchange buckets over the next two minutes with David Johnson and Stan Turnier each cutting the Fern Creek lead to 3 points. The Shamrocks would never get any closer as Fern Creek's Jalon Howard capped a 9-2 run to extend the Tigers lead back to 46-36. A big dunk by Trinity's Jay Scrubb would cut the score to 46-38 at the end of the third quarter. Two minutes into the fourth quarter the Fern Creek lead swelled to a game-high twelve points. The Shamrocks finally looked to like they were building some momentum

Tournament MVP Anthony Wales with Fairdale Coach
David Hicks and Tournament Sponsor Chad Gardner

midway through the quarter as a Jay Scrubb dunk and five straight point by 2016 Tournament MVP David Johnson pulled Trinity to within 47-54. A minute later David Johnson would add another pair of baskets giving the Shamrocks hope in the final minute of the game trailing just 57-61. Anthony Wales put the Trinity hopes to bed with four straight free throws to end the game and seal the 65-57 victory for the Tigers. The win gave the Tigers their first King of the Bluegrass title in school history. The Fern Creek win also marked the first time a Kentucky team outside of the 7th Region has won the King of the Bluegrass since Elizabethtown in 2005. Fern Creek senior Anthony Wales was named Bob White Most Valuable Player with a 26 point, 4 rebound, 3 assist stat line. Ahmad Price added 21 points and 8 rebounds and Clint Wickliffe recorded 8 points and 9 rebounds and both players earned All-Tournament Team honors. Trinity's David Johnson led the Shamrocks with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists and Jay Scrubb added 11 points as the two Shamrocks also earned All-Tournament Team honors.

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