TRINITY 73, BERKMAR 69

The 2016 King of the Bluegrass Championship was an epic battle between Kentucky's No. 2 Trinity (9-1) and Lilburn, Georgia's Berkmar Patriots (8-4). It was an early three-pointer by Zach Cooks that sent Berkmar ahead 8-3 in the opening minute of play. A 14-3 run by Trinity pushed the Shamrocks ahead 17-11 midway through the quarter. Indiana signee Al Durham scored the next seven straight points to put the Patriots back in the lead at 18-17 with 1:17 remaining in the opening quarter. It was an LJ Harris putback in the closing seconds that sent the teams into the quarter break tied at 19-19. Trinity opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run to push ahead 28-21. Zach Cooks three-pointer midway through the quarter pulled Berkmar back within 28-26. It was the Shamrocks that reeled off a 16-4 run in the final four minutes of the half to go ahead 44-30 at halftime.

The Patriots scored the opening four points of the second half to pull within nine points. The Shamrocks quickly thwarted their run jumping back ahead by as many as fourteen points at 53-39 midway through the third quarter. A trio of free-throws by Al Durham capped an 8-0 Berkmar run to end the third quarter with the Patriots trailing 55-47. Ben Soumahoro's basket on the opening possession of the fourth quarter cut the Trinity lead to just six points. A pair of buckets by Jayden Scrubb pushed the Shamrock lead back to twelve point just minutes later. It was a Lukas Burkman three-pointer with two minutes to play that looked to put things out of reach for the Patriots. Yet a minute later it was Zach Cooks who scored five straight for Berkmar to pull them back in the game trailing only 69-64 with 31 seconds remaining in play. Lukas Burkman hit a pair of free throws on Trinity's next possession but they couldn't stop the Berkmar momentum. Durham nailed a three on the next trip for Berkmar cutting the lead to 71-67. Bukman was immediately sent back to the free throw line for the Shamrock where he could only connect on one of two shots. Another Durham basket with 9.1 remaining pulled Berkmar within 72-69. Burkman's next trip to the line was just as eventful as he missed the first of two free throws giving Berkmar hope. The second free throw fell pushing the Shamrocks lead back to 73-69. A turnover by Durham on the final Berkmar possession sealed the victory for Trinity and gave the Rocks their second King of the Bluegrass Championship.

Al Durham led all scorers with 30 points. Zach Cooks added 19 points and Jay Estime tallied 11 points for the Patriots. Trinity was led by the duo of Lukas Burkman and Jayden Scrubb with 16 points apiece. Bob White Most Valuable Player, David Johnson, added 12 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for the Shamrocks.

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BERKMAR 83, BOWLING GREEN 66

Our second semifinal of the evening saw Lilburn, Georgia's Berkmar (9-3) put on a dominant performance against Kentucky's top ranked Purples of Bowling Green (7-1). The two teams opened the game in a battle with five lead changes in the opening two minutes of play. It was a pair of Zach Cooks three-pointers that put Berkmar in control 11-6 midway through the quarter. The Purples fought their way back with an 8-2 run to take the lead 14-13 on a pair of Kyran Jones free throws. The teams exchanged the lead three more times before the end of the quarter with Jay Estime's three-pointer giving Berkmar the 22-19 lead at the quarter break. The Patriots opened the second quarter with a pair of three-pointers and a dunk extending their lead to eight points. Berkmar then pieced together a 13-5 run to take a commanding 40-28 lead with three minutes to play in the half. A pair of short runs by Bowling Green got the Purples as close as nine points before Berkmar took a 51-39 lead to the break.

Berkmar continued to roll in the second half of action opening with an 11-4 run to push their lead to 62-42 three minutes into the third quarter. The Purples cut the lead to 17 points in the final minute of the quarter but never got any closer. The Berkmar defense held Bowling to just 21.7% shooting during the second half as their lead grew to as many as 22 points. Trey Jones closed the game on a 4-0 run for Bowling Green to cut the final margin to 83-66. Berkmar advances to the King of the Bluegrass final for the first time in school history.

Zach Cooks led Berkmar with a game-high 32 points. Al Durham tallied 20 points and Jay Estime added 14 for the Patriots. Terry Taylor led the Purples with 28 points and 7 rebounds and Kyran Jones added 20 points.

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Berkmar vs. Trinity -- Tuesday 7:30pm

Bowling Green vs. Covington Catholic -- Tuesday 6:00pm

BERKMAR 65, ALLATOONA 45

Our first quarterfinal matchup of the 2016 Forcht Bank King of the Bluegrass featured a battle of Georgia schools with Berkmar (8-3) taking on Allatoona (6-4). The opening quarter of play was all Berkmar from the tip. The Patriots got off to a fast 5-0 start and extended their lead to as many as nine points midway through the quarter. A short run by Allatoona got the Buccaneer within five points but Berkmar pulled away for the 21-12 lead at the quarter break. The second quarter featured much of the same as Allatoona made three early runs to get as close as five points but they never made it any tighter. It was an 8-3 run by Berkmar that ended that half and sent the Patriots to the locker room ahead 36-28.

The second half looked much like the first half. The Buccaneers got as close as six points on two different occasions in the third quarter but couldn't manage to get any closer. An 8-2 run to end the third quarter extended the Berkmar lead to 50-40. The Patriots continued to roll in the fourth quarter with a 13-3 run to push their lead to as many as twenty points at 63-43. The Buccaneers never managed to get any closer as Berkmar advanced to the semifinals with the 65-45 victory.

Jay Estime led the Patriots in scoring with 21 points. Zach Cooks and Al Durham added 18 and 13 points respectively for Berkmar. Allatoona was led by junior Trey Doomes with 24 points and 9 rebounds and Mike Johnson added 13 points for the Buccaneers.
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Berkmar vs. Winner Bowling Green/Ballard -- Monday 9:00pm

Allatoona vs. Loser Bowling Green/Ballard -- Monday 4:30pm

BERKMAR 56, LEE 48

Our second matchup of the afternoon featured Lilburn, Georgia's Berkmar (7-3) and Hunstville, Alabama's Lee (8-5). Lee jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the opening two minutes of the game. Ben Soumahoro gave Berkmar their first lead of the game with a pair of free throws with two minutes remaining in the opening quarter. The two teams battled for six more lead changes over the next four minutes before Berkmar went on a 6-1 lead to take a 19-14 lead midway through the second quarter. The Berkmar lead grew to as many as eight points in the final minute of the half with the Patriots taking a 28-22 lead to the locker room.

Lee opened the second half red hot connecting on six of their first nine shots to pull even with Berkmar at 35-35 six minutes into the second half. A Zach Cooks basket with one minute to play in the third quarter gave Berkmar the 40-38 lead at the quarter break. It was a 12-0 run by the Patriots that put the game away in the opening half of the fourth quarter as they led 52-38. A Malik Burnett three-pointer pulled Lee within 8 points with 48 seconds remaining but the Generals couldn't get any closer. A pair of Zach Cooks free throws sealed the 56-48 win for Berkmar.

Indiana signee, Al Durham led the way with for Berkmar with a game-high 24 points and 6 rebounds. New Jersey Tech signee Zach Cooks added 17 points for the Patriots. Malik Burnett led Lee in scoring with 17 points and sophomore Kobe Brown added 10 points for the Generals.

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Berkmar vs. Allatoona - Saturday 9:00pm

Lee vs. Saint Rita of Cascia - Saturday 9:00pm