2017 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Bob White Most Valuable Player
Anthony Wales - Fern Creek

Ralph Beard Spirit Award
Adam Kunkel - Cooper

Steven Fitzgerald - Pulaski County
Trevon Faulkner - Mercer County
Marshon Ford - Ballard
Carter Hendrickson - Lexington Christian
Zack Clinkenbeard - Walton-Verona
Craig Ashe - Fairdale
Braydon Runion - Cooper
Adam Kunkel - Cooper
CJ Fredrick - Covington Catholic
Aiden Ruthsatz - Covington Catholic
David Johnson - Trinity
Jay Scrubb - Trinity
Ahmad Price - Fern Creek
Clint Wickliffe - Fern Creek

CONSOLATION SCORES

CONSOLATION FINAL

Walton-Verona def. Mercer County 62-55
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5TH PLACE FINAL
Ballard def. Fairdale 103-93
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3RD PLACE FINAL
Cooper def. Covington Catholic 62-59
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TRINITY 73, COOPER 61

Our first semifinal of the evening featured defending King of the Bluegrass Champion Trinity taking on 7th ranked Cooper. It was the top ranked Shamrocks that jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind a pair of Jay Scrubb baskets. The two team would battle back-and-forth exchanging the lead nine different times in the opening quarter. Belmont signee Adam Kunkel would connect on a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the quarter to knot the score up at 20-20 at the quarter break. Trinity opened the second quarter perfect on their first four baskets as part of an 11-3 run to push ahead 31-23. Adam Kunkel's three-pointer on the next possession pulled Cooper within five points but the Rocks closed the half on a 6-2 run to lead 37-28 going into the locker room. The Trinity lead continued to grow in the opening minutes of the second half as they hit three straight three-point baskets leading 46-33. Cooper pieced together a 7-1 run over the next two minutes to cut the lead to seven points but the Jaguars would never get any closer. The Shamrocks continued to roll in the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run to push their lead to a game-high 23 points. With the Trinity starters out of the game Cooper finished with an 11-0 run to cut the final score to 73-61. With the victory Trinity advanced to their fourth King of the Bluegrass Championship in the past five years and moved to 6-0 all-time in KOB semifinal games. Jay Scrubb led the way for the Shamrocks with 32 points including 9 three-point field goals. Justin Powell added a trio of three-pointers and 15 points for Trinity who shot 65% from three-point range in the game. Belmont signee Adam Kunkel led Cooper with a game-high 35 points and 6 three-point field goals of his own. 

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COOPER 71, FAIRDALE 60

Our second quarterfinal of the evening featured a rematch from last year's consolation bracket as No.7 Cooper tangled with host Fairdale. An exciting first six minutes of action saw the two teams battle back-and-forth with the Bulldogs leading by as many as 5 points midway through the quarter. Cooper found their groove late in the quarter with a suffocating 15-3 run to take a 21-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Jaguars lead continued to swell with Cooper scoring twelve of the first fifteen points in the second quarter to push ahead by 17 points. Poor shooting culled any comeback effort for the Bulldogs as the Cooper lead grew to as many as 21 points with the Jaguars leading 40-23 at halftime. Fairdale finally got in a groove early in the second half trimming the Cooper lead to 13 points on two separate occasions. Belmont signee Adam Kunkel put the Jaguars on his back as nine of their next eleven points pushing their lead back to 20 points in the closing minute of the third quarter. Fairdale was finally able to make up some valuable ground in the final quarter of play with Bulldogs closing the game on a 10-0 run. The 71-60 Cooper victory advances the Jaguars tomorrow's semifinals first the first time in school history. Cooper was led by Adam Kunkel with a game-high 32 points and 9 rebounds. Tyler Ollier also added 11 points for the Jaguars. Fairdale was led by the guard duo of Markelo Sullivan and Glenn Queen with 16 points and 15 points respectively. 

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COOPER 74, PULASKI COUNTY 52

In the final game of our opening night it action it was No. 7 Cooper who claimed their fifth straight win with a dominant performance of No. 11 Pulaski County. The Jaguars used stifling defense to move out to a 22-16 lead in an opening quarter that featured three ties and a lead change. The Jaguars lead continued to grow to 41-29 at the half. Cooper's defense continued to smother the Maroons as they pushed ahead 64-42 entering the final quarter of play. The lead hit a game-high 30 points at 74-44 early in the final quarter before Pulaski County reeled of 10 straight to end the game trailing 74-52. The Jaguars converted 22 Pulaski County turnovers into 31 points. Belmont signee Adam Kunkel led the way for Cooper with 21 points. Braydon Runion added 20 points for the Jaguars. Samford signee Steven Fitzgerald led Pulaski County with a game-high 33 points. 

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CONSOLATION RESULTS -- DECEMBER 18

Consolation Quarterfinals

Saint Rita def. Lee 75-66

North Hardin def. Fairdale 83-64

Christian County def. Cooper 77-61

Doss def. Dunbar 48-45

TRINITY 55, COOPER 53

In our first Top 25 matchup of the tournament it was 2nd ranked Trinity (5-1) taking on 14th ranked Cooper (4-2). It was an early spurt by Cooper's Adam Kunkel that gave the Jaguars a 5-0 lead, the largest lead of the game. The teams exchanged leads three times throughout the opening quarter with a trio of free throws by Sean McNeil giving Cooper an 18-13 lead at the end of the opening quarter. A 6-1 run by Trinity to open the second quarter tied the game at 19-19. Lukas Burkman gave the Shamrocks the lead moments later with a 3-pointer. The two teams exchanged the lead two more times to end the quarter with Trinity taking a 27-25 lead into halftime.

Trinity held onto their lead through the opening half of the third quarter before an 8-0 run by Cooper pushed the Jaguars ahead 36-32 in the closing minute of the third quarter. Adam Kunkel's three-pointer on the opening minute of the fourth quarter pushed the Cooper lead back to 5 points. Jayden Scrubb scored five straight for Trinity to tie the game at 44-44 two minutes into the final period but couldn't put the Shamrocks ahead. Trinity trailed until Scrubb connected on the second of two free-throws tying the game at 53-53 with 9.5 seconds remaining. The Jaguars got one final look as senior Sean McNeil drove to the basket but his miss led to a fast break layup at the buzzer by Trinity's Lukas Burkman to give the Shamrocks a 55-53 victory.

Cooper's Adam Kunkel led all scorers with 22 points including 4 three-point field goals. Sean McNeil added 16 points and 8 rebounds for the Jaguars. Trinity was led by Jayden Scrubb's 19 points and Lukas Burkman scored 14 points.

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UP NEXT:

Trinity vs. Winner Christian County/Fern Creek - Sunday 6:00pm

Cooper vs. Loser Christian County/Fern Creek - Sunday 6:00pm