KING OF THE BLUEGRASS

Thursday, December 20, 2018

BRENTWOOD ACADEMY 70, SOUTH MIAMI 58

Our opening game of action saw 2015 King of the Bluegrass Champion Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, TN) advance to the quarterfinals over South Miami (Miami, FL). The Eagles of Brentwood Academy cruised out to an early 14-4 lead looking firmly in control of the game. The Cobras regained their composure quickly though as Jeffrey Bujan added five straight points to help fuel a 10-0 run to tie the game at 14-14 with a minute to play in the opening quarter. A Lee Flenor three-pointer gave South Miami their first lead of the game on the opening possession of the second quarter. A trio of three-point baskets by the Cobra's Iann Segura extended the South Miami lead to 30-21 midway though the second quarter. Stifling defense by South Miami held Brentwood Academy scored just three points in the final five minutes of the first half as the Cobras led 34-24 at the break. The South Miami lead grew to a game-high 13 points on their opening possession of the third quarter. Brentwood Academy didn't go away though as the Eagles pieced together a 13-0 run to tie the game at 40-40 with two minutes to play in the quarter. Brentwood Academy took their first lead of the second half on a Randy Brady putback less than a minute later. A technical foul of South Miami's Flenor resulted in a four point swing that extended the Eagles lead to 52-44 with 5:46 remaining in the game. South Miami used a strong inside game to help them cut the lead to 51-56 following Toru Dean's putback with three minutes to play. An old-fashion three-point play by Dean helped the Cobras hold the lead at 60-55 with two minutes to play before Brentwood Academy reeled off eight straight points to take a game-high 13 point lead with less than a minute to play. The Eagles moved to 5-0 all-time in tournament play and advanced to the quarterfinals with the 70-58 victory. South Miami was led by Lee Flenor with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Toru Dean and Iann Segura added 14 points and 12 points respectively for the Cobras. Brentwood Academy was led by Randy Brady with a game-high 22 points. Marcus Fitzgerald added a double-double for the Eagles with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

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Up Next

Brentwood Academy will play in the quarterfinals Friday at 4:30pm against the winner of South Shore/Evanston.
South Miami will play in the consolation bracket Friday at 4:30pm against the loser of South Shore/Evanston.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

BALLARD 80, SPENCER COUNTY 71

The final game of opening night got off to an interesting start as both Spencer County and No.4 Ballard showed up in white uniforms. As the visiting team on the bracket Spencer County had to borrow jerseys from host Fairdale to wear for the game. Once the action got underway it was Ballard who jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the opening minute of play. Spencer County rallied to reel off 7 straight points jumping ahead 7-4 on a Sam Conley three-pointer. A steal and basket by Ballard's Isaac Womack put the Bruins back ahead at 8-7. The Bruins never trailed for the remainder of the first half after a 6-0 run gave them ta 16-10 lead at the quarter break. Two minutes into the second quarter the Ballard lead extended to double-digits at 23-12 following a Josh Minkins layup. Spencer County's Jacob Seawright converted an old-fashion three-point play to cap an 11-3 Bears run to pull within 23-26 midway through the quarter. Seawright and Womack exchanged three-pointers before a Ballard 5 point spurt cushioned the Bruins lead at 34-26. Four straight free throws by Spencer County's Lucas Hornback cut the Ballard lead to 36-33 with less than 30 seconds to play. Ballard's Rashad Bishop was assessed a technical foul following a dunk with 2 seconds to play sending Seawright to the free throw line. The Bears connected on both free throws but Seawright missed on a last second attempt to tie the game before the half. It was the Bruins who found themselves on the beneficial end of a 10-1 run pushing their lead to 54-42 midway through the third quarter. The Bears just would give up though as Jackson Cole connected on a three-pointer in the closing minute of the third quarter as part of a 7-2 run to cut the Ballard lead to 61-53. Just as it looked like the Bears may make a final run Ballard pieced together an 8-0 run to extend their lead to a game-high 18 points at 74-56 with three minutes remaining in the game. Jacob Seawright scored nine of the next eleven points for Spencer County as they made one last run to cut the lead to 76-67 with a minute and a half to play. Seawright added four more in the final minute but couldn't get any closer as the Bears fell 71-80 to the fourth ranked Bruins. Spencer County's Jacob Seawright led all scorers with 31 points and Sam Conley added 20 for the Bears. Walter Johnson Jr. led the scoring for Ballard with a 21 point and 11 rebound double-double. Josh Minkins Jr. also added a double-double for the Bruins with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

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Up Next

Ballard will play Walton-Verona in the quarterfinals Friday at 7:30pm.
Spencer County will play Madison Central in the consolation bracket Friday at 7:30pm.

WALTON-VERONA 62, MADISON CENTRAL 50

The 2018 Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass saw it's second upset of the tournament as No.13 Walton-Verona used a second-half surge to roll past No. 5 Madison Central in the opening round of action. A back-and-forth opening quarter of play saw the Indians and Bearcats exchange the lead six times throughout the opening eight minutes of play. It was the strong inside presence of Madison Central's Isaiah Cozart with a pair of dunks that helped the Indians take a 14-13 lead at the end of the opening quarter. The Bearcats took control early in the second quarter of action with a 11-0 run to push ahead 24-16. It was Cozart with four points and five rebounds in the final minutes of the half that pulled Madison Central back within 22-26 at halftime. A three-pointer by Madison Central's Kole Brown pulled the Indians within one point, but Walton-Verona's Trey Bonne and Kam Pardee combined for 12 points in the third quarter to keep the Bearcats ahead. A Garrett Jones three-pointer with less than two minutes to play in the quarter extended the Walton-Verona lead to 41-33. It was Jones with an old-fashion three-point play that gave the Bearcats their first double-digit lead of the game at 45-35 seconds into the final quarter. Quae Charlton scored four straight for the Indians to pull them within six points, but they'd never get any closer. A Dieonte Miles three-pointer capped an 11-2 run by Walton-Verona to put the game out of reach as the lead grew to a game-high 15 points at 56-41. A late three-pointer by Madison Central's Charlton cut the final score to 62-50. Madison Central was led by Western Kentucky signee Isaiah Cozart with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Kole Brown and Quae Charlton each added 11 points for the Indians. Walton-Verona's Kam Pardee led all scorers with a game-high 16 points and Garrett Jones added 14.

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Up Next

Walton-Verona will play Ballard in the quarterfinals Friday at 7:30pm.
Madison Central will play Spencer County in the consolation bracket Friday at 7:30pm.

TRINITY 67, LARUE COUNTY 46

The Shamrocks of No. 2 Trinity got off to a hot start in their pursuit of a fourth straight trip to the King of the Bluegrass Championships. The Shamrocks were dominant in the match up with the 16th ranked Hawks of LaRue County. The opening four minutes of play were all Trinity as the jumped out to a 12-0 lead midway through the first quarter. The Hawks cut the Trinity lead to as few as 7 points in the closing minutes of the quarter, but never got any closer. Trinity got eight straight points from Stan Turnier midway through the second quarter to close a 12-2 Shamrock run and send Trinity to the locker room with a 32-16 lead. The third quarter was much of the same as Trinity remained firmly in control. A trio of free throws by LaRue County's Jeremiah Belton helped jump start a LaRue County run that would cut the lead to 43-32 less than a minute into the fourth quarter. An emphatic dunk capped a five point spurt by University of Louisville signee David Johnson to push Trinity's lead to 20 points with three minutes remaining in the game. A basket in the closing seconds by Trinity's Ethan Hodge pushed the final margin of victory to a game high 21 points at 67-46. LaRue County was led by senior Dailliss Cox with 14 points and highly touted junior Mark Goode added 7 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks. Trinity was led by seniors Stan Turnier with a game-high 17 points and Jamil Hardaway with 16 points.

[Click to View Box Score]

Up Next

Trinity will play Lexington Christian in the quarterfinals Friday at 9:00pm.
LaRue County will play University Heights in the consolation bracket Friday at 9:00pm.

COLLINS 77, MALE 66

In the opening game of the 2018 Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass it was No.12 Collins pulling off the upset over No.9 Male. The Titans, favorites in the eight region, took a 5-0 lead in the opening two minutes of play and never looked back. Marcellus Vail led the way for Collins with eight first quarter points as the Titans led 14-9 at the quarter break. A 13-2 run for the Titans extended their lead to 27-11 in the opening minutes of the second quarter. An 8-2 burst for the Bulldogs got them as close as ten points midway through the quarter. Collins took a 41-28 lead into the locker room at half time. A quick start to the half pushed Collins back ahead 50-32 for their largest lead of the game. Male closed the third quarter on an 11-2 run to cut the Titans lead to 11 points at 56-45. A pair of free throws by Male's Tyren Moore cut the lead to single digits at 57-66 midway through the final quarter. Collins' Vail closed things out for the Titans with six late points pushing the final margin to 77-66. Male was led by Cameron Pope and Noah Courtney with 16 points apiece. Marcellus Vail led Collins with a game-high 24 points and Dayvion McKnight added a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

[Click to View Box Score]

Up Next

Collins will play Madisonville in the quarterfinals Friday at 6:00pm.
Male will play Fairdale in the consolation bracket Friday at 6:00pm.

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

2018 TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The 38th Annual Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass will once again feature a field loaded with talent from across the Bluegrass state and the country. Half of the Courier-Journal’s Kentucky Preseason Top 10 teams will compete for the prestigious title. The event which annually hosts the Kentucky’s top high school basketball teams features ten teams ranked in the Top 25 in the state, including regional favorites from the second, fifth, seventh and eighth regions. There’s plenty of individual talent as well with five of the state’s top 10 players competing in the event. This year’s field also includes six former King of the Bluegrass Champions. Former champions Ballard, Brentwood Academy, Fairdale, Madison Central, Male and Trinity have combined to capture 14 King of the Bluegrass titles

The 2018 Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass will open with a four-game slate on Wednesday. Former King of the Bluegrass Champion and 9th ranked Male will open play against the 12th ranked Collins. The Bulldogs, making their first tournament appearance since 2010, are led by the junior duo of Howard Fleming and Tyren Moore. The eighth region favorite, Titans, are led by 6’1” guard Dayvion McKnight, one of the state’s top ranked juniors. In the second game of the day, the 2nd ranked Shamrocks of Trinity will take on16th ranked LaRue County. The Shamrocks, ranked 78th in the country by MaxPreps and the favorite in the seventh region, are led by University of Louisville signee and Mr. Basketball front-runner David Johnson. Trinity will be looking to make their fourth straight trip to the KOB championship. The Hawks, the favorite in the fifth region, are led by the trio of TreVon Smith, Mark Goode and Anthony Adkins. The 7:30 game on opening night will feature 5th ranked Madison Central taking on 13th ranked Walton-Verona in a match-up of two of the state’s top seniors. The Indians, making their first tournament appearance since 2012, are coming off a 25-8 finish last season and were picked to finish second in a loaded 11th region. They are led by 6’8” Western Kentucky signee Isaiah Cozart, the state’s fifth ranked player. Walton-Verona, who finished last season with a 26-6 record and a Runner-up finish at the Kentucky All A Classic, is led by 6’11” Xavier signee Dieonte Miles. The final game of the evening will feature Kentucky’s 4th ranked Bruins of Ballard taking on unranked Spencer County. The Bruins, who hold the record for the most wins in tournament history at 56, return a talented roster led by the senior duo of Walter Johnson and Alexander Holley. The Bears, making their first ever King of the Bluegrass appearance, are coming off a 20-8 finish last year and are led by 6’2” sophomore Sam Conley.

Thursday’s first round action opens with a pair of stellar out-of-state match-ups. In the opener it will be 2015 King of the Bluegrass Champion Brentwood Academy of Nashville, TN taking on South Miami of Miami, FL. The Eagles of Brentwood Academy finished last season with a 25-5 record capturing their fourth straight Tennessee Division II Class AA State Championship. The former champions are led by junior guard Marcus Fitzgerald and Randy Brady, the nation’s 19th ranked sophomore. The Cobras come into the event ranked 4th in Florida’s Class 9A and are coming off a 20-5 record advancing to the state quarterfinals last season. South Miami is led by Barry University signee Toru Dean. The second match-up of the day features South Shore of Brooklyn, NY taking on Evanston of Evanston, IL. The Vikings of South Shore, ranked 71st in the country by MaxPreps, are coming off a New York Class AA State Runner-up finish. South Shore is led by 6’9” Florida International commit Isaiah Richards. The Wildkits are coming off a 27-6 record and 3rd place finish in Illinois’ Class 4A last season. Evanston is led by senior guards Lance Jones, a Southern Illinois signee, and Jaheim Holden. Thursday’s 7:30 game will feature the host Fairdale Bulldogs taking on 24th ranked Madisonville-North Hopkins. Fairdale is coming off their first 20-win season since 2007-08 and is led by junior Tristan Bertrand. The Maroons will be led by juniors Kenny White and Ksuan Casey. The final first round match-up will feature 7th ranked University Heights and 11th ranked Lexington Christian. The Blazers of University Heights, favorites in the second region, are led by Xavier signee and Mr. Basketball contender KyKy Tandy. Lexington Christian, the defending Kentucky All A State Champion, is led by 6’7” Liberty signee Kyle Rode.

The 2018 Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass will continue with the quarterfinal round beginning at 4:30pm Friday with all 16 teams in action. All 16 teams will return to the courts on Saturday for a full slate of games beginning at 4:30pm with the semifinals scheduled at 7:30 and 9:00pm. The final day of action will tip off at 3:00pm on Sunday with the Championship game scheduled for 7:30pm.