KING OF THE BLUEGRASS

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Schedule of Play -- Saturday, December 20th

4:30pm -- West Gym

SouthShore (NY) vs. De La Salle (IL)

Players to Watch
SOUTHSHORE: #2 Ryan Preston - 6'7" Forward; #22 Cori Johnson - 6'8" Forward

DE LA SALLE: #14 Karl Harris - 6'5" Guard; #34 Brandon Hutton - 6'5" Guard

6:00pm -- West Gym

#4 Newport Central Catholic vs. #10 Doss

Players to Watch
NEWPORT CC: #34 Drew McDonald - 6'7" Forward; #44 Ben Weyer - 6'6" Forward

DOSS: #2 Dujuanta Weaver - 5'9" Guard; #24 Terell Gray - 6'3" Guard

7:30pm -- West Gym

#16 Bullitt East vs. #11 Holmes

Players to Watch
BULLITT EAST: #2 Tyler Sharpe - 6'0" Guard; #33 Jared Farris - 6'7" Forward

HOLMES: #3 James Bolden - 5'11" Guard; #5 Markel McClendon - 5'10" Guard

9:00pm -- West Gym

Christ Presbyterian (TN) vs. #5 Hopkinsville

Players to Watch
CPA: #11 Braxton Blackwell - 6'8" Forward; #23 Tyger Campbell - 5'11" Guard

HOPKINSVILLE: #5 Jordan Gary - 6'0" Guard; #32 Jaqulis Matlock - 6'5" Forward

FIRST ROUND -- Owensboro 71, Bardstown 43

The final game of the night was a match up between top 25 opponents Owensboro (6-0) and Bardstown (3-3). The 9th ranked Red Devils were hot from the opening tip shooting nearly 70% in the first half to crush the 18th ranked Tigers of Bardstown.

The opening quarter of action saw the two teams battle back and forth with Bardstown taking the early 6-2 lead. From there the Tigers missed six straight shots going scoreless for nearly four minutes as the Red Devils pushed ahead by as many as six. Owensboro's Justin Miller scored his thirteenth point of the game in the final seconds of the opening quarter to extend the lead to 19-11. The Tigers got within five with a Donovan Nance three-pointer to open the second quarter but never got any closer. By the end of the opening half Owensboro pushed their lead to 18 points.

The second half started much the same way with Owensboro scoring seven of the first nine points of the half to push their lead to 56-32 at the end of the third quarter. The Red Devils lead grew to a game-high 35 points with three minutes remaining in play. Bardstown's shooting woes continued in the fourth quarter as they shot just 25%, but the Tigers ended the game on a 9-2 run to bring the final score to 71-34.

Bardstown was led in scoring by senior Donovan Nance with 10 points. Owensboro was led by senior forward Justin Miller with a game-high 22 points. Aric Holman added a double-double for the Red Devils with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Dylan Sanford added 9.

Up Next

Owensboro vs. Newport Cent. Catholic/Doss Winner - Sunday 9:00pm (West Gym)

Bardstown vs. Newport Cent. Catholic/Doss Loser - Sunday 9:00pm (East Gym)

FIRST ROUND -- Taylor County 84, Waggener 74

The third game of tonight's action featured the state's 17th ranked Taylor County (8-0) against unranked Waggener (3-4). The game also featured a matchup between two of the state's top underclassmen in Taylor County's Quentin Goodin and Waggener's De'Von Cooper. The Cardinals used a 20 point third quarter run to advance to the quarterfinals with an 84-74 victory.

A quick basket by Taylor County's Ezra Oliver gave the Cardinals the early lead and they never looked back. Mid way through the opening quarter of play Taylor County extended the lead to 15-8 following Brandon Berry's second three-pointer of the game. The Cardinals lead grew to as many as 14 points on two occasions in the opening minute of the second quarter. Waggener's Jalaam Hill scored six straight to pull the Wildcats within 8 points. A late three-point field goal by Waggener senior Trevon Jackson helped pull the halftime score to 38-32.

A three-point field goal in the opening seconds of the second half pulled Waggener within 3 points before the Cardinals went on a 21-1 run to take a 23 point lead in the closing minute of the third quarter. The Cards forced 11 third quarter turnovers and held Waggener to just 25% shooting for the quarter. The two teams combined to shoot 42 free throws in the fourth quarter and Waggener was able to convert six Taylor County turnovers in eight points. The Wildcats got seven straight points by De'Von Cooper to cut Taylor County's lead to nine in the final minute but couldn't get any closer.

The state's top ranked junior, Quentin Goodin, led all scorers with 29 points for the Cardinals. Sophomore David Sloan added 24 points and Ballard transfer Brandon Berry added 15 points. Sophomore De'Von Copper led Waggener with 23 points and junior Kevin Kirby added 11 point and 13 rebounds. The Wildcats also got 16 points from junior Jaalam Hill.

Up Next

Taylor County vs. Wayne County - Sunday 6:00pm (West Gym)

Waggener vs. Fairdale -- Sunday 6:00pm (East Gym)

Tournament host Fairdale (4-2) tangled with 7th ranked Wayne County (3-2) in their opening round match up. The Bulldogs who haven't lost a first-round contest since 2010 couldn't overcome the hot second half by the Cardinals.

The teams traded field goals early in the opening quarter before Wayne County's Corey Stearns reeled off six first quarter points to push the Cards to a seven point lead. The Bulldogs capped off an 8-point run with an Ethan Longacre three-pointer to cut the lead to three points with 2:43 remaining in the opening half. The Cards forced three Bulldogs turnovers in the closing minute of the half to take a 29-24 lead into the locker room. The Bulldogs got six points off 7 Wayne County turnovers in the opening half and held the Cardinals to 28% shooting.

A pair of field goals for Tre Richardson pulled Fairdale within a point one minute into the second half and Ethan Longacre's fourth three-pointer of the night kept the Dawgs in contention but the Cardinals pulled away from there. A 16-7 run by Wayne County pushed the Cardinals leas to twelve points and the Dawgs could never get closer than five for the remainder of the game. Following a technical foul the Wayne County's Trey Blevins nailed three straight free throws to push their lead to 13, the largest of the game.

Both the Cardinals and Bulldogs saw a trio of players score in double digits. Wayne County's Corey Stearns led Cards with a double-double including a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, Peyton Woods and Trey Blevins each added 23 for Wayne County. Fairdale was junior Tre Richardson with 19 points, freshman Glenn Queen added 13 points and Ethan Longacre added 12 points going 4/4 from three point range.

Up Next

Wayne County vs. Taylor County - Sunday 6:00pm (West Gym)

Fairdale vs. Waggener -- Sunday 6:00pm (East Gym)

The opening game of the 2014 King of the Bluegrass was an instant classic with defending tournament champion Ballard (5-2) dropping their opener to St. John's (4-2). The Cadets of Washington D.C. needed an extra four minutes of play to push past Kentucky's second ranked Bruins.

Second ranked Ballard opened the game with sharp shooting taking a 5-1 lead. From there, the opening half was all St. John's as the Cadets rolled off seven straight points to take a 16-10 lead at the end of the opening quarter. St. John's junior guard Anthony Cowan pushed the Cadets to their largest lead at 10 points with 5:58 remaining in the first half. A 3-pointer by Ballard senior Anthony Eaves cut the lead to six points with 4:03 remaining in the half, but the Bruins could get no closer. St John's defense held the Bruins to just 27% shooting in the opening half. Ballard's 3-point shooting kept them in the game as they hit outscored the Cadets 9-0 from behind the arc.

Ballard senior Jalen Perry opened the second half with 8 points to pull the Bruins within 36-33. The charge didn't last long as Anthony Cowan added two free throws to push St. John's lead back to nine points. The Bruins cut the lead to two points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Anthony Eaves scored six straight points to tie the game for the first time since the mid-way point of the first quarter. St. John's ran out the final 1:11 of the game before senior Kris Saulny missed a jumper at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.

Ballard's Perry opened the extra period with a baseline jumper to give the Bruins a 57-55 lead, their first since the opening quarter of play. From there the Cadets rolled off eight straight points including a transition dunk by Kylia Sykes to give St. Johns a 63-57 lead. Ballard junior Jake Ramsey connected on a layup and to pull the Bruins within three but missed a free throw opportunity with less than 40 seconds to play. Junior guard Anthony Cowan and Tre Wood hit five-of-six free throws in the closing seconds to seal the Cadets 69-61 victory.

St. John's Cowan, who has offers from DePaul, Florida State, Georgetown, Maryland, Penn State and Xavier, led the Cadets with 22 points and Kylia Sykes recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Ballard's Anthony Eaves hit a game high four three-point field goals in rout to a game high 23 points. Jalen Perry added a double-double for the Bruins with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Up Next

St. John's vs. Bullitt East -- Sunday 7:30pm (West Gym)

Ballard vs. Holmes -- Sunday 7:30pm (East Gym)

Schedule of Play -- Friday, December 19th

4:30pm -- West Gym

#2 Ballard vs. St. John's (NY)

Players to Watch
BALLARD: #5 Anthony Eaves - 6'1" Guard; #21 Jalen Perry - 6'2" Guard

ST. JOHN'S: #1 Anthony Cowan Jr - 6'0" Guard

6:00pm -- West Gym

Fairdale vs. #7 Wayne County

Players to Watch
FAIRDALE: #3 Damon Moore - 5'9" Guard; #13 Rontez Johnson - 6'2" Guard

WAYNE CO.: #14 Peyton Woods - 6'4" Guard; #23 Corey Stearns - 6'2" Guard

7:30pm -- West Gym

#17 Taylor County vs. Waggener

Players to Watch
TAYLOR CO.: #3 Quentin Goodin - 6'4" Guard; #14 Brandon Berry - 6'4" Forward

WAGGENER: #0 Kevin Kirby - 6'5" Forward; #35 De'Von Cooper - 6'3" Guard

9:00pm -- West Gym

#9 Owensboro vs. #18 Bardstown

Players to Watch
OWENSBORO: #32 Aric Holman - 6'9" Guard; #55 Justin Miller - 6'7" Forward

BARDSTOWN: #2 Keanu Young - 5'7" Guard; #30 Elijay Cowherd - 5'10" Guard

Sunday, November 16, 2014

2014 King of the Bluegrass Bracket Released

Tournament Passes Now Available

2014 Forcht Bank King of the Bluegrass All-Session Passes are now available for purchase for $35. h

Send a $35 check payable to King of the Bluegrass to

Fairdale High School

Attn: Lloyd Gardner

1001 Fairdale Road

Fairdale, KY 40118.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

2014 Forcht Bank King of the Bluegrass

The following teams will participate in the
2014 Forcht Bank King of the Bluegrass
December 19-23, 2014

Ballard (Louisville, KY)

Bardstown (Bardstown, KY)

Bullitt East (Mt. Washington, KY)

Doss (Louisville, KY)

Fairdale (Fairdale, KY)

Holmes (Covington, KY)

Hopkinsville (Hopkinsville, KY)

Newport Central Catholic (Newport, KY)

Owensboro (Owensboro, KY)

Taylor County (Campbellsville, KY)

Waggener (Louisville, KY)

Wayne County (Monticello, KY)

Christ Presbyterian (Nashville, TN)

De La Salle (Chicago, IL)

St. John's (Washington, DC)

Southshore (Brooklyn, NY)