This ends our coverage from Richmond for the 2010 State Tournament. You can watch the semifinal video of Newport Central Catholic on Wazoo Sports. Click here to be taken to their page. We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of Walton-Verona, Newport, Bishop Brossart, and Newport Central Catholic. More to come in 2011.

1/28/10 - All "A" State Tournament - Boys Quarter Finals -

Walton-Verona vs. Glasgow

The Glasgow Scotties would take a 9-4 early lead, but the Bearcats would cut away to make it a two point game after the first quarter, 9-7. Walton would re-take the lead at the 3:56 mark in the second quarter on a Brandon Bowlin 3 pointer. Brandon would hit another as the Bearcats took a 22-18 lead into the locker room at the half. Walton would extend their lead to 8 before Glasgow would push all the way back to tie the game at 30 halfway through the third period. The rest of the quarter was give and take but Vance Sullivan hit a gimme at the buzzer to tie the game at 37 to end the third quarter. Two more ties before Glasgow calls a time out at the 6:40 mark tied at 42. Glasgow would go into a stall with about 4 minutes to go and rely on free throw shooting to take a nice lead that the Bearcats could not overcome as the Bearcats fell to Glasgow 58-44. The Scotties went on a 18-2 run to finish the game. Brandon Bowlin would lead the Bearcats with 13 points. Cameron Hall would lead alll scorers in the game for Glasgow with 21.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Walton-Verona (13-6)	7	15	15	7	44
Glasgow (21-1)	9	9	19	21	58

 

 

Video-Replay - Postgame Press Conference
Walton-Verona/Glasgow
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1/28/10 - All "A" State Tournament - Girls Quarter Finals -

Walton-Verona vs. Murray

The final Girls quarterfinal game saw the Walton-Verona Lady Bearcats taking on the Murray Lady Tigers. Walton would take an early 5-0 lead before Murray came back and took the lead about half way through the quarter and held a 3 point advantage after the first quarter. Early foul trouble didn't help for the Lady Bearcats. Courtney Sandlin picked up 2 fouls early. Katie Slavey would hit a 3 pointer to tie the game at the start of the second quarter. Murray would take a 9 point lead in the quarter before Walton would chip away at it to cut it to 4 with under a minute to go in the half. A couple of made Murray free throws would extend the Lady Tiger lead to 6, going into the locker room with a 26-20 lead. Murray would come out on a 16-0 run for the entire third quarter to take a commanding 42-20 lead going into the 4th quarter. The run would end at 24 at the 6:25 mark of the 4th quarter but the damage had been done as Murray would advance to face Newport Central Catholic in Saturday's semis with a 55-33 victory. Kelli Dixon would lead the Lady Bearcats with 10 points while Haley Armstrong would pace all scorers for Murray with 16 points.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Walton-Verona (16-3)	10	10	0	13	33
Murray (21-1)	13	13	16	13	55

 

 

Video-Replay - Postgame Press Conference
Walton-Verona/Murray
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1/28/10 - All "A" State Tournament - Girls Quarter Finals -

Green County vs. Newport Central Catholic

Quarterfinal coverage began with NCC taking on last years runners-up in Green County. NCC went on a 12-2 run with 5:28 to go in the first before Green County would start a run of their own to pull back within 6 points to end the first quarter down 16-10. Green County would chip away at the lead in the second quarter eventually tying the game with 19.4 seconds to go, but NCC would take a 23-21 lead into the locker room at the half. NCC would push the lead to 8 going into the 4th quarter with a 38-30 advantage. The Breds would continue the push in the 4th quarter as NCC would take a 51-35 victory from the Green County Lady Dragons. Courtney Sandfoss & Mariah Tabor would lead all scorers with 11 points each for NCC. Green County would be paced by Micah Jones with 9 points. NCC will take on the winner of the Murray/Walton-Verona game in the Semi-Finals on Saturday at 11:30am.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Green County (14-7)	10	11	9	5	35
Newport Central Catholic (15-2)	16	7	15	13	51

 

 

Video-Replay - Postgame Press Conference
Green County/Newport Central Catholic
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1/28/10 - All "A" State Tournament - Boys First Round -

Hazard vs. Bishop Brossart

Our final game of coverage for the Boys first round saw two teams that are not unfamiliar to the McBrayer Arena floor. Hazard, who has made the tournament for three years in a row and the former State All "A" Champion, Bishop Brossart Mustangs. Brossart would take an early 18-8 lead after the first quarter. Hazard at that point would begin to chip away at the lead and at the 4:09 mark in the 4th quarter, they would take a lead. There would be five lead changes in the game as Brossart would lose a 12 point advantage and take a 63-60 loss in their first round game. Hazard would have 36 points in the paint compared to just 22 for the Mustangs. Hazard would also shoot 58% from the floor in the game compared to 47% for Brossart. Hazard would also go 17-20 from the free throw line. Jacob Rieger, who earlier this year eclipsed the 1,000 point total in his career, led all scorers with 27 points in the game. Jiosh Whitaker would lead Hazard with 20 points. Hazard will face DeSales in the quarterfinals on Friday.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Hazard (14-6)	8	16	18	21	63
Bishop Brossart (14-3)	18	12	14	16	60

 

 

Video-Replay - Postgame Press Conference
Hazard/Bishop Brossart
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1/28/10 - All "A" State Tournament - Boys First Round -

DeSales vs. Newport

The Newport Wildcats became the first public school to come out of the 9th Region to Richmond since 1990. Unfortunately, their stay would not be very long. the Wildcats found themselves down 20-14 after the first quarter. DeSales would maintain the lead and keep it right around 7-9 points throughout most of the game. That was until the fourth quarter. Newport had trailed by as many as 14 points before cutting the lead to just 2 in the 4th quarter. In the end, DeSales would add one more point and take a 60-57 win from the Wildcats. Newport would shoot 35% from the floor and 32% from behind the arc compared to 45% from the floor for DeSales as well as 45% from behind the arc. Casey McDaniel would lead all scorers in the game for Newport with 22 points. DeSales was led by Brandon Ritchie with 15 points. DeSales will face Hazard in the quarterfinals on Friday.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
DeSales (11-7)	20	8	11	21	60
Newport (17-4)	14	7	10	26	57

 

 

Video-Replay - Postgame Press Conference
DeSales/Newport
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1/28/10 - All "A" State Tournament - Boys First Round -

Brown vs. Walton-Verona

The first round of the Boys All "A" State Tournament for our local teams brought the Walton-Verona Bearcats up against the Brown Bears. The Bears brought the worst record into the tournament at 4-11, but they made it to the State Tournament. We would see why. Walton-Verona would jump out to an early lead that they would not lose through the couse of the game. The Bearcats went up 14-4 after the first quarter and took a 28-13 lead into the locker room. Walton would take a 25 point lead at 41-16 in the third quarter. That would be the largest lead the Bearcats would have as the Brown Bears would chip away in the 4th quarter but it would not be enough as the Bearcats would advance to the quarter finals with a 60-45 win against Brown. Tristin Hicks would have a game high 25 points for the Bears while the Bearcats were paced by Jordan Ponzer with 12 points. The Bearcats will face Glasgow in the quarter finals on Friday.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Brown (4-12)	4	9	12	20	45
Walton-Verona (13-6)	14	14	20	12	60

 

 

Video-Replay - Postgame Press Conference
Walton-Verona/Brown
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1/27/10 - All "A" State Tournament - Girls First Round -

Owsley County vs. Walton-Verona

The first night in Richmond ended with the Walton-Verona Lady Bearcats taking on the 14th Region and Owsley County. Walton-Verona led from the first Katie Slavey three pointer in this one. Owsley County would not catch up as Walton-Verona launched a slew of three pointers to take a commanding 29-10 lead after the first half. 18 points of that came from 6 threes. The second half saw more of the same as Owsley County could not find the rythum. Walton-Verona would add another 39 points in the 2nd half to bury Owsley County with a 68-33 final score. Katie Slavey led the Lady Bearcats with 14 points, 12 of which came from behind the arc. The Lady Owls were led by Mika Turner with a game high 15 points. Walton-Verona will advance to take on Murray on Friday night in Richmond. Courtney Sandlin won the National Guard Player of the game for her efforts with 12 points.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Walton-Verona (15-2)	19	10	15	24	68
Owsley County (11-7)	4	6	13	10	33

 

 

Video-Replay - Postgame Press Conference
Walton-Verona/Owsley County
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1/27/10 - All "A" State Tournament - Girls First Round -

Caldwell County vs. Newport Central Catholic

The Road to Richmond ends at McBrayer Arena as in the first round, the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds and the Caldwell County Lady Tigers hooked it up. Caldwell County took a slim 14-13 lead after the first quarter as Courtnety Sandfoss picked up two fouls early. After that, the onslaught began. NCC would hold Caldwell County to just 18 points in the following 3 quarters taking a 62-32 win in the first round. Turnovers were the story here. Caldwell County committed 28 compared to 11 for NCC. The thoroughbreds would get 30 points off of those turnovers, the difference in the game. Mariah Tabor would lead NCC with 12 points. Casey Stone would pace the LAdy Tigers also with 12. Mariah Tabor would also receive the National Guard Player of the Game for her efforts. NCC will advance to the quarterfinals against Green County on Friday.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Caldwell County (11-7)	14	6	8	4	32
Newport Central Catholic (14-2)	13	13	18	18	62

 

 

Video-Replay - Postgame Press Conference
Caldwell County/Newport Central Catholic
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The Road to Richmond ended Saturday Night as all regions had to finish their competition before the State Tournament starts on Wednesday. The 8th Region Boys Final was a tremendous finish to what we have found to be a great atmosphere for high school basketball. The Walton-Verona gym was busting at the seams. The Fire Marshall said no more in the gym. Standing Room Only and we had the best seats in the house. Gallatin County started out quick in this one, led by Travis Davis and his three point shooting ability. You have to see the video on where he can launch the ball from. It's absolutely incredible. Gallatin County would take a 21-14 lead after the first quarter. At the 2:07 mark in the second quarter, Walton-Verona came back to tie the game. Balanced scoring for the Bearcats got the game back within reach while Davis continued to launch threes. Gallatin County would take the lead back and into the locker room at the half 35-34. Neither team could find much offense coming out of the locker room, but Gallatin County would lead 44-42. At the 4:07 mark in the quarter, Gallatin County had started to go into a stall mode to kill some time, but a Vance Sullivan on a laxing Wildcat offense gave Walton-Verona the lead at 48-47. That proved to be the turning point of the game. Although Davis would hit two more 3 pointers, it would not be enough to stop the surging Bearcats as Walton-Verona comes back and takes a 65-58 win from the Gallatin County Wildcats and will join the Lady Bearcats in Richmond this week for the State All "A"Classic Tournament. Travis Davis led all scorers for Gallatin County with 27 points (8 three pointers), while Jordan Ponzer led the Bearcats with 21 points.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Gallatin County (16-5)	21	14	9	14	58
Walton-Verona (12-6)	14	20	8	23	65

 

 

Video-Replay - Entire Game
Gallatin County/Walton-Verona
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The last of the 9th Region All "A" Classic saw the 2009 Champion Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds taking on the Ludlow Panthers. NCC came into the game a heavy favorite, but you couldn't tell that to the Panthers who had a 5 point lead on the 'Breds for the first 3 minutes of the 1st quarter. At that point, NCC had three words for Ludlow. "Press", "Turnovers", "Points". NCC exploded on the Panthers with a full court press and defensive intensity that I really haven't seen. NCC went from being 5 down to 13 up in 5 minutes, taking a 26-13 lead after the first quarter. The turnaround can be credited to Shawm Meyer from NCC, whose quick hands caused the Panther turnovers and made the subsequent points. The NCC pressure would continue throughout the 1st half as NCC took a 49-26 lead into the locker room at the half. NCC would pull their starters with about :30 seconds left in the third quarter and would advanceto the 9th Region finals against Newport with a 79-50 win over the Panthers. Ludlow was led by Chris Yates with 12 points, while NCC was paced by Shawn Meyer with a game high 17 points. NCC looks to Saturday for their 6th Championship in the past 7 years.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Newport Central Catholic (11-5)	26	23	19	11	79
Ludlow (3-14)	13	13	10	14	50

 

 

Video-Replay not available for this game

The semifinals of the 9th Region All "A" Classic brought us our first look at the Beechwood Tigers this year, but a Beechwood Tiger team that was without the services of Corey Cruse, who suffered a fractured hand earlier in the year and will not see action any more this season. Newport would start off with a strong performance by Casey McDaniel in the first quarter with 7 of the 10 points. A very slow start for both teams out of the game as the first field goal wasn't hit until 2 1/2 minutes into the quarter. Beechwood would go on a 7 point run before Newport would drop 16 unanswered to take the lead. A lead they would not give up. The Wildcats took a 27-17 lead into the locker room. The lead would grow to 15 at one point, but credit to Coach Shumate and the Tigers for cutting the lead to 5 with 1:17 to go. that would be as close as the Tigers would get as Demarco Foster would hit 10 free throws in the 4th quarter alone to push the lead back to the eventual final of 65-54. For the second year in a row, the Newport Wildcats spoil a possible trip to Richmond for the Beechwood Tigers. Beechwood was led by Johnny Pohlgeers and Tyler Fangman with 13 points each. Demarco Foster led all scorers for the game and the Wildcats with 16 points.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Newport (16-3)	10	15	18	22	65
Beechwood (9-7)	6	11	11	26	54

 

 

Video-Replay not available for this game

The nightcap of the 9th Region quarterfinals saw the Holy Cross Indians and Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds hook it up. Holy Cross got the bye and NCC had already defeated Villa Madonna to get to this point. Coach Grant Brannan was not courtside, but that did not deter the 'Breds from starting out fast and maintaining the intensity all game long. NCC started with a 5 point lead after the 1st quarter and 11 at the half. Balanced scoring by the 'Breds along with their quickness led to the point spread. Holy Cross would maintain their scoring right with NCC in the second half, but the lead was not able to be overcome as Holy Cross fell to NCC 58-43. Jake Burger came alive for the Indians in the second half as we led all scorers with 19 points. Three of the NCC 'Breds in double digits led by Jake Giesler with 18.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Holy Cross (6-11)	8	6	13	16	43
Newport Central Catholic (10-5)	13	12	14	19	58

 

 

Video-Replay - Entire Game
Holy Cross/Newport Central Catholic
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These two teams met earlier this year with Ludlow taking a win away from the Tigers. The winner would advance to take on the winner of the NewCath/Holy Cross game later tonight. Bellevue came out and was able to find Mike Young inide on the post in a couple of trips down the floor. It looked like it would be a long night for Coach Highfield and the Panthers. The Tigers took a 11-8 lead after the first quarter. There was one lead change in the game. It came in the second quarter, as Ludlow found it's shooting stroke, led by Freshman Mitchell Cody. He is definately one of the rising stars in the next few years. Cody dropped 10 points in the second quarter and Ludlow would hit a total of 5 three pointers in the quarter to take a commanding 23-6 lead in the quarter and a 14 point lead into the locker room at the half, 31-17. Bellevue would outscore Ludlow in the third quarter, led by 2 three pointers from Brandon Hoffman, but the lead was too much. Bellevue would have to start fouling in the 4th quarter to get the ball back, but Ludlow would go 12-26 from the line in the 4th quarter alone as the Panthers advance to the semi-finals with a 66-55 win over the Tigers. Ricky Buckler, who wasn't on the opening day roster for the Tigers would lead Bellevue with 18 points. The 9th grader, Mitchell Cody would pace Ludlow also with 18 points.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Ludlow (3-13)	8	23	13	22	66
Bellevue (4-10)	11	6	16	22	55

 

 

Video-Replay - Entire Game
Ludlow/Bellevue
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When Gallatin County & Owen County hook it up 3-4 times a year, you know that each game will be down to the wire. Tonight's 8th Region All "A" Classic game would be no different. So much that it took over time. First quarter was pretty evenly matched for the most part, but Gallatin County came back from being down 10-4 to take the lead 13-10 after the first quarter. Gallatin County would outscore Owen County 13-6 to take a 26-16 lead into the locker room at the half. The seconnd half saw Owen County chip away at the lead until finally taking a 4th quarter lead, Although Gallatin County's Zac Jones had 8 points, no other field goals were made by the Wildcats as Owen County out scored them 14-10 in the third quarter and eventually tying the game at 46 with 16.9 seconds to go. Owen County would go up on two free throws by Sawyer Williams, but on the Wildcats end of the floor, Travis Davis, who hadn't missed a FT all game long, hit two of them to tie the game at 48 forcing overtime. The 4 minutes turned into theTravis Davis FT clinic as the sophomore hit 6-6 from the line, giving Gallatin County the win 59-53 in OT. 3 players from each team hit double digits in the game, Michael Colligan led Owen county with 14 points while Travis Davis on the strength of 10-10 from the line had 17 game leading points in the Gallatin County win. Gallatin County will advance to the semi-finals with a game against Trimble County on Thursday night at Walton.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	OT	Final
Owen County (11-6)	10	6	14	18	5	53
Gallatin County (15-4)	13	13	10	12	11	59

 

 

Video-Replay - Entire Game
Owen County/Gallatin County
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The finals of the 2009-10 Girls 8th Region All "A" Classic saw a matchup of last years semis with the Gallatin County Lady Wildcats looking to go back to back and the Walton-Verona Lady Bearcats looking to make the trip to Richmond for the first time since 2000. Walton got the scoring edge early on the strength of 4 three pointers in the first quarter and quickly set the pace with a 16-8 first quarter. The second quarter saw a blow to Walton as Courtney Sandlin went down with a spraigned ankle. She would sit for the rest of the night, but Valarie Warren came in off the bench and played valuable minutes. Although Gallatin was able to knock down a few three pointers, Walton turned to Kelli Dixon who was really unstoppable underneath. Kelli added 14 points herself to give Walton a 34-20 lead going into halftime. Walton got into a bit of foul trouble, allowing Gallatin County an opportunity to really cut into the lead, but credit the Bearcat defense as they held the Wildcats to just 2 points. Gallatin's defense also held tough by holding Walton to just 6 points in the third, but in the end, Kelli Dixon proved to be just too much for Gallatin County as she added 8 more points in the 4th quarter to give her a game high 27 points as the Walton-Verona Lady Bearcats punch their ticket to Richmond with a 54-30 final. Brooke Hill led the Lady Wildcats with 13 points.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Walton-Verona (14-2)	16	18	6	14	54
Gallatin County (8-7)	8	12	2	8	30

 

 

Video-Replay - Entire Game
Owen County/Walton-Verona
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The nightcap of the 8th Region semi-finals saw the Walton-Verona Lady Bearcats who came into the game with an 8th Region leading record of 12-2 on the year taking on prennenial Region contender in Owen County. The Lady Rebels jumped out to an early 10-4 lead in the first quarter, orchestrated by Rianna Gayheart, whose 7 points led the Rebels. The second quarter saw the lead change for the one and only time in the game as the Lady Bearcats outscored Owen County by a 12-4 margin, led by Jenalee Ginn's 6 points. Walton would take a 16-14 lead into the locker room at the half. Walton would explode in the third quarter as 6 different Lady Bearcats would score in the quarter, outscoring Owen County 17-8. Owen County would come back in the 4th quarter and outscore Walton, 8-7, but a bit too late asl Walton-Verona advances to the 8th Region finals against Gallatin County on Saturday Night with the 40-30 final. Rianna Gayheart would pace the Lady Rebels with a game high 12 points, while for Walton-Verona, both Jenalee Ginn and Kelli Dixon would have 10 points a piece for the Lady Bearcats.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Walton-Verona (13-2)	4	12	17	7	40
Owen County (11-6)	10	4	8	8	30

 

 

Video-Replay - Entire Game
Owen County/Walton-Verona
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Our first game of the 8th Region All "A Classic tournament saw a classic 8th Region Girls Basketball game. It's always an exciting game when Gallatin County and Williamstown hook it up, tonight was no exception. Williamstown took a 12-9 lead after the first quarter. A quarter that saw increased defensive pressure from the Lady Demons that caught the LadyCats off guard a bit. It seemed to us that Gallatin County could not get into their offense, but more over was very off balanced. The second quarter saw even more of the same, although Emily Jones for Gallatin County came alive, scoring all 7 points the Lady Wildcats had in the quarter. Williamstown took a 21-16 lead into the locker room at the half. Gallatin County came out of the locker room on fire to start the third quarter. More balanced scoring with Brooke Dossett hitting two three pointers to re-take the lead. A lead that would switch hands 5 times throughout the course of the game. Williamstown was held to 6 points in the third quarter to give Gallatin County a 31-27 lead going into the final quarter. Many missed opportunities for both teams to score undreneath the basket in this one. Tori Wilhoit who had been held to just 4 points in the previous 3 quarters came alive in the 4th for Williamstown, pumping in 7 points. the game came down to the final possession as it usually does with these two teams. Two missed free throws by Alex Porkopchak took a game tying opportunity away from Williamstown as Gallatin County takes a 41-39 win and advances to Saturday Night's finals with a chance to go back to back as 8th Region All "A" Classic Champions. Brooke Hill led all scorers with 15 points for Gallatin County. Tori Wilhoit led the Lady Demons with 11 points.

 

Scoring by Qtr	1	2	3	4	Final
Williamstown (3-11)	12	9	6	12	39
Gallatin County (8-6)	9	7	15	10	41

 

 

Video-Replay - Entire Game
Williamstown/Gallatin County
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