Catholic starts slow, but drops Grayson in 2nd half

Mark Mathis, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Updated ·2 min read

Jan. 24—Owensboro Catholic pulled away in the second half of a 63-50 win over Grayson County on Monday night at the Sportscenter.

That doesn't necessarily mean Catholic boys coach Tim Riley was very pleased with how the team won. The Aces started slowly and didn't really get going until after halftime.

"It's going to bite us, starting slow, come out and just think we can mess around," Riley said. "We've played a lot of emotional games lately."

The Aces will take an impressive 18-2 record to the All 'A' State Tournament in Richmond later this week. They face 4th Region champion Cumberland County on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. CT.

"The 'A' is going to mean a little more to us," Riley said. "But we're flat, no doubt. After halftime, we played well in the third quarter, that's the only quarter I thought we played very well in. Three quarters of the game it was a 2-point game. We went through the motions, which I was worried about."

Still, the Aces have the best record in the 3rd Region. Grayson County is 7-13.

There was little offensive output early in the game, and Grayson County led 8-6 after the first quarter. Catholic had worked its way in front 25-23 at halftime.

Catholic put together a 13-0 run to go up 41-29 with 2:14 left in the third quarter, and Catholic held a 46-34 lead going to the fourth quarter.

Brian Griffith reached another scoring milestone in the game, surpassing 2,000 points for his career at Owensboro Catholic.

"That's a lot of points," Riley said.

Griffith scored a game-high 23 points, hitting for 10 in the third quarter. Parker Gray and Luke Beickman each scored 13 for the Aces.

Catholic made 18-of-46 from the floor for 39.1% and hit 6-of-12 from 3-point range for 50%.

Grayson County was led by a double-double from River Blanton with 21 points, 10 rebounds. Jack Logsdon added 12 points. Grayson County made 13-of-48 from the floor for 27% and 5-of-21 from 3-point range for 23.8%.

GRAYSON COUNTY 8 15 11 16 — 50

OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 6 19 21 17 — 63

Grayson County (50) — Blanton 21, Logsdon 12, Haycraft 8, Armstrong 3, Horn 2, Langdon 2, Childress 2.

Owensboro Catholic (63) — Griffith 23, Gray 13, Beickman 13, Carrico 9, Ebelhar 4, Frick 1.