All ‘A’ Classic: Small schools deliver high drama during marathon quarterfinals

Covington Holy Cross had a nine-point halftime lead trimmed to just two points early in the third quarter against Hazard on Friday night in the boys’ All “A” Classic tournament quarterfinals at Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena.

Fortunately, the Indians have a pretty good cure for such a malady — Jacob Meyer, the state’s leading scorer.

Over a five-minute span from near the end of the third quarter into the fourth, Meyer scored 15 straight points, including two three-pointers and an old-fashioned three-point play, as Holy Cross stretched its advantage from four points to 14 by the time Meyer was done. When teammate Javier Ward made Holy Cross’s next bucket with 3:43 left in the game, the Indians led by 16, 51-35.

“I had a rough start, but my attack got my teammates open in the first half,” Meyer said. “In the second half, I had to take over and do what I do.”

Holy Cross’s 60-45 win over Hazard was part of a marathon day of boys’ and girls’ games in the midseason state championship for Kentucky’s smaller schools that began at 8:30 a.m. Friday and finished after midnight. The tournaments continue with semifinals Saturday and the respective championship games on Sunday afternoon.

Holy Cross Coach Casey Sorrell said he challenged his team during a timeout after Hazard narrowed the gap.

“I feel like when we get a lead, we get a little bit comfortable,” Sorrell said. “... But we’ve been in those situations many times before this year and last year. And you need those experiences in a big-time atmosphere.”

Meyer finished the game with 34 points, right on his average of 33.9 per game. The Indians (15-5) got 12 points from Ward and six each from Matthew Dreas and Jacob Smith, while Sam Gibson grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the team. Holy Cross defeated Danville 72-56 in Thursday’s first round, and was scheduled to play Owensboro Catholic in Saturday’s 2 p.m. semifinals.

Max Johnson led Hazard (18-3) with 13 points, while Evin Shaun Eversole and Landon Smith each added 11. The Bulldogs topped Bishop Brossart 68-62 on Thursday.

Fridays’ other boys’ quarterfinals

Owensboro Catholic 61, University Heights 60 (4OT): Despite blowing a 19-point third quarter lead, the Aces (20-2) made enough plays over regulation and four overtimes to survive a contest that finished just after midnight.

Led by Parker Gray’s 18 points, Brian Griffiths’ 17 and Luke Beickman’s 10, Owensboro Catholic earned its second-ever trip to the Classic semifinals. Gray went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line in the fourth overtime to help secure the win. The Aces had beaten Cumberland County 72-35 on Thursday to reach the semis.

Lemar Northington led University Heights (14-8) with 29 points, including the tip-in bucket with one second left in the game to knot it at 40 at the end of regulation. After trailing 24-9 at halftime and 34-18 at the end of three quarters, the Blazers outscored Owensboro Catholic 22-6 in the fourth quarter, led by Northington’s 14 points.

Gavin Grubbs and Preston Thomas each had 10 points for the Blazers, who beat Raceland 69-35 on Thursday.

Owen County 55, Washington County 45: The Rebels (16-6) overcame a slow start after trailing by as many as 10 points in the first quarter and rallied to take control of the game in the second half with 27 points from Teagan Moore and 22 from Brax Ward.

Ward scored 10 of his points in a decisive 17-8 third-quarter run, all of them in the paint. Ward and Moore helped Owen dominate the boards with a 41-22 rebounding advantage. Ward had a game-high 19 rebounds to Moore’s 13.

Owen County was scheduled to face Evangel Christian in Saturday’s noon semifinal. The Rebels topped Louisville Collegiate 42-37 in Thursday’s first round.

Washington County (16-7) was led by Beau Baker’s 18 points. The Generals beat Lexington Christian 71-70 on Thursday in a game decided by a foul of Baker on a putback attempt with 0.5 seconds left in the game. Baker made one of two free throws for the win.

Evangel Christian 86, Martin County 55: Kyran Tilley scored 12 of his 26 points, including three three-pointers, in a decisive first quarter that staked the Eagles to a 26-9 lead Martin County could not overcome.

Evangel Christian teammate Christian Doerr took up the baton in the second half with 11 of his team-high 31 points in the third quarter. Cyr Malonga and Gianni Davis added 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Eagles never trailed. Evangel (18-3) beat Murray 65-43 in Thursday’s opening round.

Martin County (19-3) got 17 points from Luke Hale and 12 from Jacob Sturgell. Martin defeated Harlan 50-49 on Thursday.

Girls’ quarterfinals

Bethlehem 66, Bishop Brossart 49: The Banshees got a 25-7 run over the span of eight minutes in the first half to break open their game against the Mustangs and keep their hopes alive for their third All “A” Classic tournament championship and second in three years.

Point guard Carlie Thurmond led four Bethlehem (16-6) players in double figures with 18 points to go with four assists and two steals. Emma Filiatreau scored 16 points and Ashlyn Miles and Tessa Miles each had 15. The Banshees forced 25 Brossart turnovers.

“If you like fast-paced basketball, you’ll like watching us play because that’s the way we have to play. We’re not very big,” said Bethlehem Coach Jason Clark, whose roster tops out at 6-foot with Filatreau, but goes about 5-foot-5 or less around the rest of the court. “We like to run up and down the court and press and cause havoc.”

After winning the Classic in 2021, the Banshees missed out on the tournament last season despite later going on to the 5th Region title and the program’s second straight Girls’ Sweet 16 appearance. Bethlehem defeated Crittenden County 71-55 in Wednesday’s first round. The Banshees are ranked No. 23 in the latest Dave Cantrall Ratings.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Clark said. “We messed up and didn’t make it last year and it bugged us. It bugged us really bad.”

Zoee Meyers led Bishop Brossart (17-6) with 20 points. Molly Kramer added 10. Brossart topped Jackson County 51-42 on Wednesday.

Bethlehem was scheduled to face Whitefield Academy in Saturday’s 10 a.m. semifinal.

Whitefield Academy 34, Hancock County 33: The Wildcats made four free throws down the stretch, their only points of the fourth quarter, to withstand a furious fourth quarter rally by Hancock County.

Whitefield (17-4) led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter but got outscored 11-4 in the fourth as the Hornets closed in. Hancock came within 30-28 on Bailey Poole’s three-pointer midway through the period, but buckets remained scarce.

A technical foul on Hancock’s bench ended the Whitefield drought as Amy Thompson made one of two free throws for a 31-28 lead with 1:11 to play.

Down 34-30 in the closing seconds, Hancock (13-9) had a chance to tie the game after a Lily Roberts layup and a Whitefield turnover. Ella House stole the inbounds pass after Roberts’ score and got a shot off with one second left, but couldn’t convert. House made her first free throw but missed the second and the game ended.

Thompson was one of four Whitefield players with seven points. Noel Smith had six points and a game-high nine rebounds. Hancock’s Roberts and Poole scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Whitefield topped Menifee County 49-36 in Wednesday’s first round. Hancock defeated Monroe County 54-43.

Covington Holy Cross 61, Owen County 31: The Indians (19-5) broke open the game with a 12-0 run going into the locker room at halftime and piled on with a 14-3 run in the third quarter to oust the Classic’s defending champion and reach the program’s seventh small-school state semifinals.

Nejai Lewis and Miyah Wimzie led Holy Cross with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Sarah Bottom hit two of her three three-pointers in the decisive second period and had nine points.

The Indians reached Friday’s quarterfinals with a 71-38 win over Leslie County on Wednesday. Holy Cross is scheduled was face Pikeville at 8:30 a.m. Saturday in the semifinals.

Owen County (14-7) was led by Gracie Ferguson’s 12 points. The Rebels defeated Berea 30-25 in Wednesday’s first round.

Pikeville 61, Danville 38: The Panthers (19-5) overwhelmed Danville with a blistering 16-4 first quarter and went on to hand the Admirals their second defeat of the season.

Kyera Thornsbury scored 22 points and Trinity Rowe added 19 to lead No. 6 Pikeville, the highest ranked team in the tournament, according to the Dave Cantrall Ratings. Thornsbury made four of her five three-pointers while Rowe had a game-high 10 assists to go with her three three-pointers.

The Panthers, who lost in last year’s Classic semifinals to Owensboro Catholic, went on to win its fourth straight 15th Region championship later that year. Pikeville defeated Carlisle County 76-23 in Wednesday’s opening round.

Danville (19-2) was led by Desiree Tandy and Love Mays, who finished with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Danville beat Portland Christian 70-35 in the first round.

All ‘A’ Classic

What: Kentucky’s midseason small-school state championship

Where: Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena, Richmond

Tickets: Available online at allaclassic.org/statewide-basketball-tickets/

Video stream: Pay per view at go.prepspin.com.

Audio stream: Kool Hits 105.7-FM

Saturday’s girls’ semifinals

8:30 a.m.: Pikeville vs. Covington Holy Cross

10 a.m.: Bethlehem vs. Whitefield Academy

Saturday’s boys’ semifinals

Noon: Evangel Christian vs. Owen County

1:30 p.m.: Covington Holy Cross vs. Owensboro Catholic

Sunday’s finals

Noon: Girls’ championship

2 p.m.: Boys’ championship

Box scores: Online at allaclassic.org/