Jayson Gasaway has career night as Male High falls short in LIT title game against Ballard

Male High boys basketball's next great big man took center stage Saturday night.

Jayson Gasaway — a sophomore forward in his first season as a starter — exploded for a career-high 28 points and eight rebounds in the Louisville Invitational Tournament Championship game at Valley High School. Unfortunately for Male, Gasaway's performance was overshadowed by the Bulldogs' 80-71 loss to Ballard High.

The loss to the Bruins (15-2) held Male (10-9) from its second-straight LIT title. But after starting the season 3-7, the defending champs entered the tournament as a 10th seed. Male went through Doss, Butler, Central and Western just to earn the opportunity to defend its title.

More:How Ballard boys basketball beat Male for Louisville Invitational Tournament championship

"We've come a long way since just a week or two ago," Gasaway said. "We're getting better every single day and that's all that matters."

Improvement has been on the 6-foot-4 sophomore's mind since the offseason. Gasaway played on Male's freshman team last year and watched from the sidelines as University of Louisville commit and star forward Kaleb Glenn led the Bulldogs to a Seventh Region title.

But when Glenn announced he was transferring from Male to Indiana's La Lumiere for his senior season in April, Gasaway was propelled into the starting lineup. Nervous but unshaken, Gasaway said he put in countless hours on the shooting gun to get himself prepared to fill Glenn's shoes.

"I told him 'to be yourself," Male coach Tim Haworth said. "Don't ever put extra pressure on yourself to perform. What you only have to do is every day you have to work hard."

Gasaway's first season has been solid. Averaging 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, Gasaway is the Bulldogs' fourth best scorer and second-best weapon on the glass. His numbers stayed consistent throughout the week and in Male's semifinal win against Western he finished with a quiet 10 points and five rebounds.

So what in the world happened on Saturday?

Ballard had few answers for Gasaway. Whether it was in the pick and roll or finding his spacing along the baseline, Gasaway had little trouble finding the basket. He shot an efficient 11 of 14 from the field and knocked down 3 of his five 3-point attempts.

"Jayson's been putting in a ton of work and he's really shooting the ball well," Haworth said. "He's also rebounding well. He's probably had 10 or 11 games now where he's been in double figures, so I'm really pleased with his development."

More:Manual volleyball star Nya Bunton takes home Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year award

With the Bulldogs trailing through most of the game, Gasaways scored 10 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and led the Bulldogs on a 16-3 run to trim Ballard's lead to four with just over five minutes to play.

Male has largely depended on its big three of Jack Edelen, Cole Edelen and Meechie White to pull out games, but with the LIT title on the line the Bulldogs trusted Gasaway. The Bulldogs, who were playing their sixth game in seven days, ran out of gas before completing the comeback.

"We got Ballard three times last year, we'll get them again," Gasaway said.

This week has been huge for the Bulldogs' confidence. After shocking the skeptics and making it back to the championship, Gasaway believes the Bulldogs have enough in the tank to make a run at a regional title.

"We're shooting the ball much better and we trust each other," Gasaway said. "We're a brotherhood at Male all we have to do is buy in."

MALE                  16          11          23          21 - 71

BALLARD            28          14          19          19 - 80

Male (10-9) – Cole Edelen 12, Meechie White 15, Jack Edelen 11, Shammai Gates 2, Terrence Hall 3, Jayson Gasaway 28.

Ballard (15-2) – Sam Frazier 18, Evan Chiles 2, Nate Richardson 2, Miles Franklin 20, Matt Hayden 15, Gabe Sisk 15, Tim Fuller 6, Xavier Zubric 2.

Butch Charmoli MVP – Gabe Sisk, Ballard

Stanley Hardin Defense Award – Meechie White, Male

All-tournament team – Miles Franklin, Sam Frazier (Ballard); Jack Edelen, Cole Edelen (Male); Julius Edmonds (Western); Brady Hurley (Manual); Drae Vasser (Trinity); Nelson Williams (St. Xavier); Jenuel Aquino (Central); Owen Shee (Eastern); QuelRon House (Seneca); Brinson Moore (Jeffersontown).

Follow Courier Journal reporter J.L. Kirven on Twitter @JL_Kirven for more updates on Louisville prep sports.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Boys LIT title game: Jayson Gasaway has career night; Male High falls