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King of the Bluegrass: GRC, Great Crossing, Lyon County win first-round games

jason frakes, louisville courier journal
·6 min read

The high school basketball regular season can be a three-month slog, and the extra weight of expectations can make it that much tougher.

No one knows that better this season than Josh Cook, boys basketball coach at George Rogers Clark High School. The Cardinals returned four starters from last season’s state championship team and are ranked No. 1 in the state by pretty much everyone who dares to publish a poll.

George Rogers Clark's Sam Parrish signals his three-point shot is good as the Cardinals defeated Male 70-59 at Saturday's King of the Bluegrass in Fairdale. Dec. 17, 2022
George Rogers Clark's Sam Parrish signals his three-point shot is good as the Cardinals defeated Male 70-59 at Saturday's King of the Bluegrass in Fairdale. Dec. 17, 2022

“You still have to block out a lot of noise,” Cook said of the toughest part of coaching a defending state champion. “The kids have to. I have to. We have to focus on what this team is.”

So far so good for GRC, which backed up its top billing Saturday with a 70-59 victory over Male in the first round of the Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic at Fairdale.

The Cardinals improved to 6-0 this season and have won 37 straight going back to last season.

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Morehead State signee Jerone Morton posted 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals to lead GRC, which will face Great Crossing at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in a quarterfinal. Trent Edwards added 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

GRC blistered the nets, shooting 64.1%, but Cook was more pleased with a defense that held Male to a 30.5% clip.

“We wanted to make sure the guards didn’t get wide-open 3s and try to jam those and make those guys shoot contested shots,” Cook said. “Our guys who chase their shooters did a fantastic job tonight.”

Jack Edelen scored 21 points and hit 3 of 5 3-point attempts to lead Male, but the other Bulldogs combined to go 3 of 18 from behind the arc.

Meechie White added 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals for Male.

Led by Keith Jordan, GRC won the King of the Bluegrass in 1983. The Cardinals appear ready to make a run for another title this year.

“This team can be great in its own way, but it’s different,” Cook said. “It’s December, and this is a good time for us to push and mold a basketball team.”

Male     17          8            7            27 - 59

GRC       15          15          14          26 - 70

Male (2-5) – Cole Edelen 4, Meechie White 12, Jack Edelen 21, Shammai Gates 2, Max Gainey 3, Terrence Hall 11, Jayson Gasaway 6.

GRC (6-0) – Reshaun Hampton 10, Eli Craig 5, Jerone Morton 21, Sam Parrish 8, Trent Edwards 18, Tyleik Maxwell 8.

Great Crossing 78, Spencer County 67

A young program with a young roster, Great Crossing had a memorable KOB debut.

Sophomores Vince Dawson and Malachi Moreno posted a combined 48 points and 22 rebounds as the Warhawks (7-1) rolled past the Bears (5-2)

Great Crossing opened in 2019 as the second public high school in Scott County. Among the six players who played the majority of minutes Saturday, five are sophomores and one is a junior.

Great Crossing's Malachi Moreno gets two points against Spencer County at Saturday's King of the Bluegrass in Fairdale. Dec. 17, 2022
Great Crossing's Malachi Moreno gets two points against Spencer County at Saturday's King of the Bluegrass in Fairdale. Dec. 17, 2022

“It’s not that big of a difference (playing older players),” the 6-foot-11 Moreno said. “When they’re seniors, they’re a lot more experienced, a lot more physical. But I think age doesn’t really matter anymore. If you can play, you can play.”

Dawson scored a game-high 26 points and added eight rebounds while playing all 32 minutes. Moreno had 22 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.

Tied at 18 after the first quarter, Great Crossing scored the first 15 points of the second quarter to take control. The Warhawks shot 62% for the game (31 of 50) and won the rebounding battle 41-25.

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“I thought they would struggle to guard us in the half-court if we just ran our half-court stuff,” Great Crossing coach Steve Page said. “We turned the ball over early, as opposed to making them guard us.”

Luke Erhardt (17 points) and Keaton Baird (15 points) led Spencer County (5-2). The Bears finished 11 of 32 from 3-point range (34.4%).

Great Crossing                18          22          18          20 – 78

Spencer County               18          11          15          23 – 67

Great Crossing (7-1) – Vince Dawson 26, Junius Burrell 11, Gage Richardson 10, Christian Martin 7, Jeremiah Godfrey 2, Malachi Moreno 22.

Spencer County (5-2) – Kellen Marksbury 1, Luke Erhardt 17, Keaton Baird 15, Drew Barron 7, Jack Armstrong 9, Camden Cox 12, Jonathon Combs 6.

Lyon County 76, Harlan County 73

The Lyons (8-1) built a 51-33 lead early in the third quarter and then held on to defeat the Black Bears (5-2).

Harlan County outscored Lyon County 26-15 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t complete the comeback.

“We have a couple of freshmen out there all the time, and this is the first time they’ve been in this situation,” Lyon County coach Ryan Perry said. “That makes it tough.”

Lyon County's Travis Perry goes for two as Harlan County defends at Saturday's King of the Bluegrass in Fairdale. Dec. 17, 2022
Lyon County's Travis Perry goes for two as Harlan County defends at Saturday's King of the Bluegrass in Fairdale. Dec. 17, 2022

Junior guard Travis Perry had 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead Lyon County. Brady Shoulders added 20 points and eight rebounds. The Lyons will face LaRue County in Sunday’s 6 p.m. quarterfinal.

Trent Noah had 22 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks to lead Harlan County. Daniel Carmical scored 21 points, and Maddox Huff added 18 points and nine assists.

Harlan County   15          13          19          26 – 73

Lyon County      21          21          19          15 - 76

Harlan County (5-2) – Trent Noah 22, Maddox Huff 18, Daniel Carmical 21, Jonah Swanner 6, Caleb Johnson 4, Jaycee Carter 2.

Lyon County (8-1) – Jack Reddick 13, Bray Kirk 8, Travis Perry 29, Carson Collins 4, Brady Shoulders 20, Lukas Breedlove 2.

Sagemont (Fla.) 72, Pittsburgh Central Catholic 47

Tynan Becker scored 17 points and Cameron Gibson added 14 points and six assists as the Lions (9-0) from Weston, Fla., beat the Vikings (2-2).

Down 16-14 after the first quarter, the Lions outscored the Vikings 22-7 in the second quarter to take a 36-23 halftime lead.

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Sagemont — the state runner-up in Florida’s Class 2A last season — will face North Oldham at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in a quarterfinal.

Debaba Tshiebwe, brother of University of Kentucky star Oscar Tshiebwe, had 14 points and 20 rebounds to lead Pittsburgh Central Catholic. The Vikings will face Trinity at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in a consolation-bracket game.

Sagemont                         14          22          11          25 - 72

Central Catholic               16          7            12          12 - 47

Sagemont (9-0) – Maxx Martinez 2, Ashton Smith 11, Tyler Bennett 8, Cameron Gibson 14, Tynan Becker 17, Danielius Kasparas 7, Devontae Jean 3, Ryan Eddy 3, Dominic Issa 5, Kenneth Lopez 2.

Central Catholic (2-2) – Randy Wilkerson 11, Noah Mason 2, Payton Wehner 4, Dante DePante 4, Bradley Gompers 6, Cole Sullivan 6, Debaba Tshiebwe 14.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: King of the Bluegrass: GRC, Great Crossing, Lyon County win openers