King of the Bluegrass: New No. 1 Warren Central backs it up with win over North Oldham
Hours after taking the state’s No. 1 ranking, the Warren Central High School basketball team backed it up in style.
Kade Unseld scored 17 points and Chappelle Whitney added 16 as the Dragons beat North Oldham 71-57 on Monday in the semifinals of the Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass at Fairdale.
Warren Central took the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll released Monday afternoon, jumping defending state champion George Rogers Clark after its loss Sunday to Great Crossing.
Dragons coach Will Unseld said he didn’t address the new ranking with his team.
“I’m a firm believer that none of that stuff matters until the end,” Unseld said. “At some point, we’re probably going to get beat, and I’m OK with that. I’m not trying to go undefeated. I schedule the way I schedule because I don’t want to be 29-4. I want them to have some wounds.”
Warren Central (8-0) advanced to face No. 4 Great Crossing (9-1) in Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. championship game. Both teams are seeking their first King of the Bluegrass title.
Warren Central returned four starters from last season’s team that lost to GRC in the state final. All five starters this season are averaging double figures in scoring.
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“We preached to them from the day they got here how special they’d be if they’d share the basketball,” Unseld said. “We don’t need one guy to get 25 points. Let’s get five guys with 12 or 14, and then we’re hard to beat.”
The Dragons shot 59.2% from the field (29 of 49) and had 17 assists. Izayiah Villafuerte had five assists, and Damarion Walkup and Omari Glover both had four.
North Oldham coach David Levitch called Warren Central “a well-oiled machine.”
“They kicked our butt,” Levitch said. “They kicked our zone, they kicked our man. They’re just a very good basketball team. … Watching them on film, they’re throwing bounce passes that high school teams don’t throw.”
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Dallas Roberts scored 22 points to lead the Mustangs (7-4), who will face No. 10 Lyon County (9-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the third-place game.
North Oldham 13 11 13 20 - 57
Warren Central 16 16 20 19 - 71
North Oldham (7-4) – Dallas Roberts 22, Ian Higdon 8, Grant Neal 6, Jack Scales 5, Brooks Cargould 3, Luke Anderson 8, Jack Fischer 5.
Warren Central (8-0) – Damarion Walkup 11, Izayiah Villafuerte 5, Malik Jefferson 4, Tay’vion Wells 5, Kade Unseld 17, Omari Glover 11, Chappelle Whitney 16, Abdihakim Dahir 2.
Great Crossing 69, Lyon County 61
The No. 4 Warhawks used their size advantage to knock off the No. 10 Lyons in the other semifinal.
Great Crossing shot 50.9% and won the rebounding battle 43-25. Vince Dawson (16 points) and Gage Richardson (14 points) were the top scorers, and 6-foot-11 sophomore Malachi Moreno added 11 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks.
Junius Burrell pitched in 11 points and eight assists for the Warhawks.
Travis Perry had 25 points and four steals to lead Lyon County, which shot just 37.1%.
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Great Crossing 20 11 23 15 - 69
Lyon County 12 11 15 23 - 61
Great Crossing (9-1) – Vince Dawson 16, Junius Burrell 11, Gage Richardson 14, Christian Martin 9, Jeremiah Godfrey 8, Malachi Moreno 11.
Lyon County (9-2) – Jack Reddick 20, Bray Kirk 7, Travis Perry 25, Brady Shoulders 9.
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: King of the Bluegrass: Warren Central backs up No. 1 ranking with win
