‘He made us pay.’ Woodford County thrills fans with overtime win in Boys’ Sweet 16.
With the Woodford County end zone of Rupp Arena jammed with black and gold, the Yellow Jackets came up with just enough stops and clutch plays to claim a 60-57 overtime win over Jeffersontown in Wednesday’s first round of the UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16.
Woodford standout Jasper Johnson opened the overtime period with a transition three-pointer and added two more of his 13 points at the free throw line to help secure a victory that was in doubt until the final horn.
“The whole county came out and supported us like they’ve been doing all season,” said Johnson, who scored a pair of threes in the first quarter but was largely quiet on offense until the overtime. “When we’re trying to get a stop and looking up in the crowd and seeing everybody cheering on their feet for us, that really gives us a lot of energy.”
Jeffersontown Coach Richard Duncan Jr. acknowledged his team focused a lot of attention on Johnson, who is regarded as one of the top sophomore guards in the nation.
“You don’t stand a chance if you don’t try to contain Jasper. Jasper Johnson is a heck of a ball player, man,” Duncan said. “He hit a big three in the overtime when we lost him in transition. … I thought we did a good job on him. We just lost him a couple of times and he made us pay for it.”
Woodford (21-12) kept it interesting late with a turnover that helped Jeffersontown cut it to 58-57 in OT on a steal and layup by Jayden Hackley-Marks with 35 seconds left. Woodford’s Santonio Waide and Aden Nelson each made one of two free throws down the stretch to push the lead to 60-57.
After Nelson made one of his free throws with five seconds left, Woodford called timeout.
Nelson, a senior who’s signed to play football at West Virginia this fall. had one last message for his team.
“I said, ‘Look, we’ve got to get this one stop. This can’t be our last game,” Nelson said. “We can’t come this far for nothing.”
Brandon Gatewood’s three-pointer from the top of the arc bounced harmlessly off the front of the rim just before the buzzer sounded.
Jeffersontown’s (17-13) improbable Sweet 16 run ended with a first-round loss for the second year in a row, but Duncan couldn’t fault his team’s effort.
“I’m really proud of my guys. Nobody expected them to be here,” said Duncan, who had a team that was 11-12 entering the postseason. “They gave it everything they got. We just came up short.”
Woodford held a 52-49 lead late in the fourth quarter after Layton Starks’ tip-in of a Johnson miss gave the Yellow Jackets a slim 50-49 lead that he expanded moments later with a pair of free throws.
But Camron McDaniels’ three-pointer off an inbounds play tied the game 52-52 with 23 seconds left.
Woodford had a chance to take the lead back in regulation, but Starks missed a pair of free throws at the 0:06 mark. Hackley-Marks missed a three-pointer at the end of regulation that could have won it for J-town.
“I’m just so proud that we fought through missing shots and the turnovers and we still continued to play hard and never gave up,” Woodford Coach Jaron Brown said.
Waide led four players in double figures with 15 points, Makhi Smith added 10. Camron McDaniels led the Chargers with 13 points. Rhys Taylor and Gatewood scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
2023 BOYS’ SWEET 16
What: Sixteen-team tournament to decide Kentucky’s high school basketball state champion.
When: Wednesday through Saturday
Where: Rupp Arena
Tickets: Tickets available for purchase at KHSAA.org.
Wednesday’s games
Woodford County 60, Jeffersontown 57 (OT)
Elizabethtown 48, McCracken County 44
Warren Central 80, Pulaski County 55
Ashland Blazer 66, Owensboro 65
Thursday’s games
Male 94, Breathitt County 59
1:30 p.m.: Lyon County (30-5) vs. Newport (28-6)
6 p.m.: Frederick Douglass (31-2) vs. Martin County (24-10)
8:30 p.m.: George Rogers Clark (27-5) vs. North Laurel (25-10)
Friday’s quarterfinals
11 a.m.: Woodford County (21-12) vs. Elizabethtown (24-9)
1:30 p.m.: Warren Central (33-1) vs. Ashland Blazer (23-11)
6 p.m.: Douglass-Martin winner vs. Male (26-10)
8:30 p.m.: Lyon-Newport winner vs. Clark-North Laurel winner
Saturday’s games
11 a.m.: Semifinal 1: Winners of Friday’s morning session
1:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2: Winners of Friday’s evening session
7 p.m.: Championship
Boys’ Sweet 16: Day 1 wrap-up from the basketball state tournament in Rupp Arena
Slideshow: Woodford County tops Jeffersontown at Boys’ Sweet 16
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Slideshow: Elizabethtown beats McCracken County at Boys’ Sweet 16
How to follow the 2023 Kentucky Boys’ Sweet 16 basketball state tournament
The John Clay Podcast: Kentucky Boys’ Sweet 16 preview
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