Ohio boys ride balanced scoring to 13-4 (5-0) mark

Mark Mathis, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Updated ·2 min read

Jan. 9—Ohio County has more height overall than probably any other boys basketball team in the 3rd Region.

Ohio County has players who can score, pass and defend. The Eagles have fashioned a 13-4 record and are 5-0 in the region. They beat a depleted Daviess County team 65-37 Friday night. They followed that Saturday with a 61-54 loss to West Creek (Tenn.) in Bowling Green.

Scoring balance has been a constant, and Ohio County is athletic enough and tall enough to be good defensively full court.

"We've got seven guys that can play a little bit," Ohio coach Paul Decker said Friday night. "We preach it all the time, share the ball. Yes, we've got some length, as long as we keep guys in front of us, we get blocked shots just by walling up. We start four guys 6-4, 6-5, so there's a lot of length. Parker is 6-2 and really strong."

That would be Parker Culbertson, who is Ohio County's primary outside scoring threat, hitting 39-of-88 shots from 3-point range for 44.3% through 14 games where Ohio County submitted stats for the KHSAA.

"We work hard in practice, we like to share the ball," said Culbertson, a senior who is averaging 14.6 points a game.

Elijah Decker is a 6-5 junior who is hitting for 18.1 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. Bo Morris is another 6-5 junior who is tough inside. Carter Young is a 6-4 junior who is scoring 9.5 points a game. Carson Kennedy is a 6-4 sophomore guard.

"We're playing good right now," Elijah Decker said. "Chemistry has gotten a lot better. As the season has gone on we started playing well together. We're locking down on defense."

Paul Decker wants more rebounding out of Elijah and Young because they are athletic and can get the ball out and run. Ohio County can guard well all over the floor.

"We struggled shooting the ball, so we had to lock up on defense," Culbertson said of the win over DC.

Ohio County started the season with an 81-52 loss at Lyon County, which is considered one of the best teams in the state.

"That opened our eyes a little," Paul Decker said. "I'm not worried about our record, I'm worried about getting better."

Daviess County coach Neil Hayden thinks Ohio can cause problems for a lot of teams because of its height and size.

"They've got four shooters and some other guys that can score," Hayden said. "They've got multiple guys that can create a shot, get in the paint, they're a mismatch problem for a lot of people. Defensively they do a good job and their length bothered us."