Seventh Region preview? Cole Edelen, Male boys basketball exact revenge against Ballard

Two local boys high school basketball powers with aspirations for a deep postseason run met for the second time in less than two weeks Friday night, and this time, it was Male that came out with the victory.

But not without a fight from visiting Ballard, the No. 4 team in this week's Courier Journal Kentucky High School Media Poll.

Cole Edelen scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the first half to lead the host Bulldogs (13-10), who withstood a furious second-half rally by the Bruins (17-3) to pull out an 81-76 win in a rematch of the Jan. 14 Louisville Invitational Tournament championship Ballard won 80-71.

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Here are three observations from Friday's classic:

Cole Edelen stole the show

As big as the freshman guard was in the first half, he was even bigger come crunch time.

The Bulldogs led by as much as 51-34 at halftime, only to see the Bruins storm all the way back and take a 71-70 lead after a Sam Frazier 3-pointer from the corner with 2:25 left in the game.

It was a see-saw affair the rest of the way, and Edelen got a steal off a Ballard inbounds play and converted it into a fast-break layup to extend Male's lead to 76-73 with 1:06 left.

Edelen credited his teammates for setting up traps on the sideline play that allowed him to capitalize on an errant pass. Male coach Tim Haworth said that play shows Edelen's poise, even for an underclassman.

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"I think Cole has composure as a freshman," he said. "Offensively and defensively, he's very smart, and so if you got that kind of composure, you're going to be a great player."

"People will look at our record, they think it's down, and they don't really believe in us," Edelen said. "We lost to them last time. It was a close game, but I think tonight just boosts our confidence to another level."

Edelen was one of four Bulldogs to score in double figures. Senior guard Jack Edelen, Cole's older brother, finished with 16. Jayson Gasaway added 12, and Meechie White posted 10.

Miles Franklin sparks Ballard comeback

Both teams shot well in the first half. The Bulldogs shot 59.4% (19 of 32), including making 9 of 16 3-pointers. Ballard hit on 53.8% in the first half, but seven turnovers were costly.

The Bruins were able to cut down on the turnovers, and in the third quarter, they were able to keep Edelen from getting good looks. They also crashed the boards hard on the offensive glass. They got four straight rebounds off close misses on one third-quarter possession before finally scoring on a Xavier Zubric put-back.

Miles Franklin scored 10 of his 27 points in the third quarter, which ended on a 15-3 run over the final 4:08 to cut the Male lead to 60-57.

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Ballard coach Greg Willis talked his team up after the hard loss. He then recalled a saying the late Bobby Keith, a legendary Clay County coach, used to say: "A loss isn't a bad thing as long as you learn from it, and it doesn't happen very often. So that's kind of where we stand right now, sitting at 17-3. I like where we are."

So, what was the lesson Friday?

"We just like to be the one that goes up early, kind of like we did in the LIT game," Willis said. "They're really good, and they're going to be prepared. We've got to continue to get better."

Gabe Sisk added 18 points for the Bruins.

Rubber match looming?

Dating back to the 2019-2020 season, Male and Ballard have faced each other eight times. The Bulldogs have won six of those, including last year's 82-80 Seventh Region final that went to triple overtime.

Given their history, both teams expect to face each other one more time at some point in this year's Seventh Region tournament.

But it will be a challenge for both, Haworth said.

"There's a number of teams in the Seventh Region that can beat both of us," he said. "So, we got to be on guard for everybody, but yeah, I'll always expect Ballard and Male reaching the final."

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Male vs Ballard boys basketball: Cole Edelen scores 28 in Bullodgs win