Ballard and Warren Central gain semi-final berths

Two former state champions will collide in the second semi-final on Saturday morning, as the Ballard Bruins and the Warren Central Dragons each earned impressive wins over to very good teams in the last 2 quarter-finals games Friday night.

Ballard showed why they are the hottest team in the state right now, clicking on all cylinders, as evident in their 71-48 win over Clark Co. Friday night.

Ballard ran off 23 consecutive points in the 2nd quarter, turning a close 2 ball game into 25 in less than 5 minutes, on their way to a 45-17 halftime score.

That would be more than enough for Ballard to plant themselves in the semi-finals, and the Bruins would make sure that there would be no great comeback of any kind by the Cardinals on this night, extending their lead to as much as 32 in the third quarter, well on their way to a semi-final berth.

Early on, it seemed as if Clark was going to show why they felt they could beat anyone in the state, regardless of who they were facing.  Beating the state's former number 3 team in the regional finals on their home floor in Mason County, and then a very good Christian County team in the first round of the state tournament, these Cardinals had that feeling and look that they could compete with anybody.

Even after they fell behind 14-2 early in the first period, Clark County came storming back with a 10-0 run to get within 2 at 14-12.

But the Bruins put a stop to any threat of an upset by outscoring Clark 31-5 the rest of the way in the second quarter, and again, 23 of those points came in consecutive fashion.

Ballard shot a whopping 61% from the field in the first half, and were almost perfect in the second quarter when they made the big run. It also helped that Clark County shot so poorly from the field, not just in the first half, but for the entire ball game, making only 5-of-26 shots in half number one, and 8-of-24 in the second, 26% for the game.

The Bruins were led in scoring by Twany Beckham's 22 points, and Johonne Hamilton, Timothy Pryor and David Stanley each added 10.

For Clark County, they were led in scoring by their leading scorer on the year in Preston Knowles, who had 18.

In the last quarter-final game  of the day, the experience and depth of Warren Central simply proved to be too much for the Lions of Elliott County to overcome, as the Dragons overcame another team's hot start, just like they did against June Buchanan in round one, to come from behind early and pull away for the 92-76 win, and earn a place in the semi-finals opposite Ballard.

After jumping out to an early 9-1 lead, the Dragons saw the Lions go on a 12-2 run to take the lead at 13-11 with 3:26 to go in the first quarter.

That would be the last time Elliott would lead in the game, as Warren Central would go on a little 7-0 run of their own to move back out in front, 18-13, and the scoring would continue to rise, as the Dragons led after one quarter, 28-23.

Elliott would get as close as 4 on two separate occassions, with the last being 33-29 with 5:37 to play in the half. But from that point on, it would be all Warren Central as they would end the half with a 16-6 spurt to take a 49-35 lead into the break.

The deficit would grow by as much as 19, with the Dragons leading 72-53 after three, and reach 28 in the final stanza, before the Lions would make one final push to make things respectable. Coach Rick Mays' bunch did not throw in the towel even after falling behind by the big margin, going on a 13-0 run to get within 15, 83-68, against the reserves of Warren Central.

But coach Riley put a stop to that, reinserting his starters, who brought home the 16 point win.

For the Dragons, they were led in scoring by their leader, Jeremy Anderson, who bounced back very nicely after his 2 point outing against June Buchanan in the first round. Anderson led the way with 25 points. Monie Hudson had a nice game with 19 points, and Joe Hood contiued his hot shooting from behind the arc, hitting 3-of 3, and getting 14 points. Hood is now 8 out of 10 from 3-point range in two games.

In the game, Warren Central continued to shoot the ball well as a team for the second game in a row, finishing 39 for 64 from the field. That is 61%.

Elliott County was led in scoring by Jonathon Ferguson, sharing game-high honors with Warren Central's Anderson, finishing with 25. In two games, Ferguson scored 28 and 25 points, all but assuring himself a place on the all-tournament team. Evan Faulkner added 18 points, and brother Ethan chipped in with 11.

The Lions made the most of their first-ever state tournament appearance. And with this young team, they could be back a couple of more times.

Now, on to the semi-finals on Saturday morning, as Scott County will face Covington Holmes, followed by Ballard and Warren Central. Should be some great basketball action.

Posted by: Marc Hall

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