By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
The Covington Catholic boys’ basketball team had big leads going into the fourth quarter of its first three post-season playoff games, but the Colonels had to battle until the end in the semifinals of the 9th Region tournament on Sunday.
The Colonels stepped up to the challenge and defeated Conner, 64-55, to advance to the regional final for the fourth consecutive year. They’ll play Newport Central Catholic in the title game at 7 p.m. Monday at BB&T Arena.
“I think it was good for us,” CovCath junior guard Cole VonHandorf said of the tight semifinal game. “We figured out that we aren’t all that good. Sometimes we’ll struggle and we’ve got to overcome it and make free throws at the end and lock down on defense.”
That’s exactly what the Colonels did to win their 17th straight game. In the final four minutes, CovCath outscored Conner, 16-10, by making 16 of 20 free throws while preventing the Cougars from getting points on five of their final 11 offensive possessions.
VonHandorf was 6-for-6 at the line in those closing minutes and finished with 22 points to lead his team in scoring for the fifth consecutive game. CovCath coach Scott Ruthsatz was glad to have the third-year starter on the court when it came to crunch time because most of his teammates are first-year starters.
“Overall, I think just the leadership from Cole towards the end in controlling the ball showed those other guys how this thing works, extending the lead and getting back to that championship game,” Ruthsatz said.
In the first half, CovCath made five 3-point goals and shot 50 percent (12 of 24) from the field compared to Conner’s 29 percent (5 of 17). The Cougars did made seven free throws, but they were behind 30-17 going into the second half.
CovCath sophomore point guard Aiden Ruthsatz, the head coach’s son, made three shots from behind the arc and scored 11 points in the first half. He also had three assists to help the Colonels’ offense get off to a good start.
But Conner opened the second half with a 7-0 run and sliced CovCath’s lead to 40-34 going into the fourth quarter. Senior guard Michael Scott had six points and two assists for the Cougars during that period.
CovCath maintained a lead in the fourth quarter, but there were a few tense moments for the Colonels. Conner ran off six straight points and pulled to within 48-45 on a 3-point basket by senior guard Kyler Padgett with 3:58 left on the clock.
With the game on the line, however, CovCath dialed up its defense and made the free throws it needed to come away with the victory.
“We can grind it out,” VonHandorf said of his team’s strong finish. “We had a bunch of those (close) games early on in the season playing Ohio teams. We hadn’t had one in a while and it really tested us.”
CovCath finished with a 23-15 scoring advantage at the free throw line and shot 47.3 percent (18 of 38) from the field. Conner shot 46.3 percent (19 of 41) with Scott scoring a team-high 22 points in his final game for the Cougars.
CovCath won 9th Region championship games the last two years with mostly seniors in the starting lineup. In Monday’s regional final, the Colonels will have one senior, one junior and three sophomores take the court for the tipoff.
That puts a lot of responsibility on VonHandorf since he’s the player with the most varsity playing experience, especially in playoff games. But he’s comfortable being in that position.
“I’ll take it,” he said. “I love being the leader and taking over and helping the team succeed.”
COVCATH 15 15 10 24 — 64
CONNER 11 6 17 21 — 55
COVCATH (28-6): Fredrick 5 3 13, VonHandorf 5 10 22, Mayer 2 5 9, Ruthsatz 5 5 18, Flood 1 0 2. Totals: 18 23 64.
CONNER (18-11): Scott 7 8 22, Garnett 4 0 8, Hemmerich 4 5 13, Connley 2 0 5, Gambrel 0 2 2, Padgett 1 0 3, Cook 1 0 2. Totals: 19 15 55.
3-pointers: CC — Ruthsatz 3, VonHandorf 2. CON — Connley, Padgett.