By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
LEXINGTON – Newport Central Catholic coach Ron Dawn thanked his players for making one of his dreams come true after they defeated Murray, 75-54, in the quarterfinal round of the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys Sweet 16 state tournament on Friday at Rupp Arena.
“I told them in (the locker room) after the game I’ve been hoping to get to the final four,” Dawn said. “I’ve been coming (to the state tournament) since 1973 as either a player or coach or spectator and I’d just love to get to the final four one time. I said, ‘If you get to the final four, anything can happen down here.’”
Dawn’s theory will be put to the test Saturday when NewCath (30-4) faces Lexington Dunbar (31-6), the top-ranked team in the state tournament, in a semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. If the Thoroughbreds pull off that upset, they’ll make it to the Sweet 16 state championship game for the first time in school history.
NewCath advanced to the semifinal round for the first time since 1953 with a solid performance at both ends of the court in Friday’s game, especially in the first half when the 9th Region champs took a 38-17 lead.
The Thoroughbreds shot 61.1 percent (11 of 18) from the field overall and 70 percent (7 of 10) from behind the 3-point line in the first half. Murray wasn’t able to keep up with that scoring barrage because the Tigers made just 22.7 percent (5 of 22) of their field goal attempts during the first 16 minutes.
“Our guys were really focused at the start of the game, making sure we were doing a real solid job defensively and getting good shots on each possession to get us off to a quick start,” Dawn said.
NewCath senior forward Ben Weyer made three shots from behind the 3-point line to account for nine of his 13 points in the first half. Sophomore guard Brennan Hall hit a pair of treys and had 12 points at the break.
Murray scored a flurry of points at the end of the third quarter that reduced the margin to 14 points, 52-38. But Weyer swished his fifth 3-pointer of the game to sidetrack that rally and put NewCath back in control.
“That certainly was a big one,” Murray coach Bart Flener said of Weyer’s three. “We were trying to get it down to 10 (points), a working margin that we could deal with going into the fourth quarter, and that shot stretched it back out.”
NewCath opened the fourth quarter with an 11-4 run that put the game away. Hall scored the first seven points during that spurt and finished with 21. Weyer ended up with 27 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three assists.
“He’s the best player I feel like we’ve played against all year,” Flener said of Weyer. “His versatility is outstanding.”
Dawn said Weyer has been his team’s most consistent 3-point shooter all season and the cavernous background behind the baskets at Rupp Arena didn’t cause him any problems Friday when he went 5-of-6 from behind the arc.
“Once you see the first one go in, the rim just seems so much bigger,” Weyer said. “I just felt comfortable after that first one and when I’m shooting like that I’m pretty tough to guard.”
NewCath ended up shooting 46.7 percent (21 of 45) overall and 61.1 percent (11 of 18) from long range. Murray’s finals numbers were 29.1 percent (16 of 55) overall and 27.8 percent (5 of 18) from 3-point land.
The Tigers’ only double-figure scorer was senior forward Ethan Clark with 10 points. Junior guard Preston English, who scored 21 points in Murray’s first-round win on Wednesday, had just nine points against NewCath.
Dawn gave senior guards Eric and Brian Anderson much of the credit for his team’s defensive success.
“They’re both really solid defensively,” Dawn said. “A lot of times that gets overlooked, but these two guys bring so much energy to our team with their defense. They play so hard it means a lot to our team.”
NEWCATH 17 21 17 20 – 75
MURRAY 8 9 21 16 – 54
NEWCATH (30-4): Weyer 8 6 27, Hall 6 7 21, B. Anderson 2 0 5, Moeves 2 1 5, E. Anderson 0 2 2, Pangallo 1 0 3, Ludwig 1 0 3, Neff 1 2 5, Wrobleski 0 1 1, Iles 0 2 2, Wurtz 0 1 1. Totals: 21 22 75.
MURRAY (30-6): Clark 3 2 10, Boone 2 4 8, Hornbuckle 1 1 3, English 3 1 9, Curtis 1 7 9, Foster 1 1 3, Flener 3 1 8, Duffy 1 0 2, Hilbreacht 1 0 2. Totals: 16 17 54.
3-pointers: NC – Weyer 5, Hall 2, Moeves, Pangallo, Ludwig, Neff. M – Clark 2, English 2, Flener.