By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
The final statistics told the story behind Newport Central Catholic’s 48-34 win over Cooper in the first round of the 9th Region boys’ basketball tournament on Friday at BB&T Arena.
NewCath shot a lukewarm 41.6 percent (15 of 36) from the field, but that was much better than Cooper’s icy 29.9 percent (11 of 46). The Thoroughbreds also finished with a 31-22 rebounding advantage.
The contrast in those statistics was mainly due to Cooper missing its first 15 field goal attempts of the game and not getting a single offensive rebound during the first half when NewCath took a commanding 26-9 lead.
The Jaguars played much better in the second half and got as close a seven points, 32-25, late in the third quarter. But the Thoroughbreds held off the rally to come away with the win.
“We knew they were going to hit their shots eventually,” said NewCath forward Ben Weyer. “They just didn’t fall in the first half and that’s how we got that lead. When they started hitting a few shots in the second half, then I got a little nervous, but we just trusted each other and took care of business.”
Weyer scored nine of his game-high 16 points in the second half to help his team maintain a lead. The 6-foot-7 senior also made a big defensive play late in the fourth quarter that affected the outcome of the game.
With a little over two minutes left on the clock, Cooper had a chance to cut the lead to six points when Weyer blocked a shot and then got the rebound on a missed stick-back attempt. After that play, NewCath scored six straight points to clinch the win.
“I just think it shows that’s we’ve grown a lot,” Weyer said of stopping Cooper’s comeback. “When we play together, I just think we’re a hard team to beat.”
Cooper’s leading scorer was junior Sean McNeil with 14 points. He and sophomore guard Adam Kunkel returned to the starting lineup Friday after sitting out several games with injuries. But the Jaguars had to play without another starter, Dante Hendrix, who has a cast on his left arm.
Cooper coach Tim Sullivan was asked if constantly changing his lineup due to injuries was a factor in his team’s shaky start in Friday’s game.
“Probably,” Sullivan said. “In the first half, I think we were pressing a little bit and guys were trying to maybe do a little too much on their own. In the second half, we starting trusting each other again and got the ball moving and great things happened.”
The Cooper coach said his players were dejected after the season-ending loss, but their comeback was pretty impressive.
“I knew we would fight back in the second half because of all the adversity we’ve been through (with injuries),” Sullivan said. “It didn’t surprise me in the second half to see them fight like they did.”
NewCath (26-4) will play Holy Cross (23-8) in a regional semifinal game at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The teams faced each other twice during the regular season with Holy Cross winning the first game, 65-60, on its home court and NewCath winning the second game, 70-52, in the championship final of the 9th Region All “A” Classic at Lloyd.
In that second game, Holy Cross senior Tyler Bezold sprained his ankle in the first quarter and wasn’t able to return. He’ll be back in the Indians’ starting lineup for Sunday’s game.
NEWCATH 12 14 9 13 — 48
COOPER (24-5): S. McNeil 4 5 14, C. McNeil 1 2 5, Rohlman 1 0 3, Kunkel 2 0 4, Runion 3 1 8. Totals: 11 8 34.
NEWCATH (26-4): Hall 2 6 12, B. Anderson 0 2 2, Moeves 4 0 11, E. Anderson 1 0 2, Weyer 5 5 16, Ludwig 1 0 3, Neff 1 0 2. Totals: 15 13 48.
3-pointers: C — Runion, C. McNeil, S. McNeil, Rohlman. NC — Moeves 3, Weyer, Ludwig.