By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
Ken Chevalier’s final season as head coach of the Dixie Heights boys’ basketball team could be something special if the Colonels continue to play like they did in a 61-55 win over Newport Central Catholic on Thursday.
Dixie Heights opened the second half with a 12-0 run to take a 42-29 lead and then held off a furious comeback by the defending 9th Region champions to come away with the home court victory that lifted the team’s record to 3-0.
“When you have that game when you’re up 13 or 14 and it looks like it’s going to be a blowout and the next thing you know it’s a one-point game, then you have to settle in and make the plays to get it done,” Chevalier said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our team (for doing that).”
Dixie Heights senior guard R.J. Schweitzer made three of his five 3-point shots during the second half and finished with a team-high 18 points. After NewCath cut the Colonels’ lead to 52-51 with 2:56 left on the clock, Schweitzer’s last three-pointer sparked a game-clinching 9-4 run by his team.
“We’ve got four kids in our starting lineup who can score 15 to 18 points on any given night, and he’s one of them,” Chevalier said of Schweitzer.
The other double-figure scorers for Dixie Heights were senior point guard Hunter Meyer with 16 points and 6-foot-5 senior forward Reed Bradfield with 12.
“I thought that (Bradfield) did a good job defending and kind of disrupting shots when (NewCath) did get deeper on middle penetration,” Chevalier said. “I think he’s one of the best (inside players) in the area so we’ve just got to keep him focused.”
With less than two minutes left in the game, Meyer snagged a defensive rebound and zipped up the court for a driving layup that gave the Colonels a 57-53 lead. NewCath struggled to score after that, going 1-for-7 from the field on its last four possessions.
The top scorer for NewCath was senior guard Luke Moeves with 18 points. He got 11 of those in the final 10 minutes to lead his team’s comeback, but it came up short.
Chevalier, 52, told the Dixie Heights players that this would be his final season as head coach before the first game. He now has a 228-136 record in the 13 seasons that he has been in charge of the program. He was an assistant coach and basketball official earlier in his career.
“I’m doing it for the right reasons,” Chevalier said of leaving coaching. “I’ve sacrificed a lot of family functions for the betterment of our program and our players. It’s time to be committed to the wife and the kids and the grand kids, and to transition to the next career.”
The players want to make this a season that Chevalier will remember after he steps down, and they’re off to a good start with a 3-0 record that includes the team’s first win over NewCath since 2012.
“He just told us in practice one day that this would be his last season and that just motivated us, like we’ve got to do it for coach,” Schweitzer said.
Chevalier will close out his coaching career with his son, Kyle, beside him. He’s one of the team’s varsity assistants this season along with Roddy Stainforth, who has been on the Dixie Heights coaching staff since Chevalier took over the program.
Last week, Kyle Chevalier was on the way to his first game as the team’s junior varsity coach when he got caught in the massive traffic gridlock that was created when President-Elect Donald Trump visited the area on Dec. 1.
Kyle parked his car and ran more than two miles to the Dixie Heights gym so he wouldn’t miss the jayvee game. When he got there, he needed a trainer to treat open blisters on both of his heels after running that far in dress shoes.
“It’s one of those things where you want to be there for the kids, especially for the first game,” he said. “When I look back on it, I’m sure it’ll be a great story to tell.”
DIXIE HEIGHTS 12 18 16 15 – 61
NEWCATH 12 17 9 17 – 55
DIXIE HEIGHTS (3-0): Meyer 7 2 16, Schreck 2 4 8, Thornberry 1 3 5, Bradfield 5 2 12, Schweitzer 6 1 18, Cox 0 1 1. Totals: 21 13 61.
NEWCATH (2-0): Hall 5 0 12, Pangallo 4 2 12, Moeves 6 3 18, Wurtz 5 0 10, McDaniel 0 1 1, Neff 0 2 2. Totals: 20 8 55.
Three-pointers: DH – Schweitzer 5, Thornberry. NC – Moeves 3, Pangallo 2, Hall 2.