By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Walton-Verona boys’ basketball team’s quarterfinal game in the Kentucky All “A” Classic got off to a late start Friday night, but the Bearcats were ready to go and rolled to a 57-33 win over Clinton County at McBrayer Arena in Richmond.
Shortly after the 10 p.m. tip-off, Walton-Verona (17-4) scored 10 straight points in the first quarter to take a 13-6 lead and extended it to 27-13 by halftime.
In the second half, the Bearcats shot 59 percent (13 of 22) from the field and continued to pull away. They have now won 10 games by margins of 10 points or more this season.
On defense, Walton-Verona’s full-court pressure was so effective that Clinton County finished with 10 turnovers and just 11 field goals. The Bulldogs’ only double-figure scorer was Jackson Harlan, who got eight of his 13 points in the first quarter.
The top scorers for the Bearcats were senior forward Austin Lay with 14 points and junior guard Grant Grubbs with 10. Senior forward Zach Clinkenbeard had seven points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
The semifinal matchups on Saturday will be Lexington Christian vs. Knott County Central at 6 p.m. and Walton-Verona vs. Mayfield at 7:30 p.m. The winners will meet in the championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Walton-Verona and Holy Cross girls’ teams were eliminated in Friday’s quarterfinal round along with the Beechwood boys’ team that was making its first-ever appearance in a state basketball tournament.
CLINTON COUNTY 8 5 9 11 – 33
WALTON-VERONA 15 12 18 12 – 57
CLINTON COUNTY (15-8): Harlan 5-9 3-4 13, Stockton 3-12 0-0 6, Guffey 1-1 1-2 3, Brown 1-3 0-0 3, Hadley 1-1 0-0 3, Hill 0-1 2-2 2, Stines 0-2 2-2 2, Eli Baker 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 11-34 9-12 33.
WALTON-VERONA (17-4): Lay 6-10 2-2 14, Grubbs 4-8 0-1 10, Pardee 2-4 4-6 8, Bonne 4-6 0-2 8, Clinkenbeard 3-4 0-0 7, Jones 1-4 0-0 3, Watson 1-1 0-0 3, Stanley 1-3 0-0 2, Shazier 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 23-45 6-11 57.
3-point goals: CC — Brown, Hadley. WV — Grubbs 2, Clinkenbeard, Watson, Jones.
Knott County Central 51, Beechwood 33
Beechwood shot 22 percent (5 of 22) from the field in the second half and Knott County Central steadily pulled away to end the Tigers’ state basketball tournament debut.
In the first half, Beechwood made five 3-point shots and trailed 20-17 at the break. But the Tigers were outscored 31-16 in the final two quarters and finished with their lowest scoring total of the season.
Knott Central opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run to open up a 30-17 lead. Beechwood ran off seven straight points to pull within 30-24, but the momentum switched back to the Patriots, who led 35-24 going into the fourth quarter.
Beechwood ended up shooting 27 percent (11 of 40) from the field overall and went 6-of-23 from 3-point range. The team’s leading scorer was C.J. Brannen with 10 points. Scotty Draud had nine points when he fouled out in the fourth quarter. Knott Central shot 51 percent (16 of 31) and went 5-of-8 on 3-point attempts.
KNOTT CENTRAL 6 14 15 16 – 51
BEECHWOD 5 12 7 9 – 33
KNOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (16-4): Caudill 6-11 6-7 20, B. Couch 4-7 5-6 13, G. Couch 2-3 0-0 6, Hofsess 2-4 1-2 5, Slone 2-5 0-0 5, McGuire 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 16-31 14-17 51.
BEECHWOOD (13-10): Brannen 4-14 0-0 10, Draud 2-11 3-4 9, Toebbe 1-4 2-2 4, Deathrage 1-2 0-1 3, Schilling 1-5 0-0 3, Duncan Baugh 1-3 0-0 2, Dayton Baugh 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 11-40 5-7 33.
3-pointers: KCC — Couch 2, Caudill 2, Slone. B — Draud 2, Brannen 2, Deathrage, Schilling.
Murray 57, Holy Cross 47
After Holy Cross tied the score in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, Murray went on a 12-2 run to open up a 51-41 lead and made six free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
Holy Cross shot 43 percent (17 of 39) from the field compared to Murray’s 35 percent (14 of 40). But the Tigers outscored the Indians 22-12 at the foul line and 21-7 from behind the 3-point arc.
The leading scorers for Holy Cross were freshman center Sydney Thomas with 15 points and senior guard Bailee Harney with 14. The Indians had some trouble taking care of the ball. They committed 15 turnovers, including 10 steals by the Tigers. In the fourth quarter, Murray scored six of its 18 points off turnovers.
HOLY CROSS 8 14 15 10 – 47
MURRAY 14 13 12 18 – 57
HOLY CROSS (13-8): Thomas 7-12 1-6 15, Harney 3-8 8-10 14, Crigler 2-3 0-0 5, McClendon 2-3 1-1 5, Simpson 1-5 1-2 3, Chames 1-6 1-2 3, Rankin 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 17-39 12-21 47.
MURRAY (20-2): Turley 5-13 6-6 18, Mayes 3-6 8-8 16, Curtis 3-10 1-3 10, Burpo 2-9 6-14 10, Carver 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 14-40 22-33 57.
3-point goals: HC — Crigler. M — Curtis 3, Mayes 2, Turley 2.
Williamsburg 51, Walton-Verona 47 OT
Walton-Verona struggled on offense and still managed to take the game into overtime before losing in the final seconds.
The Bearcats ended up shooting 33 percent (16 of 48) from the field with 13 turnovers. The team’s only double-figure scorer was Haylee Neeley with 14 points. She made a layup with 16 seconds left in fourth quarter to tie the score at 43-43 and send the game into overtime.
After neither team scored during the first two minutes of the extra period, Williamsburg made a field goal and six free throws to come out on top.
There were 13 ties and 15 lead changes during the game. Addisyn Michael and Rachel Lehkamp scored a combined total of 12 points off the bench for the Bearcats to help keep the score close.
WILLIAMSBURG 7 12 11 13 8 – 51
WALTON-VERONA 7 11 12 13 4 – 47
WILLIAMSBURG (15-7): Hall 5-8 7-7 18, Abbott 6-13 0-0 15, Gibson 3-8 3-6 9, Tye 2-3 0-0 4, Chapman 1-3 0-0 3, Lester 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 18-38 10-13 51.
WALTON-VERONA (15-6): Neeley 5-10 4-4 14, Perry 4-16 0-2 9, Struck 1-3 5-6 7, Michael 2-5 0-0 6, Lehkamp 3-7 0-1 6; Poore 0-3 3-3 3, Gutman 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 16-48 12-16 47.
3-pointers: W — Abbott 3, Chapman, Hall. WV — Michael 2, Perry.