By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
For the first time in three years, Campbell County senior forward Tanner Clos enjoyed the long drive home after his team’s final game in the 10th Region boys basketball tournament on Tuesday at Mason County Fieldhouse.
Campbell County defeated Scott, 68-60, in the regional championship final so the return trip was a joy ride compared to the last two years when Clos played on teams that lost regional playoff games on last-second shots.
“To be a senior in my last year and finally get the thing I’ve been dreaming of, it’s just so surreal,” Clos said. “And after the last two buzzer-beater losses, it makes it even sweeter. It’s really a dream come true.”
There were some tense moments in the closing seconds of Tuesday’s game when Scott made two 3-point goals to get as close as 66-62. After both teams committed turnovers, Campbell County senior Joel Day made a pair of free throws with 0:13 left to give his team a six-point lead. Scott then missed its final two 3-point attempts.
In last year’s regional final, Scott beat Campbell County on a last-second shot. Two years ago, Mason County did the same thing in a first-round game to end the Camels’ season.
Clos was a starter on both of those hard-luck teams so he’s thrilled to finally win a regional title. It means he and the other seniors on the Camels’ roster get to finish their high school careers playing in the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Sweet 16 boys state tournament.
Campbell County (28-5) has eight days to prepare for its first-round game against 2nd Region champion University Heights (23-7) at noon on Thursday, March 15 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
“I cannot wait to play on that floor that all those college players play on, ” Clos said. “It’s really going to be a good day.”
In the regional final, Clos was one of four double-figures scorers for Campbell County and raised his career point total over the 1,000 mark. Junior center Reid Jolly was the team leader with 21 points, followed by Clos (13), Day (11) and junior guard Drew Wilson (11).
Day made a pair of free throws to give Campbell County a 32-21 lead with 3:20 left in the second quarter. But Scott ended the period with an 11-2 run that cut the margin to 34-32.
At the break, Campbell County was shooting 57 percent (12 of 21) from the field compared to Scott’s 47 percent (11 of 23) and each team had 12 rebounds. There were 21 free throws in first half, the Camels made 9 of 10 and the Eagles were 9 of 12.
After Scott scored the last four points in the third quarter to take a 46-45 lead, Campbell County opened the fourth quarter with a 12-6 run to go ahead, 57-52, with less than four minutes left on the clock. The Camels scored nine of their last 11 points at the free throw line to come out on top.
Campbell County ended up shooting 54 percent (23 of 42) from the field and 80 percent (21 of 26) from the free throw line. The Camels also had a 33-20 rebounding advantage with Jolly pulling down 14.
Scott shot 45 percent (24 of 53) from the field and 71 percent (10 of 14) at the line. Senior guard Nelson Perrin made the two 3-point shots in the closing seconds to finish with 19 points. The Eagles’ other double-figure scorers were junior guards Michael Meister with 16 and Chad Ohmer with 14.
Campbell County coach Aric Russell named Clos, Jolly, Day and Wilson to the regional all-tournament team. Scott coach Steve Fromeyer selected Perrin, Ohmer and Meister.
All four of the Campbell County players were double-figure scorers in each of the team’s three regional tournament games. Jolly had three-game totals of 65 points and 32 rebounds. Day made 29 of 32 free throws during the tournament and is now shooting 87.6 percent (156 of 178) from the line this season.
Campbell County added the 10th Region championship trophy to the ones it won in 2001, 2014 and 2015 under coach Russell.
SCOTT 10 22 14 16 — 62
CAMPBELL CO. 14 20 11 23 — 68
SCOTT (23-9): Ohmer 6 2 14, Hunter 2 0 4, Meister 7 0 16, Perrin 6 5 19, Pouncy 1 2 4, Joyce 2 1 5. Totals: 24 10 62.
CAMPBELL COUNTY (28-5): Wilson 4 3 11, Jolly 7 7 21, Schaeffer 2 2 6, Clos 5 3 13, Day 2 6 11, Lawrence 3 0 6. Totals: 23 21 68.
3-pointers: S — Meister 2, Perrin 2. CC — Day.