By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The season-long debate over the best boys’ basketball team in Northern Kentucky will come to an end Saturday night when Covington Catholic and Cooper face off in the semifinals of the 9th Region tournament at BB&T Arena.
Both teams won regional first-round games by double-digit margins Wednesday night to set up the showdown between two of the top five teams in the latest Litkenhous statewide power ratings.
Cooper, last year’s regional champion and state runner-up, shot 54 percent (27 of 50) from the field with 11 3-point goals in a 70-60 win over Newport Central Catholic that lifted the Jaguars’ record to 25-5.
CovCath also shot 54 percent (23 of 42) and played stifling defense in a 64-21 victory over St. Henry that extended the Colonels’ winning streak to 17 games and advanced their record to 29-4.
There wasn’t a big crowd watching either of those two first-round games, but the semifinal match-up at 8:30 p.m. Saturday is expected to attract huge numbers. The final score will also draw interest from all across Kentucky because one of the leading state title contenders will be eliminated.
In the final regular-season Litkenhous statewide power rankings, CovCath was No. 4 and Cooper was tied for No. 5. The Jaguars defeated the Colonels in last year’s regional final and the teams split the two games they played this season.
“We’re excited,” Cooper senior guard Braydon Runion said of Saturday’s rematch. “I know everybody’s been wanting to see it and I know we’re going to be super amped up.”
“Obviously, we know each other very well,” said CovCath coach Scott Ruthsatz. “They got us once and we got them once (this season) so it’s 0-0 now. I think both teams and both (coaching) staffs will be busy the next two days trying to figure things out. We’ve just got to go out there and execute.”
Runion made five 3-point goals and scored a team-high 25 points in Cooper’s first-round win over NewCath. Senior guard Adam Kunkel also had a big game, getting 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for a rare triple-double.
A breakaway basket by Kunkel with 5:21 left in the second quarter put the Jaguars ahead, 28-18, and they maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game to post their 11th straight win.
NewCath shot 52.2 percent (23 of 44) from the field and senior guard Brandon Hall pumped in 24 points, but it wasn’t enough to outscore Cooper. The Jaguars moved the ball so well on offense that they had 24 assists on 27 field goals.
“We’re blessed with great kids who care for one another and don’t care about who scores,” said Cooper coach Tim Sullivan. “It’s contagious when our guys play like that and play for one another. That’s what we talk about every day, and that’s the result.”
CovCath senior guards C.J. Fredrick and Aiden Ruthsatz, the coach’s son, accounted for nearly half of their team’s scoring in the win over St. Henry. Fredrick finished with 16 points, followed by Ruthsatz with 15. Together, they were 11-of-18 from the field overall and 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point line.
“They’ve been handling most of what we do on offense as far as getting us into sets and they’re our two major (scoring) options that we have,” coach Ruthsatz said. “In our big games, they’ve been the two who really set the tone early on.”
On defense, CovCath forced 19 turnovers and held St. Henry to 25 percent (9 of 35) shooting from the field. But the Colonels will be facing a much more talented offensive team in the semifinal game against Cooper.
“They kind of spread you out (on defense) and run sets that get their shooters the ball,” Ruthsatz said. “We’ve seen them (do that) in different situations. We just have to sit down and make sure our boys are ready to go against it.”
COOPER 18 20 19 17 — 74
NEWCATH 13 11 14 22 — 60
COOPER (25-5): Kunkel 7 0 14, Ollier 2 2 7, Runion 10 0 25, McNeil 2 2 8, Walters 4 0 9, Houston 1 0 3, Spencer 1 3 6, Shidler 0 2 2. Totals: 27 9 74.
NEWCATH (16-13): Hall 8 5 24, Pangallo 5 0 14, Luken 7 1 15, Posey 3 0 7. Totals: 23 6 60.
3-pointers: C — Runion 5, Mcneil 2, Ollier, Walter, Houston, Spencer. NC — Pangallo 4, Hall 3, Posey.
COVCATH 17 20 12 15 — 64
ST. HENRY 6 7 3 5 — 21
COVCATH (29-4): Fredrick 5 5 16, Disken 1 0 2, Thelen 1 0 2, Fleek 2 0 4, Collins 1 0 2, Davin 1 0 2, A.J. Mayer 2 4 8, M. Mayer 1 3 5, Ruthsatz 6 0 15, Green 1 0 2, Walter 2 2 6. Totals: 23 14 64.
ST. HENRY (12-17): Berling 1 0 2, McArtor 0 2 2, Vieth 2 0 4, Croyle 2 1 5, Becker 1 0 2, Westerback 2 0 4, Bessler 1 0 2. Totals: 9 3 21.
3-pointers: CC — Ruthsatz 3, Fredrick.
9TH REGION TOURNAMENT AT BB&T ARENA
Saturday
Holy Cross (14-16) vs. Dixie Heights (17-14), 7 p.m.
Cooper (25-5) vs. Covington Catholic (29-4), 8:30 p.m.
Monday
Championship game, 7 p.m.