By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

After winning 17 straight games by an average margin of 30 points, the Covington Catholic boys’ basketball team had to battle from start to finish to beat Cooper, 53-49, in a 9th Region semifinal game on Saturday at BB&T Arena.

More than 6,000 fans came out to watch the showdown between the top two teams in the Northern Kentucky coaches poll and the winner wasn’t decided until the the last 45 seconds when CovCath made six of eight free throws to come out on top.

“Our guys are playing hard because a lot of us are in our senior years so we’re going to play our hearts out,” CovCath senior guard Aiden Ruthsatz said after the tension-packed victory that raised his team’s record to 30-4.

CovCath advances to the 9th Region championship game for the sixth consecutive year and plays Dixie Heights (18-14) at 7 p.m. Monday to decide a berth in the “Sweet 16” state tournament. The Colonels were upset in the regional final the last two years and the seniors don’t want that to happen again.

“They’ve got a lot of good shooters and I’m sure they’ll come out with a good defense and try to stop us,” Ruthsatz said of Dixie Heights . “They’re a good team, but I think we can pull it out.”

Cooper beat CovCath in last year’s regional final and the teams split the two games they played against each this season. In the regional rematch on Saturday, the Colonels went on a 7-0 run over a five-minute span in the fourth quarter to take a 43-36 lead. The Jaguars missed five jump shots and committed one turnover during that stretch.

“We had good shots and they just didn’t fall, and that’s what it all boiled down to,” said Cooper coach Tim Sullivan.

CovCath did all of its scoring at the free throw line in the fourth quarter, hitting 17 of 20 attempts. Ruthsatz made eight of those foul shots to finish with a team-high 18 points.

“All of our players know when you get to the fourth quarter all we need is layups and free throws,” he said. “We don’t need threes and pull-ups. You just need to go for layups and free throws, and that’s what we did.”

CovCath’s other double-figure scorers were senior forwards C.J. Fredrick (16) and A.J. Mayer (11).  Mayer also snagged eight rebounds for the Colonels, who finished with a 21-16 advantage on the boards.

“A.J. is a rebounding machine,” CovCath coach Scott Ruthsatz said of Mayer, who missed several games with a knee injury. “Getting him back gives us so much with his athleticism and being a competitor. He’s definitely a contributor at a very high level for us.”

Cooper senior guard Adam Kunkel scored 18 points, even though there was a defender on him the entire game. After CovCath opened up a 30-22 lead in the third quarter, he got nine points to fuel a 13-6 run that put the Jaguars back in the game.

“He’s a warrior,” coach Sullivan said. “To be able to go out at a scrawny 165 pounds and be able to compete at the level he does just amazes me.”

COVCATH         14  9  13  17 — 53
COOPER           14  6  15  14 — 49

COVCATH (30-4): Fredrick 4 7 16, A.J. Mayer 3 4 11, M. Mayer 1 0 2, Ruthsatz 3 10 18, Nowak 1 0 3, Walter 0 3 3. Totals: 12 24 53.

COOPER (25-6): Kunkel 5 7 18, Runion 2 2 6, McNeil 1 0 2, Walters 5 0 13, Shidler 1 0 2, Houston 2 0 5, Spencer 1 1 3. totals: 17 10 49.

3-pointers: COVC — Ruthsatz 2, Nowak, A.J. Mayer, Fredrick. COOP — Walters 3, Houston, Kunkel.

Dixie Heights 62, Holy Cross 51

The Dixie Heights boys’ basketball team that started the season with four first-year starters in the lineup and lost seven of their first nine games is one win away from claiming the 9th Region championship.

Dixie Heights defeated Holy Cross, 62-51, in a semifinal game on Saturday to advance to the regional final for the first time since 2011. A balanced scoring attack carried the Colonels (18-14) to the victory. Four of the five starters finished with double-figure point totals.

“When you get to this stage (of the playoffs) and you’re playing a good team, you need a good team effort,” said Dixie Heights first-year head coach Roddy Stainforth. “It’s hard to be successful with one guy doing everything. You need other guys to step up, and we had a lot of guys step up tonight.”

There were five ties and nine lead changes before Dixie Heights went on a 14-3 run to take a 52-42 lead late in the fourth quarter. All five of the team’s starters had a field goal during that spurt.

The Colonels protected the lead by making nine of 16 free throws in the final 1:38 of the game. Junior guard Jamin Shumate made six of them to finish with a team-high 15 points.

In the fourth quarter, Holy Cross was 5-of-14 from the field, committed five turnovers and did not get any second-chance points.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to get stops (on defense),” Stainforth said. “That’s what it comes down to, your kids have to guard their kids. We teach it and preach it and our kids are buying into it.”

The Colonels ended up shooting 43.7 percent (21 of 48) from the field compared to the Indians’ 38.7 percent (19 of 49). Holy Cross senior guard Nolan Schrand finished with a game-high 23 points. In the second quarter, he scored all 11 of his team’s points to give the Indians a 25-22 halftime lead.

Dixie Heights will face Covington Catholic in the regional championship game at 7 p.m. Monday. CovCath is riding an 18-game winning streak that includes an 81-37 win over Dixie Heights on Feb. 9.

Dixie Heights senior captain Tyler Schreck knew his team would be the underdog in the regional final before the other semifinal game began.

“Whoever we get we’re going to give it our all,” he said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. We’re going to go out there and put it all on the court.”

HOLY CROSS      14  11  11  15 — 51
DIXIE HEIGHTS   11  11  16  24 — 62

HOLY CROSS (14-17): Wahl 1 0 2, Schrand 8 4 23, Zimmerman 4 0 11, Niehaus 3 2 9, Knochelman 1 0 2, Lewis 1 0 2, Gonzales 1 0 2. Totals: 19 6 51.

DIXIE HEIGHTS (18-14): Karim 5 3 13, Schreck 4 5 13, Shumate 3 7 15, Gentry 4 1 9, Trimpe 5 0 10. Totals: 21 16 62.

3-pointers: HC — Schrand 3, Zimmerman 3, Niehaus. DH — Karim 2, Shumate 2.