By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Covington Catholic will return to the “Sweet 16” boys state basketball tournament this week at Rupp Arena with a team that’s nothing like the one that carried off the championship trophy last March.
The CovCath team that defeated Beechwood, 64-48, in the 9th Region title game on Saturday at BB&T Arena is younger and doesn’t revolve around a high-scoring guard like C.J. Fredrick, last year’s most valuable player.
To carry on the program’s winning tradition, the Colonels’ new lineup had to learn how to combine their talents to be successful.
“Moving that new group up, we had some tough times during the course of the season,” said CovCath coach Scott Ruthsatz. “But, what can you say, these guys really stepped up and met the challenge.”
Playing in its first regional championship game since 1947, Beechwood had a 2-0 record against CovCath this season. More than 4,000 fans came out to watch the rematch and they saw the Colonels jump out to an 11-0 lead.
After Beechwood scored nine straight points, CovCath went on another run and took a 22-10 lead on back-to-back 3-point goals by juniors Jay Jackson and Joey Moser.
The Tigers cut it to 24-17 at halftime, but they were shooting just 25 percent (4 of 16) from the field at the break compared to CovCath’s 50 percent (10 of 20).
The Colonels came out in a box-and-one defense with one player staying on Beechwood sophomore guard Scott Draud, the team’s best shooter. The defense worked so well they stuck with it and outscored the Tigers, 19-7, in the third quarter to open up a 43-24 lead.
“You had to take him away,” Ruthsatz said of Draud. “He’s their leader and if he gets going it builds momentum for them, so we just had to keep him in check.”
After the Colonels opened up a 47-27 lead early in the fourth quarter, they scored 15 of their last 17 points on free throws. They went 15 of 32 at the line in that quarter, but it was enough to keep a comfortable lead as the Tigers continued to struggle with their shooting.
Beechwood ended up shooting 33.3 percent (15 of 45) from the field overall and 25 percent (7 of 28) from behind the 3-point line. Draud finished with a team-high 12 points, but that was 11 below his season average.
“They were chasing Scotty and our other guys had to make shots,” said Beechwood coach Erik Goetz. “We know that, and we have all year. We’re one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the state. That’s what we do. But on this floor the ball didn’t drop.”
CovCath shot 64.5 percent from the field (20 of 31). The team’s leading scorer was senior forward Nick Thelen with 22 points. He was named most valuable player on the all-tournament team.
Thelen was 9-for-9 from the field. He got several baskets on layups after his team broke through Beechwood’s full-court pressure.
“They pressed us a lot and it killed us the last two games,” Thelen said. “This time, we spread the floor better and got the ball to the middle and then kicked it out for transitions.”
The Colonels also got 33 points off the bench from Moser (13), Jackson (15) and junior forward Michael Mayer (5). They had a combined total of eight field goals and five of them were 3-pointers.
In the first round of the state tournament, CovCath will play 11th Region champion Scott County, the state’s top-ranked team, at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Rupp Arena. It will be a rematch of last year’s state championship game that was won by the Colonels.
“How many teams can lose seven seniors and all five starters and still be back in the mix,” coach Ruthsatz said of returning to the state tournament. “It just goes back to how we train. The jayvee (junior varsity) guys play against the varsity every day in practice and they know our expectations are high for them.”
COVCATH 11 13 19 21 — 64
BEECHWOOD 4 13 7 24 — 48
COVCATH (26-7): Disken 1 2 4, Moser 4 2 13, Jackson 3 7 15, Thelen 9 4 22, Mayer 1 3 5, Fleek 1 0 2, Green 1 0 2, Bowles 0 1 1. Totals: 20 19 64.
BEECHWOOD (29-5): Downton 2 1 7, Busald 0 2 2, Deatherage 2 2 7, Draud 4 2 12, Schilling 4 0 9, Brannen 3 3 10, Hughes 0 1 1. Totals: 15 11 48.
3-point goals: CC — Moser 3, Jackson 2. B — Downton 2, Draud 2, Schilling, Deatherage, Brannen.
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
CovCath – Nick Thelen (MVP), Michael Mayer, Grant Disken; Beechwood – CJ Brannen, Scotty Draud; Newport – Tahj Harding, Donnie Miller; Cooper – Caleb Hampton, Ty Houston; St. Henry – Jude Bessler; Conner – Jalen Scott; Highlands – Ben Sisson; Dixie Heights – Jabari Karim.
Walton-Verona 60, Oldham County 51
Walton-Verona won its first 8th Region post-season tournament with seniors Dieonte Miles, Kam Pardee and Garrett Jones all scoring in double figures in the championship game.
Jones finished with 16 points, followed by Miles with 15 and Pardee with 12. They made 13 of the team’s 19 field goals and 17 of the 19 free throws. The Bearcats had a 19-9 scoring advantage at the foul line with Jones getting 11 one-pointers.
The Bearcats (27-6) will play 13th Region champ Knox Central (30-4) in the opening game of the state tournament at noon on Wednesday at Rupp Arena.
Campbell County 61, George Rogers Clark 49
After being held to five points in the second quarter, Campbell County outscored George Rogers Clark, 43-23, to win the 10th Region championship game for the second consecutive year.
The Camels made 13 of 25 fields goals, including six 3-pointers, during their second-half surge with seniors Reid Jolly and Drew Wilson leading the way. Jolly finished with a 23 points and 13 rebounds. Wilson made five 3-point goals for 15 points.
Campbell County (29-4) will play undefeated 5th Region champion John Hardin (35-0) in the first round of the state tournament at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rupp Arena.