By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Lloyd won its first 9th Region boys basketball tournament game in 10 years on Saturday. The Juggernauts’ reward for that accomplishment is a semifinal game against perennial power Covington Catholic at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at BB&T Arena.

In the tournament’s opening round, Lloyd eliminated last year’s region and state champion Highlands, 75-64, and CovCath got past Cooper, 49-37, to set up the first game between the two teams since 2003.

CovCath came into the post-season playoffs ranked No. 3 in the state by the Associated Press media poll and the Colonels have a 10-1 record in region tournament games over the last five years.

But none of that seems to faze Lloyd coach Michael Walker.

“We’re intimidated by nobody,” Walker said. “You can bring Duke in the building and we’ll play Duke. That’s the way the chips fall at the end of the day. They’re a great team and we’re a great team. We’ll see how it plays out.”

The Juggernauts shot 57 percent from the field overall (23 of 40) and 57 percent (11 of 19) from behind the 3-point line in their victory over Highlands. The team leader was senior guard Ryan Davis, who made five treys and finished with 18 points.

Highlands also made 23 field goals, but the Bluebirds connected on just six of 17 3-point shots. Junior guard Will Herald had five treys and took game-high scoring honors with 29 points.

“We practiced that for the last five days,” Walker said of his team’s perimeter shooting. “We knew we had to make outside shots to get our inside game going.”

There were six lead changes in the first half that ended with Highlands holding a 31-28 lead. Herald scored 16 points in the first 16 minutes for the Bluebirds. The Juggernauts hit six 3-point shots for the majority of their points.

Lloyd took a 62-55 lead on a trey by senior guard Teyone Neale with a little over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Highlands didn’t score on its next four possessions and trailed, 66-55, at the two-minute mark.

The Juggernauts got seven of their last nine points at the free throw line. Zaire Monroe made the last two foul shots to join his team’s list of double-figure scorers with 10 points. The others were Jeremiah Israel (16), E.J. Walker (13) and Garrett Vogelpohl (12).

CovCath’s only 3-point goal came in the opening minutes of its game against Cooper. The Colonels had to rely on the inside scoring of senior center Mitchell Rylee and junior forward Chandler Starks after that and the game was tied, 36-36, going into the fourth quarter.

After a breakaway basket by junior guard Evan Ipsaro broke the tie, the Colonels made 11 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter. Cooper only made one free throw in the final period, going 0-for-9 from the field with one turnover on its final 10 possessions.

“I told the team coming out after the third quarter we’ve just got to stick together, our defense will win the game,” said Rylee.

The Colonels ended up shooting 45.7 percent (16 of 35) from the field, despite going 1-of-10 from 3-point land. Rylee finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Ipsaro made six free throws in the fourth quarter to give him 12 points.

The leading scorers for Cooper were freshman guard Yamif Rondon and junior center Caleb Brooks with 12 points each.

CovCath coach Scott Ruthsatz was impressed with Lloyd’s shooting performance in Saturday’s first game. He expects Sunday’s semifinal match to be a major challenge for his players.

“They were pretty hot from three and obviously we weren’t,” Ruthsatz said of Lloyd. “We’ve got to protect the 3-point line and make sure they only get one shot. And then offensively, we’ve got to do a much better job of moving the ball. If we get it in the post, great, but we’ve got to make some outside shots.”

Dixie Heights will play Holy Cross in the 8 p.m. semifinal game on Sunday at BB&T Arena. The championship game will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Boys region basketball tournaments

9TH REGION TOURNAMENT AT BB&T ARENA
Sunday 
Lloyd (22-7) vs. Covington Catholic (26-4), 6:30
Dixie Heights (21-6) vs. Holy Cross (21-9), 8 p.m.
Tuesday
Championship game, 7 p.m.

10TH REGION TOURNAMENT AT HOLMES
Monday
Mason County (24-5) vs. George Rogers Clark (31-1), 6 p.m.
Campbell County (20-10) vs. Bracken County (23-9), 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday
Championship game, 7 p.m.