Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
There were some anxious moments for the Holy Cross boys basketball team in the third quarter of its game against Danville in the opening round of the Kentucky All “A” Classic on Thursday at Eastern Kentucky University.
The Indians had an 11-point lead, 31-20, when the quarter began, but Danville battled back to tie the score, 43-43, in the first five minutes. Momentum could’ve swung either way at that point and two Holy Cross seniors made sure it went in their team’s favor.
Two 3-point goals by Matthew Dreas and one by Jacob Smith enabled the Indians to pull ahead, 52-47, going into the fourth quarter and they went on to post a 72-56 win over the Admirals.
Holy Cross (14-5) will play Hazard (18-2) in the quarterfinals of the boys small school state tournament at 8 p.m. Friday. Hazard knocked off Brossart, 68-62, in one of the other seven first-round games on Thursday.
Jacob Meyer scored a game-high 37 points and Javier Ward netted 18 for Holy Cross in the game against Danville. In the fourth quarter, those two seniors got 18 of the 20 points the Indians needed to secure their seventh consecutive victory.
Meyer, the state’s leading scorer with a 33.8 average, also snagged a game-high 15 rebounds to post a double-double. Senior center Sam Gibson had 11 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Indians. Dreas finished with seven points and a team-high six assists.
Holy Cross was 8 of 14 from the field in the fourth quarter and ended up shooting 45.9 percent (28 of 61) for the game. Meyer connected on 15 of 28 attempts with most of his baskets coming in the paint, including a breakaway slam dunk.
Danville shot 33.3 percent (20 of 60) from the field. After going 10 of 16 with five 3-point goals in the third quarter, the Admirals made only three baskets in the final eight-minute period.
Brossart (12-8) fell behind 22-6 in the first quarter of its first-round game against Hazard and the margin expanded to 45-22 early in the third quarter before the Mustangs mounted a comeback.
They pulled to within nine points, 58-49, on a basket by Logan Woosley with 3:58 left in the fourth quarter. After Hazard pushed the lead to 64-52 with 1:52 remaining, Brossart closed the game with a 10-4 run, but that wasn’t enough to come out on top.
It was the fourth straight loss for the Mustangs. The final margins in their last three games were six, seven and six points.
Hazard shot 62.2 percent (28 of 45) from the field compared to Brossart’s 47.8 (22 of 46). The Bulldogs had a 48-26 scoring advantage in the paint. The Mustangs’ leading scorers were forward Mason Sepate (17) and guards Anthony Kruse (14) and Brandon Bezold (11).
HOLY CROSS 16 15 21 20 — 72
DANVILLE 8 12 27 9 — 56
HOLY CROSS (14-5): Dreas 2 0 6, Ward 7 3 18, Smith 2 2 7, Meyer 15 5 37, Gibson 2 0 4, Totals: 28 10 72.
DANVILLE (14-8): Brown 5 4 14, Barnes 4 2 12, Bryant 4 0 11, Dunn 4 0 9, Bixler 3 0 9, Hill 0 1 1. Totals: 20 7 56.
Three-point goals: HC — Meyer 2, Dreas 2, Ward, Smith. D — Bixler 3, Bryant 3, Barnes 2, Dunn.
BROSSART 6 15 21 20 — 62
HAZARD 22 19 12 15 — 68
BROSSART (12-8): Kruse 5 4 14, Woosley 2 5 9, Bezold 4 2 11, Sepate 7 2 17, Schumacher 1 1 3, Mulberry 2 0 5, Gulley 1 0 3. Totals: 22 14 62.
HAZARD (18-2): Eversole 3 0 6, Smith 6 2 14, Hazell 6 4 16, Caudill 3 1 8, Johnson 7 3 17, Morris 3 0 7. Totals: 28 10 68.
Three-point goals: B — Bezold, Sepate, Mulberry, Gulley. H — Morris, Caudill.
All “A” Classic state tournaments at Eastern Kentucky University
GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT
Friday – Upper bracket quarterfinals
HOLY CROSS (18-5) vs. Owen County (14-6), 8:30 a.m.
Danville (19-1) vs. Pikeville (17-4), 10 a.m.
Friday – Lower bracket quarterfinals
Whitefield Academy (16-4) vs. Hancock County (13-8)
BROSSART (17-5) vs. Bardstown Bethlehem (15-6), 1 p.m.
Saturday
Upper bracket semifinal, 8:30 a.m.
Lower bracket semifinal, 10 a.m.
Sunday
Championship game, noon
BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT
Friday — Upper bracket quarterfinals
Evangel Christian (17-3) vs. Martin County (18-2), 5 p.m.
Washington County (15-6) vs. Owen County (15-5), 6:30 p.m.
Friday — Lower bracket quarterfinals
HOLY CROSS (14-5) vs. Hazard (18-2), 8 p.m.
University Heights (12-6) vs. Owensboro Catholic (18-2), 9:30 p.m.
Saturday
Upper bracket semifinal, noon
Lower bracket semifinal, 1:30 p.m.
Sunday
Championship game, 2 p.m.