By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
One of the biggest upsets in the opening week of the Kentucky boys basketball playoffs started with a six-point possession following a technical foul and ended with a sophomore hitting a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
That’s how Beechwood defeated Holy Cross, 67-64, in the semifinals of the 35th District tournament on Wednesday at Covington Catholic.
Beechwood senior Cam Boyd
Beechwood (11-18) had lost seven of its last nine regular season games and the Tigers were behind, 60-54, midway through the fourth quarter against Holy Cross (21-8) when a technical foul gave them the opportunity for an upset.
Beechwood senior Cam Boyd drew a foul while attempting a shot and a technical was also called on a Holy Cross player. After sophomore Mattox Kelly made both technical free throws, Boyd knocked down both of his foul shots.
The Tigers were then awarded possession because of the technical and Boyd hit a field goal that tied the score, 60-60, to complete the game-changing six-point spurt with less than four minutes remaining.
Holy Cross senior guard Jacob Meyer made a pair of free throws that put his team ahead, 64-63, but Boyd tied it once again with a free throw of his own with 45 seconds left on the clock.
After the Indians missed a field goal, Beechwood coach Erik Goetz called a time out with 0:27 left to set up a play. The ball went to sophomore guard Jack Sullivan in the left corner and he swished the game-winning 3-pointer.
Holy Cross senior Jacob Meyer
That basket ended the season for six Holy Cross seniors. One of them is Meyer, who led the state in scoring for the second straight year and set a new 9th Region career scoring record with 3,280 points.
In his final game, Meyer scored 27 points, 10 below his season average. He made all 15 of his foul shots and went 6-of-12 from the field. His stat line also included eight rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Beechwood opened up a 48-41 lead early in the third quarter, but Holy Cross went on a 13-3 run to take a 54-51 lead into the fourth quarter. It looked like the Indians were starting to pull away before the Tigers’ six-point possession reversed the momentum.
Holy Cross ended up shooting 34.6 percent (18 of 52) from the field compared to Beechwood’s 48.9 percent (23 of 47). The Tigers’ leading scorers were Boyd with 23 points and Kelly with 19. Trevor Logue had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Beechwood will play Covington Catholic (25-4) in the district final at 7 p.m. Friday and both teams will advance to next week’s 9th Region tournament at Northern Kentucky University. The other six teams in the boys region tournament will be Conner, Cooper, Lloyd, St. Henry, Highlands and Newport.
BEECHWOOD 18 18 15 16 — 67
HOLY CROSS 19 19 16 10 — 64
BEECHWOOD (11-18): Blackburn 1 0 2, Goodwin 1 1 3, Wermuth 1 0 2, Boyd 6 11 23, Logue 5 2 12, Sullivan 2 0 6, Mattox 7 2 19. Totals: 23 15 67.
HOLY CROSS (21-8): Dreas 2 0 6, Smith 4 1 10, Ward 3 7 14, Meyer 6 15 27, Ambrocio 2 0 4, Gibson 1 1 3. Totals: 18 24 64.
Three-point goals: B — Mattox 3, Sullivan 2, Logue. HC — Dreas 2, Ward, Smith.
