By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Walton-Verona teams earned berths in the Kentucky All “A” Classic boys and girls state basketball tournaments with home court wins over Gallatin County in the 8th Region finals on Saturday.
The Bearcats won the boys game, 67-52, and the girls team completed the sweep with a 68-46 victory. Their first-round opponents in the state tournament at Corbin Arena will be determined this week. The girls will play the Region 1 champion on Jan. 24 and the boys will face the Region 10 champion on Jan. 25.
Brossart and Calvary Christian both lost first round games in the 10th Region boys tournament over the weekend.
In the 8th Region boys final, Walton-Verona outscored Gallatin County, 21-11, in the third quarter to take a 49-39 lead and extended the margin to 58-38 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
After getting only one field goal in the first half, Walton-Verona junior forward Aaron Gutman scored 11 of his 19 points during his team’s third-quarter surge. The Bearcats’ other double-figure scorers were Zach Smith (15), Julian Dixon (14) and Landen Bach (13)
Dixon was named most valuable on the region all-tournament team that included Gutman, Smith, Bach and teammate Max Montgomery.
Walton-Verona junior Braylin Terrell was named most valuable player on the girls region all-tournament team. The other nominees for the Bearcats were Campbell Christy, Elin Logue, Ava Kendall and Avery Geiman.
In the championship game, Logue scored 27 points and Christy has 25 for the Bearcats. Terrell finished with five points, five assists, eight rebounds and five blocks.