By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Covington Catholic won a first-round game in the 9th Region boys basketball tournament for the 11th time in the last 12 years on Wednesday, but the players didn’t look too pleased as they walked off the court at Truist Arena.
In the fourth quarter, CovCath let a 12-point lead slip away before pulling out a 49-47 victory over Dixie Heights to make it back to the region final four. It was a surprising outcome considering CovCath won the regular season game between the two teams by a 40-point margin in early February.
“We’re happy to survive and advance, but we’re not happy with the score,” said CovCath senior forward Caden Miller. “Me and coach (Scott Ruthsatz) were just talking coming in (to the locker room), it doesn’t feel like a win. We’ll take it, but we know we have a lot of areas that we didn’t capitalize on in that game.”
Miller made a pair of free throws in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter that gave his CovCath team a 42-30 lead.
With 11 seconds left on the clock, however, Dixie Heights pulled to within 47-45 by scoring five points on one possession.
It started with Dixie Heights senior Hudson Blank getting fouled while hitting a 3-point shot. He missed the free throw, but junior teammate Owen Niehues got the rebound and hit a shot from the lane to suddenly make it a two-point game.
After both teams made a pair of free throws, Dixie Heights got the ball with 0:04 remaining and no time outs. Niehues got off a desperation shot after crossing the half-court line, but the ball hit high off the backboard glass as the final horn sounded.
“It was a good example of our fellas’ toughness here,” Dixie Heights coach Chad Fields said of the near upset. “I thought the toughness, the stick-to-itiveness, the resilience by these gentlemen was a fantastic representation of what Dixie Heights is all about.”
CovCath (26-5) gets a rematch with Cooper (23-8) in the region semifinals at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Cooper won the last two games between the teams by scores of 65-55 in January and 57-54 in last year’s region semifinals.
Over the next three days, coach Ruthsatz will be working on what he called “mental mistakes” his players made in the closer-than-expected win over Dixie Heights.
“I think it’s a wake-up call, especially for our guards,” Ruthsatz said. “Down the stretch, we’re obviously going to pinpoint those turnovers, those missed opportunities, those missed shots that we had.”
Miller, a 6-foot-6 transfer student from Arkansas, had 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in his first-ever 9th Region tournament game. In the first half, he scored nine points, including two slam dunks, and CovCath led, 24-18, at the break.
“We like to capitalize on that, especially in games where (other teams) don’t have as many bigs on the court,” Miller said of his low post scoring. “In games like that, we like to dominate inside and they trust me to dominate.”
CovCath’s first five field goals in the third quarter were 3-pointers by guards Brady Hussey, Cash Harney and Athens McGillis and then a pair of dunks by Miller that gave CovCath a 37-26 lead.
Their team was ahead by 12 points early in the fourth quarter before Dixie Heights made its late run. Ruthsatz said hurried 3-point shots by his guards had a lot to do with the change in momentum.
“Not bad shots, but at the end of day when you’re in the fourth quarter with the clock ticking you’ve got to make (the other team) play defense,” the coach said. “You’re giving them an easy out when you do that.”
CovCath’s other double-figure scorer was Harney with 14 points. The team leaders for Dixie Heights were Blank with 15 points and Max Rubemeyer with 11. Niehues finished with 10 points and seven assists.
Dixie Heights shot 51.3 percent (20 of 39) from the field and was 3-of-8 on 3-point attempts. CovCath connected on 40.5 percent (17 of 42) overall and 6-of-23 from behind the 3-point arc.
COVCATH 9 15 16 9 — 49
DIXIE HEIGHTS 6 12 12 17 — 47
COVCATH (26-5): McGillis 2 1 6, Harney 4 4 14, Miller 7 3 17, Johnson 0 1 1, Hussey 2 0 5, Ruthsatz 2 0 6. Totals: 17 9 49.
DIXIE HEIGHTS (18-14): Rubemeyer 4 2 11, Gray 1 0 2, Niehues 4 2 10, Blank 7 0 15, Derry 4 0 9. Totals: 20 4 47.
Three-point goals: CC — Harney 2, Ruthsatz 2, McGillis, Hussey. DH — Rubemeyer, Blank, Derry.
Basketball region tournament schedules
9TH REGION GIRLS AT NKU TRUIST ARENA
Friday — Semifinal games
Highlands (22-8) vs. Ryle (20-11), 6:30 p.m.
Holy Cross (28-5) vs. Cooper (27-4), 8 p.m.
Saturday
Championship game, 7 p.m.
9TH REGION BOYS AT NKU TRUIST ARENA
Sunday — Semifinals
Lloyd (25-8) vs. Newport (30-3), 2 p.m.
Covington Catholic (26-5) vs. Cooper (23-8), 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 12
Championship game, 7 p.m.