By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
For the third straight year, Holy Cross had a boys basketball player finish on top in statewide statistics. Sophomore guard Luke Arlinghaus shot 91.9 percent from the free throw line to lead the state in that category.
The state’s top scorer the previous two seasons was Holy Cross guard Jacob Meyer, who averaged 38.2 points as a junior and 36.8 as a senior to become the all-time leading scorer in 9th Region boys basketball with 3,280 points.
Holy Cross sophomore Luke Arlinghaus
Arlinghaus, who sat out five of his team’s last six regular season games with a foot injury, ended up making 68 of 74 free throws for 91.9 percent. The player who finished behind him in that category shot 89.9 percent (71 of 79).
To qualify for the stat list, a player had to average at least three free throw attempts per game. Arlinghaus played in 24 games for the Indians, who posted a 16-13 record with four underclassmen in the starting lineup.
Arlinghaus also led the Holy Cross team in 3-point goals with 46 and averaged 12.2 points per game. His father, Ted, is girls head basketball coach at the school.
The 9th Region had two players among the state’s field goal percentage leaders. Cooper senior Shaun Pouncy was third at 68.5 (163 of 238) and Covington Catholic senior Caden Miler was sixth at 67.8 (196 of 289).
The region’s other third-place finisher was Villa Madonna senior Henry Thole in rebounding with 15.4 per game.
The highest 9th Region finisher in girls statewide statistics was Highlands junior center Marissa Green, who was seventh in field goal percentage at 61.3 (185 of 302). She was the only underclassmen named first-team all-region by local coaches.
Holmes player selected for high school basketball hall of fame
Dicky Beal, an all-state guard on the Holmes boys basketball team that made it to the final four in the 1980 state tournament, will be among this year’s inductees in the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.
Dicky Beal
Beal, a four-year varsity starter for the Bulldogs, also played on the 1978 state runner-up team. He averaged 23.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists during his senior year and was recruited by the University of Kentucky.
After undergoing knee surgery the summer before his senior season at UK, Beal made a stirring comeback late and helped the Wildcats reach the Final Four in the 1984 NCAA Tournament. He was named outstanding player in the Midwest Region that year.
The hall of fame induction ceremony is scheduled for June 22 at Historic State Theatre in Elizabethtown. For more information, go to the khsbhf.com website.
Underclassmen shoot best scores in Region 6 boys, girls archery
Ryle freshman Timmy DePue and Boone County sophomore Kaila Allphin won the boys and girls individual championships at the Region 6 archery tournament.
Allphin’s score sheet showed 19 arrows hit the 10s mark to account for 190 of her 288 total points. Alexis Hunt of Conner placed second with 285 total points. The top two boys scores were 292 with 22 10s by DePue and 289 with 20 10s by Dixie Heights eighth-grader Lucas Powers.
DePue led Ryle to first place in the boys team standings with 1,995 total points and Cooper was second with 1,927. Scott topped the girls team standings with 1,923 points, followed by Boone County with 1,919.
The boys and girls archery state championship tournaments are scheduled for Tuesday, April 16 in the exhibition rooms at Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington.
