By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Cooper boys basketball fans wearing gray t-shirts with “Sully” printed in big block letters across the front gave head coach Tim Sullivan a standing ovation after his team’s 58-45 win over Highlands in the opening game of the 9th Region tournament on Saturday at Northern Kentucky University’s Truist Arena.
They were showing their support for Sullivan, who said school officials asked him to resign after this season even though his teams have won more than 300 games since he started the program in 2008.
“It’s very special, but we can’t let that get in the way of what we’re trying to do,” Sullivan said of the emotional sendoff after the victory that put Cooper in the region semifinals for the third straight year.
He wants his players to put it all aside and focus on the next step in their bid for a region title. Cooper (21-5) will play Covington Catholic (24-8) in a semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“We support our guy, so that’s where we’re at right now,” Cooper senior guard Isaac Brown said of his coach. “We know what’s going on right now, but we’re just focusing on each day, getting in a good practice and getting in a good game.”
Brown certainly had a good game Saturday. He scored 22 points with seven coming in the second quarter when Cooper built a 35-21 halftime lead. The Jaguars scored 13 points off turnovers and had a 13-0 scoring advantage at the free throw line in the first two quarters.
“This time of season it’s win or go home, so we all kind of knew we got to kick it in,” Brown said. “There’s no playing around in the region, anybody can beat anybody. We have to come out and ball.”
Highlands pulled to within six points, 39-33, late in the third quarter, but that didn’t seem to rattle the Jaguars. They finished the game with a 19-12 run led by Brown with seven points and senior guard Jaden Combs with six.
Andy Johnson is another senior guard who had a big game for Cooper. He finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Roman Combs had a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with five points, four assists and two steals.
Cooper ended up shooting 48.7 percent (19 of 39) from the field compared to 36.5 percent (19 of 52) for Highlands. The Bluebirds’ leading scorers were juniors Nathan Rickard and Finn Bouldin with 13 and 11 points.
“To win big games and to win in post-season, you better be able to guard in half court,” Sullivan said. “When you get here the teams are too good and too well coached to try to do something gimmicky. You’ve got to be able to sit down and hang your hat on the defensive end.”
Cooper will play CovCath in a region semifinal game for the third straight year. The Jaguars defeated the Colonels in their tournament matchups the last two years. In a game earlier this season, Cooper came away with a 69-65 win in overtime.
COOPER 13 22 7 16 — 58
HIGHLANDS 13 9 12 12 — 45
COOPER (21-5): R. Combs 2-3 1-2 5, Brown 7-12 6-8 22, J. Combs 3-5 4-4 10, Rodriquez 0-1 2-2 2, Johnson 6-16 4-5 17, Knuckles 1-2 0-0. Totals: 19-39 17-21 58.
HIGHLANDS (18-13): Bouldin 5-11 0-0 11, Rickard 6-11 1-3 13, Listerman 2-10 0-0 4, Messmer 2-5 0-0 6, Ebert 1-8 0-0 3, Lorenzen 3-7 0-1 8. Totals: 19-52 1-4 45.
Three-point goals: C — Brown 2, Johnson. H — Messmer 2, Lorenzen 2, Ebert, Bouldin.