By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Covington Catholic shot 65 percent from the field overall and 52 percent from 3-point range during a 95-50 win over Huntsville Lee in the opening round of the King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic on Friday at Fairdale High School in Louisville.
The Colonels ran their record to 6-0 with the running clock victory over the team from Alabama. Their average margin of victory is 39.8 points going into a quarterfinal game against Louisville Male (6-1) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. In a statewide preseason coaches poll conducted by the Louisville Courier Journal, CovCath was No. 2 and Male was No. 9.
CovCath senior guard Athens McGillis scored 32 points in Friday’s win. He had 26 points in the first half when the Colonels shot a torrid 78.6 percent from the field to take a 55-26 lead.
Finals statistics had McGillis going 12-of-16 from the field, hitting 6 of 7 treys and dealing out four assists. He netted 34 points in his team’s season opener and now has a 23.0 average after six games.
The other double-figure scorers for CovCath were guard Braeden Myrick (20), guard Dylan Gaiser (11), forward Donovan Bradshaw (10) and guard Cash Harney (10). Bradshaw had a game-high nine rebounds and Myrick had a game-high six assists.
The Colonels opened the game with a 20-4 run and led 29-15 at the end of the first quarter. Myrick and McGillis each scored 10 points during the fast start. They helped extend the lead to 55-26 by halftime. At that point, McGillis had missed only one of his 11 field goal attempts.
The running clock started when CovCath took a 73-36 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by McGillis and Harney late in the third quarter. The Colonels ended up making 39 of 60 field goals for 65 percent. Lee shot 30.9 percent (17 of 55) overall and 29.4 percent (5 of 17) from behind the 3-point arc.
In the Queen of the Commonwealth girls holiday tournament, Notre Dame lost to Louisville Central, 40-36, and Cooper defeated Hopkins Central, 51-37, in first-round games on Friday at Bullitt East.
It was the first loss of the season for Notre Dame (4-1). The Pandas, who played the game without injured starters Joslyn Humphrey and Amelia Stallard, ended up with their lowest point total since a 39-30 loss to Franklin-Simpson in last year’s tournament.
Notre Dame opened the third quarter with a 10-3 run and pulled to within one point, 21-20, on a 3-point goal by sophomore guard Erin McGraw. Central responded with an 11-7 spurt that made it 32-27 early in the fourth quarter.
A 3-point goal by Notre Dame junior center Sarah Young tied the score, 34-34, with 3:48 left on the clock. But Central closed the game with a 6-2 run.
The Pandas will play South Oldham in a consolation bracket game at 2 p.m. Saturday. Cooper (3-2) will play North Hardin (6-0) in a quarterfinal game at 6:30 p.m. The Jaguars won the championship trophy in last year’s tournament.