By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Newport Wildcats will be returning to the Kentucky All “A” Classic boys state basketball tournament this week with a much different team than the one that brought home the championship trophy two years ago.
Three members of the 2024 team are now attending high school basketball academies for blue-chip college prospects. The players who remained at Newport pooled their talents and upset Holy Cross, 62-59, in the 9th Region final on Saturday to earn another shot at the small school state title.
The Wildcats (11-4) will play 11th Region champion Lexington Christian (11-8) in the opening round of the state tournament at 5 p.m. (CST) Thursday at Owensboro Sportscenter.
When the season began, Newport’s only returning starter was junior guard Amontae Lowe. He made two free throws with 0:02 remaining to seal the unexpected victory over tournament host Holy Cross and finished with a game-high 25 points.
“That definitely added fuel to our fire,” Lowe said of his team being underestimated. “We knew we all had to step up. I played big and so did all of our starting five. I’m proud of my teammates, for sure.”
This is the third time that Newport has won the 9th Region All “A” Classic under coach Rod Snapp. He said his one meant a lot to him because Holy Cross had more experience and was playing on its home court.
“They’re a senior dominated team and really good,” Snapp said. “We had a solid game plan and went over it twice today. I just told our kids, ‘Stick with it. They’re not going to let up for 32 minutes and we’re not either. We’ve got to match their intensity.'”
Holy Cross was averaging 5.2 3-point goals per game, but the Indians went 0-for-10 from behind the arc against Newport. The first half ended with Lowe hitting a three on a desperation shot that put Newport ahead, 38-27, at the break.
Holy Cross opened the third quarter with a 13-2 run that tied the score at 40. Senior forward Brady Gabbard led that rally with eight points, including a pair of slam dunks. Early in the fourth quarter, Gabbard stuffed another shot into the net that gave the Indians a 53-46 lead.
The Wildcats rallied behind Lowe, who scored 13 of the team’s 16 points in the fourth quarter. In the final seconds, Holy Cross set up a possible go-ahead shot for Gabbard, but he stumbled and lost the ball. That’s when Lowe was fouled and made two free throws to give his team a 62-59 victory.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” said Lowe. “We just kept our composure and played our game. We came back and we won.”
Lowe was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Newport’s other double-figure scorers in the championship game were sophomore Demarco Jackson with 14 points and junior Davae Andrews-Glover with 10.
The leading scorers for Holy Cross were senior guard Luke Arlinghaus with 20 points and Gabbard with 18. Arlinghaus joined the team’s 1,000-point club with his first field goal of the game, but the Indians were limited to two field goals and four free throws during the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t do a very good job of getting to the rim,” said Holy Cross coach Ricardo Johnson.”I always tell our guys, ‘If your shot’s not falling, get to the rim.’ There’s other ways you can impact a basketball game. We didn’t do it, it showed, and we lost.”
HOLY CROSS 9 18 24 8 — 59
NEWPORT 15 23 8 16 — 62
HOLY CROSS (15-3): Henderson 1 2 4, Urlage 2 1 5, Arlinghaus 7 6 20, Rominger 4 2 10, Thornberry 1 0 2, Gabbard 6 6 18. Totals: 21 17 59.
NEWPORT (11-4): Andrews-Glover 4 2 10, Jackson 4 6 14, Petty 1 0 3, Hurry 2 0 4, Lowe 7 10 25, Farrell 1 3 6. Totals: 19 19 62.
Three-pointers: HC — none. N — Andrews-Glover 2, Petty, Lowe, Farrell.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Newport — Amontae Lowe (MVP), Keegan Farrell, Davae Andrews-Glover. Holy Cross — Brady Gabbard, Luke Arlinghaus. Beechwood — Dylan Topmiller. St. Henry — Parker Lutz. NewCath — Eddie Bevins. Villa Madonna — Jay Meyers. Dayton — Anthony Hull. Bellevue — Adam Kues. Heritage — Trent Stone.