By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Reveling in the excitement of winning a third consecutive 8th Region All “A” Classic championship on Saturday didn’t last long for the Walton-Verona boys basketball team. In their next game on Wednesday, the Bearcats were outscored, 84-50, by Covington Catholic, ranked No. 4 in the state by media members.
But scheduling games against high-calibre opponents is something Walton-Verona coach Mike Hester is always willing to do.
“I do this every year whether we win or not,” Hester said. “I try to make sure to prepare us with tough opponents leading up to the All ‘A’ and then leading us up to district play.”
The Bearcats have a 32nd District seeding game at Williamstown on Friday and face Anderson County in the Henry County Classic on Saturday before they return to the All “A” Classic state tournament.
Their first-round game will be against 12th Region champion Somerset at 11:30 a.m. (CST) Thursday, Jan. 22 at Owensboro Sportscenter.
Walton-Verona reached the quarterfinals in last year’s small-school state tournament. Even though the top three scorers on that team graduated, the Bearcats are back in the state bracket after winning three 8th Region tournament games by large margins last week.
“We talked all year long how we just struggled to have all five guys on the floor be a unit,” Hester said. “And I think last week we really showed when all five guys play together we can be pretty good.”
In the region final, junior Wyatt Shearer and his older brother, Deuce, scored a combined total of 37 points during Walton-Verona’s 67-49 win over Owen County. Deuce netted a season-high 18 points, hitting 7 of 11 shots with three 3-point goals.
“We know what he’s capable of doing shooting the basketball,” Hester said. “He just hasn’t had the season he wanted to up to this point, but I think Saturday’s game is going to change some things for him.”
Four players had double-figure scoring averages going into the CovCath game. Wyatt was the leader at 13.9, followed by senior Cole Dryden (12.1) and juniors Adam Gutman (11.5) and Tatum Thornberry (10.7).
“Wyatt’s the guy we kind of lean on,” Hester said. “He’s got the ball in his hands probably 75 percent of the game and on defense we ask him to guard the other team’s best player whether it’s a big or a guard.”
The 10th Region All “A” Classic champions will be decided Thursday when Brossart faces Nicholas County in the girls and boys finals at 6 and 7:30 p.m. at Bracken County High School.
The semifinal round of the boys 9th Region All “A” Classic at Holy Cross is set for Friday. The matchups will be Newport vs. St. Henry at 6 p.m. and Holy Cross vs. defending champion Beechwood at 7:45 p.m.