By Audrey Carrico
NKyTribune sports reporter
Campbell County continued its dynasty Thursday night with a 82-48 win over Scott in the 37th District boys basketball championship game to claim the title for the 13th consecutive year.
“It was a special night,” said Campbell County coach Brent Sowder. “We’ve just got some incredibly skilled scorers and I have to give all credit to the kids. Honestly, they were on tonight because they locked in on the game plan at hand.”
Campbell County dictated the terms from the opening tip, orchestrating an initial scoring run that kept the Eagles in a perpetual state of catch-up. With brothers Lucas and Cade Anthrop providing nine points from behind the arc, the Camels led 23-6 after the first quarter.
But the team’s standout performer was 6-foot-5 sophomore forward Austin Davie, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player after the victory. He paced Campbell County’s offense with 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds to post a double-double.
“He’s a phenomenal player, and as great of a player he is, he’s a better teammate,” Sowder said. “He celebrates his teammates’ success twice as much as he does his own. We’re extremely lucky to have him.”
True to Sowder’s description, Davie was hesitant to claim the spotlight for himself.
“I just try my best to do whatever I can to help the team win,” he said. “If I need to go out and score, then, you know that’s what I’ll do. But if you need me to find assists, I’ll do whatever I can for these guys.”
Defensively, Campbell County provided a level of disruption as the final 34-point gap suggested.
In the most recent matchup between the two programs, Scott freshman Benjamin Brown dropped 33 points on the Camels to account for 52 percent of the Eagles’ total scoring. In the first half of Thursday’s game, Brown was held scoreless on seven attempts and finished the game with just nine points.
“We had a better game plan going against him this time,” said Davie. “We knew he wanted to get downhill and were able to use that to our advantage this time. He wasn’t on tonight and our pressure forced him to take some difficult shots.”
The Camels stifled any thoughts of a Scott rally in the third quarter, pushing the margin to 30 to effectively put the game out of reach. Despite the one-sided result, both teams will now shift their focus to the 10th Region tournament.
Awaiting the tournament draw, Scott aims to secure its first 10th Region tournament victory in seven years. Meanwhile, Sowder’s program looks to replicate its 2024 success and earn another trip to the state tournament.
“We had a lot of fun two years ago,” said Sowder. “We want to do that again.”
Both teams will find out their opening-round opponents during the 10th Region draw Saturday morning. The regional tournament is scheduled to begin March 4 at Mason County.
CAMPBELL COUNTY 23 21 27 11 — 82
SCOTT 6 18 13 11 — 48
CAMPBELL COUNTY (21-9): Lamb 1, Norwell 2, Thacker 2, Ballinger 2, Guy 4, Elam 6, Eaton 10, L.
Anthrop 13, C. Anthrop 16, Davie 26.
SCOTT (15-14): Dodd 3, Clemons 4, Spang 4, Marshall 6, Boyd 7, Brown 9, Clemons 15.
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Campbell County — Austin Davie (MVP), Cade Anthrop, Lucas Anthrop. Scott — Jordan Clemons, Ben Brown. Calvary Christian — Luke Corbin. Brossart — Beckett Kuntz.
Boys basketball district tournaments
32nd DISTRICT AT WALTON-VERONA HIGH SCHOOL
Friday
Championship game: Simon Kenton vs. Walton-Verona, 7 p.m.
33rd DISTRICT AT RYLE HIGH SCHOOL
Friday
Championship game: Ryle vs. Conner, 7 p.m.
34th DISTRICT AT LLOYD HIGH SCHOOL
Friday
Championship game: Lloyd vs. Dixie Heights, 7 p.m.
35th DISTRICT AT HOLY CROSS HIGH SCHOOL
Friday
Championship game: Covington Catholic vs. Holy Cross, 7:30 p.m.
36th DISTRICT AT BELLEVUE HIGH SCHOOL
Friday
Championship game: Newport vs. Highlands, 7 p.m.