By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
In a game where the lead changed hands 13 times, Holy Cross senior guard Luke Arlinghaus hit a 3-point shot with eight seconds left to give his team a 59-58 win over Ryle on Tuesday in Union.
The final play Holy Cross coach Ricardo Johnson set up during a timeout wasn’t designed for Arlinghaus to take the shot, but Ryle’s defense disrupted their plan.
The inbound pass went to Holy Cross forward Nate Rominger. He didn’t have a shot, so he got the ball out to guard Aiden Urlage, who then passed it to Arlinghaus.
“They all ran out at Aiden and I was just wide open on the wing, so I shot it,” Arlinghaus said.
The win lifted the Indians’ record to 4-0. They were ranked No. 2 in the Northern Kentucky preseason coaches poll and their last two wins have come on the road against No. 5 Ryle (0-2) and No. 4 Conner (2-2).
“These guys put a lot of work in behind the scenes and on nights like this it was on full display,” said coach Johnson. “We just find a way to make plays after plays after plays, and just being solid.”
Nine of the game’s lead changes came during the first half that ended with Holy Cross ahead 31-30. In the final minutes of the third quarter, Ryle went on a 9-1 run to open up a 49-44 lead that was the biggest for either team.
The Indians scored six straight points to jump ahead 56-52 with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter. But the Raiders regained the lead on a 3-point basket by guard Holden Smith that made it 58-56 with 0:28 remaining on the clock.
That set the stage for Arlinghaus’ game-winning 3-pointer that gave him a game-high 18 points. The Indians’ other double-figures scorers were Brady Gabbard (13), Rominger (11) and Ryan Bottom (10).
Ryle’s top scorer was Smith with 12 points, but he made only one field goal in the second half. Anthony Coppola and AJ Davis each had 10 points for the Raiders. Neither team did very well at the free throw line. Holy Cross was 11-for-20 after missing its final four foul shots and Ryle was 13-for-21.