Tuesday night in Park Hills is what high level Kentucky high school basketball is all about.
Crowd packed to the ceiling, two rowdy student sections, the buzz, popcorn popping and atmosphere that many that take the court may not get to experience in their lifetime.
Covington Catholic and Holy Cross met for a 35th District showdown that had the flare behind it thanks to two of not only the best players in the 9th Region, but across the entire state in CovCath’s Evan Ipsaro and Holy Cross’ Jacob Meyer.
In the end, it was Ipsaro and the Colonels running away in the second half for a 86-66 victory.
The Colonels outscored the Indians 53-30 in the final 16 minutes to win their 13th straight game over their district rivals.
“At half, we said the first four minutes sets the tone. Let’s go set the tone. We’re down three, we’re fine. Let’s go set the tone second half,” Colonels coach Scott Ruthsatz said.
Ipsaro took notice.
Ipsaro was a little under the weather, needing a trash can at the break to throw up. Then in the second half, everything he threw up pretty much went in, especially in a 17-point third quarter for the senior guard.
“Didn’t really play well early and someone had to step up and all my teammates put their trust in me, they told me we got to get it going. I’m not feeling well. I threw up at halftime, I’ve come down with something, but they put their trust in me. They all have my back and I owe it all to them,” Ipsaro said.
The Colonels turned a 36-33 deficit into a 64-49 lead after three.
“He’s (Ipsaro) had that ever since he’s been here. He just has that take over mode and mentality,” Ruthsatz said. “He’s getting everybody together, everybody on the same page in the locker room and what we want to do on both ends. And then let Evan dictate tempo. We really wanted to push which you saw, he can go coast to coast. And I thought that energized us as well.”
The Indians were unable to respond from there, getting no closer than 15 the rest of the way, Meyer doing what he could with 11 fourth quarter points, but were unable to get stops on the other end as the Colonels kept hitting shots on the Indians zone.
The 3-pointers were flying, 52 of them combined, the pace was at a flurry and points were being put up in a hurry, especially early on with 34 points scored in the first 5:22 of the contest, the Colonels eventually taking a 24-18 end of first quarter lead.
Athens and Kascyl McGillis were the sparkplugs in the first for the Colonels, the two combining to score 15 first quarter points.
“We kind of anticipated them playing some of that zone, just in other games and scouting them and you know they just hit shots. When you hit shots, you’re alright,” Ruthsatz said.
Meyer scored the first eight for the Indians, then started to let others get their footing into the contest, most notably Jacob Smith with nine second quarter points, back-to-back 3-pointers from Meyer and Smith giving the Indians a 36-33 lead at the break.
“Big contributions from Jacob Smith in really his fist big time varsity game. That’s (Matthew) Dreas third day with us and first varsity action in three years, in an atmosphere like that against an elite team,” Sorrell said. “Just an incredible atmosphere. Really rewarding thing for the coaches and players. There’s only so many of those games, you have to soak it in and enjoy each one.”
The Colonels improved to 6-0, hoping to continue on an undefeated path Friday when they travel to LaSalle (OH).
CovCath ended with five players in double figures led by Ipsaro’s 28 points and five assists. Brady Hussey knocked down four of the Colonels’ 10 three-pointers and finished with 16 points. Athens McGillis added 13, a breakout game for the freshman, Aiden Jones just missing a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, Kascyl McGillis chipping in 10 points.
Holy Cross dropped to 4-2 with Boone County on deck Monday. Meyer led the way with 33 points and five assists, Javier Ward and Smith dropping in 11 points each.
Sorrell knows his team will continue to improve as they inch closer to February.
“Really proud of our guys for the first 16 minutes, battled really hard, did a lot of things right. Effort was there, energy was there, but at the end of the day we didn’t put a full 32 minutes together,” Sorrell said. “To beat an elite team like CovCath, you have to be able to put a full 32 minutes together.