ASHLAND – Brayden Polly had never experienced anything like it.
No, Simon Kenton’s sophomore forward had never given his team a win at the final buzzer. Until Wednesday – his bucket gave the Pioneers a 55-54 win over Ashland at the 67th Annual Ashland Invitational Tournament at James A. Anderson Gymnasium.
“It’s amazing, just the feeling,” Polly said.
Isaac Gabbard’s shot from the right wing missed – and caromed to Polly, who was stationed in the paint right of the rim.
“It felt really good,” Gabbard said, “but thank God Brayden was there.”
Polly likewise thought Gabbard’s shot was going in.
“But I just crashed (the boards) just in case,” Polly said.
Ashland (6-5) thus suffered its 10th loss to Simon Kenton in 11 meetings since 1998, which is far back as the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s matchups go. The Pioneers, meanwhile, meet Henry Clay in the semifinals at 7 p.m., Thursday.
What may be especially frustrating for the Tomcats: Zander Carter’s two free throws with 1:02 to go and Tristin Davis’ freebies put Ashland ahead, 54-51, with 43 seconds remaining. Jay Bilton’s bucket in the paint left Simon Kenton (8-3) trailing by 54-53 nine seconds later.
Davis’ missed a freebie and Gabe Dynes’ rebound with 10 seconds left set up the fateful sequence. Simon Kenton coach Trent Steiner said it didn’t matter who took the last shot.
“I just wanted Jay to create … just get downhill and play,” Steiner said. “I didn’t want to give (Ashland) a chance to switch defenses, so he found Isaac open on the wing and he was open.
“And fortunately, Brayden tipped it in.”
Travis Krohman led the Pioneers with 19 points, 17 of them coming in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting – many of them when the Tomcats loosened its 2-3 zone.
“Their 2-3 was stretched, so the middle was wide open a lot,” Krohman said.
Gabbard was next with 13 points, and Gabe Dynes added 10.
Ashland coach Ryan Bonner said his team settled for outside shots instead of driving to the rim.
“I thought our tempo could’ve been better offensively, which would’ve allowed us to play some offense versus a defense that wasn’t set.”
At 7-foot-3, you expect Dynes to be a rim protector. He was Wednesday – nine rebounds and four blocks to go with two assists.
“What (Dynes) does for us defensively is no doubt what he’s most important at,” Steiner said. “He doesn’t get enough credit for what he does, truthfully.”
Dynes’ most impactful rejections were his last two – he stuffed Carter with a little more than 90 seconds left.
Carter nevertheless led the Tomcats with 19 points. Rheyce Deboard was next with 11 points to go with five assists, a block and a steal.
The rest of Thursday’s schedule: Perry County Central vs. The Blue Ridge School (Virginia), 2:30 p.m.; Ashland vs. Carmel School (Virginia) at 4 p.m.; and Lincoln County vs. Collins in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m.