It was a Kentucky versus Ohio battle for the first four games of the day at the John Turner Classic at Newport on Saturday. The final game was a rematch of last year’s first round state tournament game between Newport and Campbell County.
Here’s how the first three games went down on the day, featuring Conner, Newport Central Catholic and Holy Cross.
Harvest Prep 80, Conner 60
Conner, still in the feeling out process in Nathan Browning’s first year, fell to 1-3 where they lost to Elder (Ohio) on Friday night and returned to the floor about 14 hours later and lost to the prep school from Canal Winchester, Ohio.
Harvest Prep shot well in the first half, knocking down five 3-pointers to take a 40-27 halftime lead thanks to a 12-2 run before the break.
“Guys are bought in and working really hard,” Browning said. “We’re figuring things out, it’s early.”
Conner struggled at times to consistently find good looks and turnovers leading to easy Warriors (2-1) baskets on the other end.
“It’s a work in progress,” Browning said. “We’ve got some guys that can go for 20 points on any given night. We’ve played a few games where we haven’t shared the ball as much as we want to. We’re just trying to learn each other still.”
Conner (1-3) made a valiant effort in the second half, a 15-2 run getting them within seven at 58-51 with 6:20 to play after Gavin Price’s putback dunk, but multiple opportunities were missed from there to get any closer.
The Cougars were led by Finn Louden with 16 points, Landon Warner adding 13. Three others had at least five points.
“Finn just makes plays. He’s an extremely hard worker and can make stuff happen off the dribble, can catch and shoot,” Browning said. “We’ve got guys that are gritty and can make plays happen when we need to do it. Just need to finish and execute a little more.”
Conner returns to action on Tuesday at home against Dixie Heights.
Newport Central Catholic 76, Taft 64
NewCath used a 15-0 fourth quarter run to pull away from Taft in the second game of the day.
Trailing 51-49 to open the final frame, the Breds scored the next 15 points to take control.
“I love the fact that we missed some shots that typically go in and that didn’t effect our defense,” Thoroughbreds coach Jake Luhn said. “We’re always trying to get three consecutive stops and we did that twice in a row. We’re learning that’s the answer on days where your shots aren’t going down.”
Taft never got closer from that point on.
Ian Mann led NewCath with 27 points. Johnny Luhn and Louie Collopy also hit double figures, Luhn with 16, Collopy with 10.
“Our seniors rose to the occasion,” Luhn said. “Ian has really blossomed for us. He just has a different poise and confidence to him.”
Winton Woods 58, Holy Cross 46
Winton Woods made things tough offensively for Holy Cross, suffering their first loss of the season.
The Indians had just three points after the first quarter and struggled to get into a rhythm throughout.
“We just weren’t aggressive enough today,” Indians coach Ricardo Johnson said. “Didn’t win the 50-50 balls, didn’t do it the Holy Cross way like we’re supposed to do. That’s on me and we’ll get it handled ASAP.”
They stayed within striking distance for the majority however, but a 14-6 Winton Woods run stretched their lead to 42-31 by the end of the third quarter.
The Indians never got any closer than eight from that point on. They were led by William McElheney with 18 points, Nate Rominger and Brady Gabbard with 10 apiece.
Holy Cross returns to action on Dec. 21 at the Scott Winter Classic against Simon Kenton.
“It’s a long season. It’s a marathon. We’ve just got to get better. We’ll use these next couple days to do that in practice,” Johnson said.