Covington Catholic’s basketball tradition is to not cut down the nets alone after winning a 35th District title.
Beechwood High School’s nylon stayed on the rims Friday. The Colonels claimed their sixth straight title, a 64-47 win over Holy Cross.
“We expect to win,” CovCath center Donovan Bradshaw said. “We expect to win district.”
Cash Harney led the Colonels (23-8) with 14 points, Athens McGillis was next with 12, and Dylan Gaiser and Bradshaw added 10 apiece.
Gaiser’s contribution off the bench was a missed free throw from perfect – he was 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-3 at the line.
“He’s unbelievably important to our team,” CovCath coach Jake Thelen said. “He comes off the bench most of the year, he started against Madison Central (a 66-61 win on Feb. 21) when Cash Harney had a little shoulder (injury), and he went and scored 20 points.”
Harney served five assists, and Bradshaw blocked two shots.
Holy Cross coach Ricardo Johnson knew almost instantly why the Indians fell to 17-11.
“We didn’t shoot the basketball well,” Johnson said. “We went 3-for-15 from 3 … We’ve just got to fine-tune the details on our shooting mechanics. We’ve got a week to prepare our minds and our bodies to compete in the Ninth Region.”
Check out all the district tournament scores here.
The Indians were 18-for-46 (39.1%) from the field. Luke Arlinghaus and Nate Rominger led with nine points each, and Will McElheney had eight.
There were other reasons CovCath won: a 33–25 advantage in rebounding (Bradshaw grabbed seven and Nolan Ruthsatz added six), 21-15 in points off turnovers (both the Colonels and Indians had 12), 32-30 in paint points and 51.1% shooting.
Holy Cross’ lone advantage was a 10-4 advantage in second-chance points.
It took just 23 seconds for Bradshaw to assert himself. He blocked an Arlinghaus shot and snared one of his seven rebounds.
“(Thelen) teaches us to come out fast,” Bradshaw said.
After Teegan Stava’s and-1 and Bradshaw’s layup gave CovCath a 5-0 lead, Holy Cross countered – Brady Gabbard knocked down a three from the left corner and Aiden Urlage hit another from the top of the key for a 6-5 comeback.
It was the last time Holy Cross was that close – CovCath finished the first quarter with an 8-2 run and a 13-7 lead.
“We wanted to set the tone early,” Thelen said. “Holy Cross plays incredibly hard, and they’re very well coached. We wanted to set the tone early about how aggressive and how intense we were going to play.”
The Indians’ defensive highlight came a minute into the second quarter when Gabbard rejected Bradshaw’s attempted breakaway layup.
CovCath opened the third quarter with a 14-6 streak on Bradshaw’s two free throws, Harney’s six points, Stava’s 3, Ruthsatz’s layup and a McGillis free throw.
Harney, the son of former Holy Cross star Joe Harney, may do some humble bragging. The reason: a fourth-quarter layup midway in which he split two defenders in the paint.
“Yeah, I will, a little bit,” Cash said. “We have a competitive household.”
COLONELS 64, INDIANS 47
HOLY CROSS — 8-9-17-13 – 47
COV. CATHOLIC — 13-13-22-16 – 64
HOLY CROSS (47) — Hebderson 5, Urlage 5, Arlinghaus 9, Gabbard 7, Rominger 9, McElheney 8, Hunt 4. 3-Pt. FG: 3(Urlage, Arlinghaus, Gabbard). FT: 8-15. Rebounds: 25 (Gabbard 6, McElheney 5). Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 12.
COV. CATHOLIC (64) — McGillis 12, Gaiser 10, Harney 12, Stewart 2, Bradshaw 10, Stava 9, Ruthsatz 4, Lanham 3. 3-Pt. FG: 4 (Stava 2, McGillis, Lanham). FT: 14-20. Rebounds: 33 (Bradshaw 7, Ruthsatz 6). Fouls: 24. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 12.
Records: Holy Cross 17-11, Covington Catholic 23-8
All-tournament team: Mark McCutchen Jr. (Holmes), Carson Blackburn (Beechwood), Luke Arlinghaus (Holy Cross), Will McElheney (Holy Cross), Donovan Bradshaw (Cov. Catholic), Athens McGillis (Cov. Catholic). Most valuable player: Cash Harney, Covington Catholic.
