The Walton-Verona Bearcats (19-10 overall) needed to beat another 32nd District opponent they’d lost to during the regular season to win the district tournament title on their home floor.
Walton-Verona built a nice lead and never relinquished it in an 83-67 win over the Grant County Braves (18-15). The Bearcats have won eight in a row entering the 8th Region Tournament at Henry County.
“Early on, we got stops after stops. We did a great job on the glass,” said Mike Hester, Walton-Verona Head Coach. “We doubled them up (16-8) on the glass in the first half. That was our emphasis the day we had to prep for them. Early on in the first half, we couldn’t have done a better job defensively of locking in, making sure we got the help side. We got a couple steals shooting gaps. This was by far our best night (defensively).”
Grant County earned the top seed in the tournament winning all three district seed games. The Braves beat the Bearcats, 90-74 in Dry Ridge on Feb. 1. That marked the last defeat for Walton-Verona.
Similar to Simon Kenton and Oldham County, Grant County has size in the middle with junior 6-foot-4-inch small forward Dylan Hammonds and junior 6-9 center Micah Wills. Hammonds averages 25 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. The Braves also have some nice guards led by sophomore Spencer Breeden.
But the Braves did not have their second leading scorer in senior shooting guard Wayne Ziegler, who is injured. Hammonds scored 27 and Ziegler 26 in the regular season meeting in Dry Ridge against Walton-Verona. Breeden added 13 and senior guard Colton Scalf had 11.
Hammonds scored 24 in this game with Breeden again scoring 13 and Scalf 12. But the fourth leading scorer for Grant County in Wills had just 10. Hammonds added 10 rebounds for a double-double.
The Braves made 26 of 46 shots for 56 percent including 3 of 12 from three-point range for 25 percent and 12 of 15 free throws for 80 percent. Grant County also had two assists, 18 rebounds, one steal, 16 fouls and 11 turnovers.
Walton-Verona saw four players score in double figures and nearly a fifth. The Bearcats made 31 of 56 shots for 55 percent including 10 of 18 from three point range for 55 percent and 11 of 16 free throws for 68 percent. The Bearcats also had 32 rebounds, 14 assists, seven steals, 13 fouls and six turnovers.
Senior guard Cameron Christy led the Bearcats scoring 24 points to go with six rebounds. Senior guard and the tournament’s most valuable player in Brant Smithers added 21 making three triples to go with five steals. Junior Carter Krohman had 17 points making four three-pointers and sophomore Julian Dixon scored 13 to go with 10 rebounds for a double-double. Senior Ethan Gutman had eight points to go with six rebounds.
“We’ve won a lot of games where we have just outshot the other team and not gotten a lot of stops,” Smithers said. “We were not playing that well (the first meeting). We started running some new offenses and changed some things defensively. I think that kind of helped us deal with (Grant County’s) size because inside, we’re not a very big team. We had to make sure we don’t get just dominated in the paint. It helped us win a lot more games.”
Walton-Verona will not know its next opponent until Sunday. The only other district tournament complete in the 8th Region Tournament is the 29th District composed of the three high schools in Oldham County.
Oldham County defeated North Oldham, 65-56 at South Oldham for the 29th title on Friday so North Oldham is possibly the next opponent. The other possibilities are the loser of Woodford County and Collins in the 30th District title game or the loser between Owen County and Gallatin County in the 31st District title game.
36th District Title Game at Bellevue:
Highlands 82, Newport 64:
The Bluebirds (22-8) and Wildcats (9-18) have met in four straight tournament title games. Highlands made it three in a row with the win. The Wildcats have been to the 9th Region Tournament every year since 2014.
“It’s the product of having a group of kids, especially seniors, who have been through it before,” said Kevin Listerman, Highlands Head Coach. “Newport made a couple of threes and made a run at us. We told them at halftime that Newport was going to make a run. We just had to withstand it and keep our composure. We called timeout, recollected ourselves, stretched it out to 10 or 12 and really kept it right there.”
Highlands won with its usual scoring balance. Senior guard Zach Barth led the way scoring 29 points making 13 of 23 shots to go with six rebounds, seven assists, four steals and one blocked shot. Junior guard Will Herald made 8 of 11 shots including 5 of 8 three-point tries on his way to 24 points.
Senior forward Cole Kocher scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds and two assists in the paint for Highlands. Fellow senior forward Oliver Harris scored 11 recording four assists. The fifth starter in sophomore Cam Giesler had four assists and two steals.
The Bluebirds made an impressive 33 of 55 shots for 60 percent including 9 of 19 from three-point range for 47 percent and 7 of 13 free throws for 54 percent. Highlands also had 26 rebounds, 12 fouls, 17 assists, eight turnovers, two blocked shots and 11 steals.
“Our guard handled the ball really well against Newport’s athleticism,” Kocher said. “Even when they tried to trap a screen or double-team our guards, they always stayed strong with the ball and made the right plays.”
Newport did put three players in double figures. Eighth grade guard Taylen Kinney led the way scoring 16 points making 4 of 9 three-point shots to go with five assists with senior forward Robert Sanders scoring 15 points to go with 11 rebounds and two assists for a double-double. Junior forward Marquez Miller scored 14.
The Wildcats made 27 of 54 shots for 50 percent including 6 of 19 from three-point range for 32 percent and 4 of 7 free throws for 57 percent. Newport also had 28 rebounds, 12 fouls, 19 assists, 16 turnovers and two steals.
“When you get into the tournament and you’re playing a rival, there are no secrets,” Listerman said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. Newport played well. We took those punches and were able to deliver our own on the back side.”
Listerman pointed out the Bluebirds have won 100 games since the senior class entered high school. Highlands has five on the team in Barth, Harris, Austin Duncan, Leyton Read and Kocher.
The 9th Region Tournament draw takes place Saturday morning at Holmes. Highlands takes on either Cooper, Covington Holy Cross or Lloyd Memorial and Newport faces either Conner, Dixie Heights or Covington Catholic. The region quarterfinals begin March 5.
NKY Boys District Tournament Results:
32nd District at Walton-Verona:
Semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Grant County 69, Williamstown 49
Semifinal on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Walton-Verona 69, Simon Kenton 66
Title Game on Friday, Feb. 25:
Walton-Verona 83, Grant County 67
33rd District at Ryle:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Ryle 83, Heritage Academy 47
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb 23:
Cooper 49, Ryle 33
Conner 73, Boone County 62
Title Game on Friday, Feb. 25:
Conner 55, Cooper 45
34th District at Ludlow:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Ludlow 73, Villa Madonna 48
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Dixie Heights 84, Ludlow 43
Lloyd Memorial 68, St. Henry 55
Title Game on Friday, Feb. 25:
Dixie Heights 64, Lloyd Memorial 52
35th District at Holy Cross:
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Covington Catholic 84, Beechwood 54
Holy Cross 85, Holmes 75
Title Game on Friday, Feb. 25:
Covington Catholic 96, Holy Cross 57
36th District at Bellevue:
First Round on Monday, Feb. 21:
Dayton 76, Bellevue 46
Semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Highlands 100, Dayton 58
Newport 64, Newport Central Catholic 62
Title Game on Friday, Feb. 25:
Highlands 82, Newport 64
37th District at Campbell County Middle School:
Semifinal Games on Tuesday, Feb. 22:
Campbell County 85, Calvary Christian 40
Bishop Brossart 40, Scott 38
Title Game on Thursday, Feb. 24:
Campbell County 75, Bishop Brossart 32