Northern Kentucky boys basketball teams went 2-for-3 in Thursday’s Mason County Invitational Tournament first round.
Walton-Verona took down Augusta, 74-63, behind Julian Dixon’s 25 points and Aaron Gutman’s 24. The Bearcats’ reward: a chance to avenge a Dec. 13 loss to North Oldham in the semifinals on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Mustangs started with a 19-2 run on the way to an 88-54 running-clock win over Scott.
A couple hours after Walton-Verona’s win, Campbell County sent Pike County Central to the consolation bracket, 68-54. The Camels meet Mason County, a 77-57 winner over Tates Creek, in the semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m.
In consolation bracket games, it’s Augusta vs. Scott at 2 p.m., followed by Pike Central vs. Tates Creek at around 3:30.
Stops and moments
There were other reasons Walton-Verona (9-3) won. Among them: senior Max Montgomery’s 11 points in a little more than two minutes of the third and fourth quarters; Gutman adding four points, which gave the Bearcats a 63-55 advantage with a little more than four minutes to go.
Bearcats coach Mike Hester, however, thought the defense was the principal factor – it held Augusta (7-2) to just one field goal over the final four minutes by forgoing a full-court press for a half-court setup.
“(Thursday) came down to getting stops at the end of the game, and that’s what we were able to do in the fourth quarter,” Hester said. “We were able to get some stops.”
About 20 seconds after Kylan Hinson 3-pointer put Augusta (7-2) ahead, 45-44, Panthers coach Jason Hinson drew a technical foul, and Montgomery knocked down the two free throws with 1:11 to go in the third; he followed that with a 3 from the left corner.
Dixon followed with a couple free throws, Gutman added four points, and Zach Smith hit a 3 with 2:20 left.
“Jules (Dixon) had his moment, Aaron had his moment, Max had his moment,” Hester said. “ … Everybody was able to have a little piece of the pie there at the end of the game.”
Dixon, meanwhile, wasn’t much for analyzing why the Bearcats won.
“It’s all of it combined,” he said. “If we wanted to, we could all go get our own buckets. We shared the ball, we all have our own stretches. We all ended up getting our buckets.”
‘Worry-free’
Campbell County is meeting Mason County because of Garyn Jackson’s 19 points, Connor Weinel’s 18 and Broc Sorgenfrei’s 14.
Sorgenfrei’s surname means “worry-free” in German. He said that’s the way the Camels played.
“We definitely played worry-free,” Sorgenfrei said. “Sometimes we get down, but we definitely have a way to boost ourselves and get back up in the game.”
Campbell County’s half-court defense has been one of Northern Kentucky’s stingiest – just 49.7 points a game going into Thursday.
“We just try to keep it simple,” Camels coach Brent Sowder said. “I’m a big believer in not complicating the obvious.”
Pike Central (3-6) would have been in worse shape if not for Jaylan Rigdon – his 28 points led all scorers.
“We did everything we could,” Sowder said. “Here’s the thing: he had 28 points, and I felt we did a decent job on him … he had to work for everything.”
Campbell County’s night began with a 17-4 run over the first and second quarters for a 23-10 lead. Chance Crowley’s 3 with 1:19 left gave the Camels a 32-18 lead, which Rigdon closed to 32-21 with a field goal and free throw.
Another German phrase – “Voller Sorgen,” which means “full of worries” – applied to Campbell County’s situation midway through the fourth quarter when Pike Central’s Jaden Stewart’s 3 from the right corner cut the Camels’ lead to 57-51.
“We can handle a little bit of adversity,” Sowder said. “They cut it to six there in the fourth quarter, and I was really happy with how we responded.”
Sorgenfrei and Jackson subsequently eased any angst – Sorgenfrei knocked down a triple from the left wing, and Jackson added six points in a little more than a minute.
The score: Camels, 66-51, 2:04 remaining.
“The middle was always open, especially if you got around a guy,” Jackson said. “They didn’t help, so that floater was just there. Steals were the main thing; I think I got two steals for two buckets.”
Sowder learned one more German word: “ausgezeichnet,” which means “excellent.”
“Hopefully we keep that up,” Sowder said.
‘Uninspired’
Grant Neal led North Oldham (9-2) with 18 points, Brooks Cargould had 17 and Jack Fischer added 15.
Scott coach Steve Fromeyer said it was “very easy” to diagnose what went wrong.
“We played uninspired basketball,” Fromeyer said. “We played selfish basketball, we did not play team basketball. Everything that we preach all day, every day, was the complete opposite.”
North Oldham (9-2) needed just a little more than three minutes to build a 14-2 lead. At times, even the misfires turned into points – such as Jakobi McRoberts’ 3-pointer, which clanked off the back of the rim and rose about four feet before dropping through the net.
The Eagles (6-6) had spurts of offense – after falling behind 23-7 after one quarter, they closed to 44-30 at halftime. Xarek Sarakatsannis finished with a team-high 15 points.
The Mustangs got the game to a running clock in the fourth.
“The second-quarter run we had, tons of positivity at halftime,” Fromeyer said. “ … We did not play well, we did not play team basketball. We deserved to get beat the way we got beat.”
BEARCATS 74, PANTHERS 63
WALTON-VERONA — 18-11-22-23 — 74
AUGUSTA — 15-11-22-15 — 63
Walton-Verona (74) — Montgomery 14, Smith 3, Hester 2, Bach 4, Kerns 2, Dixon 25, Gutman 24. 3-Pt. FG: 8 (Montgomery 4, Dixon 2, Smith, Gutman). FT: 11/16. Fouls: 15.
Augusta (63) — Jefferson 7, Hinson 12, Kelsch 7, Bach 14, Snapp 23. 3-Pt. FG: 3 (Hinson 2, Kelsch). FT: 12/13. Rebounds: x (top two). Fouls: 16. Technical fouls: Jefferson (A), Augusta coach Jason Hinson.
Records: Walton-Verona 9-3, Augusta 7-2
CAMELS 68, HAWKS 54
PIKE CO. CENTRAL 10 11 19 14 – 54
CAMPBELL COUNTY 15 17 18 18 – 68
Pike Co. Central (54) — Rigdon 28, Slone 6, Adams 2, Stewart 14, Knuckles 4. 3-Pt. FG: 3 (Rigdon 2, Stewart). FT: 8/8. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.
Campbell Co. (68) — Jackson 19, Smith 2, Weinel 18, Johnson 2, Sorgenfrei 14, Franzen 7, Fancher 3, Crowley 3. 3-Pt. FG: 6 (Sorgenfrei 2, Jackson 2, Fancher, Crowley). FT: 8/8. Rebounds: x (top two). Fouls: 8. Fouled out: None.
Records: Pike County Central 3-6, Campbell County 7-1.
MUSTANGS 88, EAGLES 54
NORTH OLDHAM — 24–20-20–24 — 88
SCOTT — 7-23-10-14 — 54
North Oldham (88) — Fischer 15, Neal 18, McRoberts 3, Howard, 11, Sanders 12, Cargould 17, Schmittel 5, Soule 3, Sears 2, Green 2. 3-Pt. FG: 10 (Cargould 4, Howard 2, Neal 2, Schmittel, Soule). FT: 8/9. Fouls: 7. Fouled out: 9.
Scott (54) — Giffen 7, Snyder 2, Coleman 3, Saratkatsannis 15, Saylor 3, Griffin 11, Evans 2, Eten 9, Reed 2.
Records: North Oldham 8-2, Scott 6-6.