After taking a 28-27 lead into halftime, the Bearcats knew they were just 16 minutes from the school’s ninth All “A” region championship. Coach Mike Hester emphasized defense to his players.
The defense is what elevated its play as the Bearcats stifled the Gallatin County Wildcats to claim the championship 67-52 on Saturday night.
“That’s all we really talked about at halftime. We figured out what we were going to do on this play and what we were going to do on [Matthew Griffin],” said Walton Verona Forward Aaron Gutman. “Just wanted to throw different things at them to stop [Griffin] and to stop the other players.”
Griffin controlled the first half scoring 17 of the team’s 27. In the second half, Walton-Verona face-guarded Griffin up and down the court with the defensive duo of Landon Bach and Max Montgomery. The Bearcats forced Gallatin County’s other players to work off the dribble instead of their star point guard.
“Griffin’s a great player and he was giving us trouble in the first half. So we wanted to make sure our adjustment was we wanted to crawl up in him and make it as hard as possible on him as we could,” said Hester. “We knew that the other guys struggled a little with the ball in their hands. They’re great shooters but, we wanted to make sure we got it out of Grif and in that way, it was in their hands.”
This led to more missed shots, more turnovers, and more run-outs for the Bearcats. Before long, a one-possession game turned into a 49-38 Walton lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“We wanted to play in transition more. That’s who we are. When we play that way usually those inside-out threes come for us,” said Hester. “They didn’t come in the first half but in the second half we got up and down, got to play our style.”
Not only were the Bearcats able to knock down three-pointers, but they willed their way to the basket over and over again. After just four points in the first half, Gutman, the leading scorer on the Bearcats, finally made his mark scoring 15 second-half points. He knocked down a three, cleaned up missed shots on the glass, and netted multiple free throws to close the game in the fourth quarter.
“I think I needed to, you know, find the flow of the game. That third quarter I knew I had to come out ready to play,” said Gutman. “I just had to believe I was gonna make shots.”
Coming out ready and prepared. That is something this Walton-Verona team has had to learn to do. Last year, the Bearcats with the same group of players and two seniors who graduated, fell in the 8th Region All “A” championship game to Owen County. To say that game left a sour taste in their mouth is an understatement.
“Being in that moment last year, we didn’t come ready to play. And this year, you know, it meant something to us and last year kind of lit the fire for us,” said Gutman. “We went into halftime knowing we didn’t hit shots and we were still winning. We knew we were going to come back out and hit shots. [Last year] was the whole motivation for us.”
Multiple players from Walton-Verona were named to the All-tournament team including Gutman, Bach, Montgomery, and Zach Smith, but it was Senior guard Julian Dixon who was named tournament MVP.
“He’s just our glue man. He does everything for us whether it’s passing the basketball, rebounding the basketball, scoring the basketball, it doesn’t matter he does it all,” said Hester. “And when he’s on the floor, it’s good for us. And I hate to see him be a senior but obviously, it’s coming and I’m just trying to soak in every last bit of these games with him that I can.”
Dixon scored 25 in the first round against Trimble County and 14 in the championship game Saturday night.
“You know it feels great, but the whole team did good and it’s not just about me,” said Dixon.
The whole Walton-Verona players and coaching staff will try to soak in this monumental moment, but their minds are focused on the road ahead. A regional championship is nice, but a state championship is the whole nine yards. The Bearcats will begin their All “A” state championship quest Thursday Jan. 25 at 1 p.m., taking on the winner of the 10th region.
“We ain’t just going down there to play,” said Hester. “We’re going down there to win it.”
Bearcats 67, Wildcats 52
Walton-Verona -10-18-21-18 -67
Gallatin County -13-14-11-14 -52
Scoring
Walton-Verona (67): Gutman 19, Dixon 14, Smith 15, Bach 13, Montgomery 6
Gallatin County (52): Griffin 29, Kellen Dossett 11, Jonah Brinker 6, Kasen Baker 6
Game Stats
3-Pointers Made: Walton 4, Gallatin County 4
Free Throws: Walton 4/7, Gallatin 12/13
Fouls: Walton 15, Gallatin County 20
Records: Walton 12-4, Gallatin County 10-4