Simon Kenton head coach Trent Steiner said fast starts have not come easy for the Pioneers this year.
That changed Friday as Simon Kenton used an early 12-0 run on their way to a 62-46 win over Walton-Verona at Grant County to repeat as 32nd district champions. Point guard and tournament MVP Jay Bilton scored all 12 points for Simon Kenton during the early run to put the Pioneers up 12-2.
“That’s kind of been our bugaboo all year is we don’t come out aggressive and ready to go,” Steiner said. “We just kind of let people do what they’re supposed to do to us. (On Friday) we didn’t let that happen. I don’t think it’s anything I’ve done. They came out and asserted themselves. We got after them and flipped the script a bit from the way our season has gone.”
Bilton’s start served as a prelude to a solid performance from Simon Kenton senior Travis Krohman. Krohman lit up the scoreboard making six 3-pointers on his way to 28 points.
“(My teammates) were looking for me the whole game. I got good enough looks to hit,” Krohman said. “They were rebounding and locking in on defense and that helped us get good looks on offense. It’s a lot (of work to shoot well), but when you get to this stage and you perform, it’s really worth it.”
The Bearcats tried all they could to slow Krohman down. That included different defenders on him and denying him the ball.
“He’s a great high school player and he’s going to do great things at the next level,” Walton-Verona head coach Mike Hester said. “He was a match-up problem for us. At one point, we locked, chased and got through everything and then we tried to switch things.”
Krohman took off in the second quarter after Simon Kenton built a 14-6 lead. He nailed three triples in the frame on the way to 11 points in the quarter as Simon Kenton maintained a 28-20 lead at halftime.
Krohman and Bilton had some help on both ends of the court. The Pioneers blocked about a half dozen shots disrupting a Walton-Verona team that averaged just more than 70 points per game entering Friday.
The Pioneers played a 2-3 zone and rotated towards shooters. They also created some steals and fast break opportunities with a 2-2-1 zone press.
“Everyone staying active (defensively) allowed us to get turnovers, get down the court and get fast breaks to score,” Simon Kenton junior forward Brayden Polly said. “It’s pretty difficult, but doing that gets us to shooters.”
Senior Julian Dixon led Walton-Verona with 16 points, but the Pioneers held Walton-Verona’s leading scorer Aaron Gutman to 13 points and Zach Smith to eight, well below their season averages.
“We continued to fight,” Hester said. “Obviously, we didn’t make shots like we wanted to.”
Walton-Verona made a run in the third quarter, cutting the Simon Kenton lead to five.
“They’re special offensively,” Steiner said of Walton-Verona. “They have three or four dudes that can just go two or three when they need them.”
Simon Kenton responded with seven straight to build a double-digit lead. Krohman capped it off with a three with 24 seconds left as the Pioneers led 44-33 entering the fourth quarter.
Gutman made a three with 6:10 left in the game to make it 47-38 Pioneers before Simon Kenton responded with six straight to go up 53-38 with 4:16 remaining. The Bearcats could get no closer than 14 from there.
Krohman and Bode Stone joined Bilton on the all-tournament team. Dixon and Gutman made it for Walton-Verona along with Williamstown’s Colton Feagan and Grant County’s Spencer Breeden.
Both teams move on to the 8th Region Tournament that begins Wednesday at Henry County. Simon Kenton will take on South Oldham, Woodford County or Gallatin County and Walton-Verona will take on North Oldham, Spencer County or Owen County.
PIONEERS 62, BEARCATS 46
SIMON KENTON — 14-14-16-18 — 62
WALTON-VERONA — 6-14-12-14 — 46
Scoring
Simon Kenton (62) — Krohman 28, Bilton 16, Polly 6, Stone 5, Brown 4, Bach 3
Walton-Verona (46) — Dixon 16, Gutman 13, Smith 8, Bach 6, Kerns 3
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Simon Kenton 9, Walton-Verona 6
Free Throws: Simon Kenton 9/13, Walton-Verona 4/9
Fouls: Simon Kenton 9, Walton-Verona 16
Records: Simon Kenton 16-15, Walton-Verona 22-10