After nearly tasting defeat in the 9th Region quarterfinals, Newport wasted no time Sunday afternoon against Lloyd Memorial in the boys 9th Region semifinals at Northern Kentucky University’s Truist Arena.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 13-1 lead and never looked back in a 60-29 victory.
They owned this one from the opening tip.
“We wanted to really try and control the game,” Wildcats coach Rod Snapp said. “We were more disciplined, get some paint touches and of course we knuckled up and played some solid man-to-man. Kids came to play and it worked out pretty good.”
Where to start…three players in double figures led by Jabari Covington’s 14 points and eight rebounds, outrebounded the Juggernauts 35-22 and the Wildcats shot 54% from the field.
“We just take care of the matchups,” Covington said. “Win all the matchups and that’s what we did tonight. We had a little extra motivation today, didn’t want to play like we did last game.”
The victory gets them to Tuesday’s 9th Region championship against Cooper, the Jaguars a 55-36 victor over Covington Catholic in the second semifinal. It’s also a rematch of last year’s 9th Region championship game where Covington hit the game-winner in the closing seconds.
Newport also got 13 points apiece from Taylen Kinney and James Turner, Kinney getting going in the second quarter with seven points as the Wildcats led 26-7 at the break.
Turner put the finishing touches on the game with a dunk from an alley-oop by DaShawn Anderson, making it 54-21 in the fourth. Reserves closed the contest out with 5:39 left in the fourth.
“We watched film from last game, we had 21 possessions where one guy dribbled down the court and shot it. Only scored on four of them,” Snapp said. “Surprised the school board didn’t call me in and fire me or suspend me for that. We hadn’t done that all year and they made up for it today.”
Newport finished with 15 assists on 25 made field goals.
Lloyd didn’t have much of an answer for Newport this season, losing 71-48 against them in the regular season paired with Sunday for two of their three worst margins of defeat this year. Junior standout EJ Walker was saddled with early foul trouble and finished with six points and two rebounds.
“Just couldn’t let him get comfortable,” Snapp said. “Didn’t want him to get low and on the block because when he does he’s really good. A lot of teams can’t guard Walker, but (James) Turner and (Griffin) Starks are so long and can contest a lot of his shots.”
Walker and Isaiah Sebastian were the Juggernauts leading scorers with six.
On the positive, Lloyd will return their starting five for next season and finished with a 25-9 record.
Newport will enter Tuesday’s contest with Cooper on a 23-game winning streak. At the time, Snapp didn’t know who they were playing yet with the CovCath-Cooper game to follow, but had no preference on who it would be.
“You have to be ready for whoever you play and have that confidence of going out there and do what we do,” Snapp said. “Have to knuckle up and guard and be tough.”
Tuesday’s much anticipated battle begins at 7 p.m. The winner heads to Rupp Arena for the state tournament.
WILDCATS 60, JUGGERNAUTS 29
LLOYD MEMORIAL — 3-4-11-11 — 29
NEWPORT — 13-13-20-14 — 60
Scoring
Lloyd (29) — Sebastian 6, Walker 6, Sims 4, Humphrey 3, Collins 2, Blaackar 2, Copeland 2, Golsby 2, Criner 2
Newport (60) — Covington 14, Kinney 13, Turner 13, Starks 8, Silverton 4, Lowe 4, Nichols 2, Jackson 2
Game Stats
Field Goals: Lloyd 12/43, Newport 25/46
3-Pointers: Lloyd 4/17, Newport 4/12
Free Throws: Lloyd 1/7, Newport 6/7
Rebounds: Lloyd 22, Newport 35
Assists: Lloyd 6, Newport 15
Turnovers: Lloyd 8, Newport 7
Steals: Lloyd 3, Newport 5
Blocks: Lloyd 2, Newport 7
Fouls: Lloyd 6, Newport 7
Records: Lloyd Memorial 25-9, Newport 31-3