Simon Kenton was three and a half minutes away from their best chance at Rupp Arena since 2014.
Leading 49-42 with 3:27 left in the boys 8th Region championship basketball game against Spencer County, the Bears outscored the Pioneers to pull off a 57-51 victory.
Despite four 8th Region championship appearances since 2006, the championship trophy remains elusive.
“We stopped attacking their trapping when they had two on the ball and we had numbers,” Simon Kenton head coach Trent Steiner said. “We lost a kid in the corner in halfcourt action. It just seemed like we started unraveling. We looked over our shoulders waiting for something as opposed to continuing to be aggressive and we had foolish turnovers. When you lose, that kind of stuff happens unfortunately.”
Senior Luke Erhardt scored seven in a row to tie the game at 49 with 2:10 left then Keaton Baird put the Bears ahead for good with 1:18 to go. Jack Armstrong made it 53-49, breaking the Simon Kenton pressure with 28.1 seconds left. After Jay Bilton’s made lay-up for the Pioneers with 21 seconds left, Camden Cox hit four free throws to make the final score.
Cox finished with 20 to lead all scorers making four 3-pointers. Erhardt and Baird followed with 12 and 11, respectively.
On the Simon Kenton side, Travis Krohman and Jay Bilton scored 13 points each to lead the Pioneers and Bode Stone scored 12. The three made the all-tournament team.
Simon Kenton made a 7-0 run in the first quarter to go up 9-4 before Spencer County scored eight straight to go up 12-9 after the first. After getting within one, Spencer County stretched the lead back out to five at 28-23 at halftime.
“I think they did some things in the first half to outnumber us,” Steiner said. “Little things like that get you. Those things add up.”
Simon Kenton made a big run in the third quarter, scoring 12 straight to go up 40-32. The Pioneers remained at an arm’s length, Bilton’s layup giving the Pioneers a 49-42 advantage.
Simon Kenton graduates two starters in Krohman and Miles Brown. The two helped the Pioneers to two consecutive 32nd District championships and digging out of a 5-11 hole to start this year and finish the season 18-16.
“It’s been amazing. I love the guys like my family,” Brown said. “We started out losing games. We literally just banded together. We bought into what we had and played our part.”
This was Steiner’s fourth trip to a regional title game, the last one coming in 2014. While the Pioneers have 9th Region titles in 1981 (state champions) and 1995, an 8th Region title still eludes them.
BEARS 57, PIONEERS 51
SPENCER COUNTY — 12-16-7-22 — 57
SIMON KENTON — 9-14-17-11 — 51
Scoring
Spencer County (57) — Cox 20, Erhardt 12, Baird 11, Armstrong 7, Barron 4, Marksbury 3
Simon Kenton (51) — Bilton 13, Krohman 13, Stone 12, Polly 5, Brown 5, Bach 3
Game Stats
Field Goals: Spencer County 20/40, Simon Kenton 19/34
3-Pointers: Spencer County 8/21, Simon Kenton 5/10
Free Throws: Spencer County 9/9, Simon Kenton 8/9
Rebounds: Spencer County 17, Simon Kenton 19
Assists: Spencer County 10, Simon Kenton 14
Turnovers: Spencer County 8, Simon Kenton 12
Steals: Spencer County 5, Simon Kenton 4
Blocks: Spencer County 1, Simon Kenton 4
Fouls: Spencer County 12, Simon Kenton 13
Records: Spencer County 25-9, Simon Kenton 18-16