Sure, they boast the top offense in the state, scoring 83 points per game.
But what Covington Catholic does defensively sometimes goes unnoticed with the offensive firepower they have.
The Colonels held Holy Cross to 30% shooting in a 80-45 victory, securing the No. 1 seed for the 35th District Tournament. No. 1 was something in common for the Colonels on Tuesday as they woke up to being the No. 1 ranked team in the state in the Elite 16 statewide media poll for the first time this season.
“We’ve just got to take it one day at a time,” Colonels senior Athens McGillis said. “That means we have a bigger target on our back. So, it’s kind of just one step, one day at a time.”
Hours later, they got down to business at the Thomas B. Finn Activity Center at Holy Cross. They jumped out to a 11-2 lead and after Holy Cross responded with a 9-4 run to end the first to get within 21-15, it was all Colonels from there.
They opened the second on a 17-0 run and took a 43-22 lead into halftime. They continued to pour it on, holding Holy Cross to just seven points in a 12-minute stretch.
“Our defense gets our offense running,” Colonels senior Cash Harney said. ” We always focus on that, especially the beginning of the game. We set the tone early with our defense.”
Midway through the third it was 50-22 and what was a highly anticipated game between district rivals turned into the reserves closing out the game in the final minutes.
The Colonels destruction through the 9th Region continues, they’re 9-0 in region play, winning those games by an average margin of 37.1 points per game.
“Tonight was biggest game of the year to date for us,” Colonels coach Jake Thelen said. “I told the guys that it’s the biggest game of the year, because if you get a one seed, you know you’re in a really good situation to make the regional tournament.”
They were led on the evening by McGillis with 21 points, adding five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Three others finished in double figures as Donovan Bradshaw had 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots while altering many others. Harney chipped in 15 with five assists and three steals and Braeden Myrick also added 15 with five assists.
“I thought our defense tonight was really good,” Thelen said. “We wanted to put 32 minutes together because we hadn’t done it the past couple games. I thought we did tonight. We held them from 30% from the field and 9% from three, which is awesome defense. We out rebounded them by 16, and that’s just good for us offensively. So when our defense is good, our offense is good. So our guys did a really good job tonight.”
The Colonels are back in action on Friday when they host Dixie Heights.
Holy Cross, after a 15-2 start, is now 2-5 in their last seven games. The loss puts them as the No. 3 seed in the district tournament and will face Beechwood in the semifinals in a win or go home game.
“We’re going to continue to put our head down every single day,” Indians coach Ricardo Johnson said. “Guys will continue to get in the gym and raise our level of play. We got two and a half, three weeks left in the season, so there’s no choice.”
Outside of a late spurt in the first quarter, they struggled to get much of a rhythm, going 2-of-21 from the 3-point line. They were led by Nate Rominger with 18 points and seven rebounds. Luke Arlinghaus added 13 points. Brady Gabbard, in his third game back from a shoulder injury, was held to six points.
“I’m excited for the future of the program and the rest of the season. It’s only one game,” Johnson said. “We just have to continue to get better across the board.”
Holy Cross faces Walton-Verona at home on Thursday their next time out.
MORE PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
COLONELS 80, INDIANS 45
COVINGTON CATHOLIC — 21-22-19-18 — 80
HOLY CROSS — 15-7-12-11 — 45
Scoring
CovCath (80) — McGillis 21, Bradshaw 16, Harney 15, Myrick 15, Gaiser 7, Bode 2, Courtney 2, Stava 2
Holy Cross (45) — Rominger 18, Arlinghaus 13, Henderson 6, Gabbard 6, Hunt 2
Game Stats
Field Goals: CovCath 27/48, Holy Cross 17/55
3-Pointers: CovCath 6/14, Holy Cross 2/21
Free Throws: CovCath 20/23, Holy Cross 9/12
Assists: CovCath 17, Holy Cross 4
Steals: CovCath 6, Holy Cross 3
Blocked Shots: CovCath 8, Holy Cross 2
Turnovers: CovCath 10, Holy Cross 10
Fouls: CovCath 14, Holy Cross 16
Records: Covington Catholic 23-1, Holy Cross 17-7