Overtime drama, career highs, student sections stretching from top to bottom of the bleachers, a packed house, perfect ingredients for any high school game.
Add a rivalry between schools separated by less than eight miles with district seeding on the line, and the stage was set for Wednesday night in Walton.
Simon Kenton escaped with a 53-51 overtime win against Walton-Verona to claim the No. 1 seed in the 32nd District Tournament, going 3-0 in the process.
“In this atmosphere, kids feel pressure, no matter what you try and talk about in practice,” Pioneers head coach Trent Steiner said. “No matter what you say in the locker room, kids at the end of the day feel pressure. Great student section, great crowd, hard-fought victory for us.”
The stakes were high. With the Pioneers at 2-0 and Walton-Verona 1-1 and Grant County at 2-1, a Walton-Verona win would have created a three-way tie for first, and Grant County would have held the tiebreaker, provided Simon Kenton didn’t score more than 60 points. In their previous game, the Bearcats fell to Grant County 54-51 in Dry Ridge.
Overtime decided it all.
After Walton-Verona won the tip, the Bearcats held the ball for most of the four-minute session, with two fouls throughout. With under 30 seconds left, a Walton-Verona turnover sent the ball to Bray Bilton, who sprinted the length of the floor to give Simon Kenton the lead with a layup.
Another Bearcat turnover and an offensive rebound by the Pioneers sealed the win.
“We had to beat them and keep them under 60 points,” Walton-Verona coach Mike Hester said. “We wanted to be patient, get a good shot, and had a plan to call a timeout under 30, which we did. We were trying to get a slip with Tatum [Thornberry] and fumbled in the paint. They were able to kick it out and take the lead.”
The first quarter mirrored the tension of overtime, with both teams scoring just seven points. The game picked up a slightly faster tempo afterward, with Simon Kenton taking a 19-17 lead into halftime.
The real fireworks came from Simon Kenton junior Bray Bilton, who cemented his place in the rivalry’s history with a career-high 34 points. After scoring six points in the first half, Bilton scored all 18 of the Pioneers’ points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“I walked into the gym knowing we had to win,” Bilton said. “It was very fun. I love having the student sections out here. I felt hot and knew what I needed to do.”
Both teams featured mostly new starters from last season, meaning it was a new experience for some. For the Bearcats, Adam Gutman and Wyatt Shearer were the only returning starters.
“We grew up a bunch tonight,” Hester said. “We’ve been struggling with zones, but I felt like we did a great job penetrating gaps, making the extra pass, and being patient.”
Cole Dryden, starting his first game in the rivalry, scored 17 points and hit two clutch fourth-quarter shots. Walton-Verona led 36-35 after three quarters, but Simon Kenton took a 51-46 lead in the final minutes. Dryden’s three-pointer and putback tied the game and forced overtime, the same bucket that would mark the last points the Bearcats scored.
Along with Dryden’s 17 points, Wyatt Shearer led Walton-Verona with 19, and Adam Gutman added 12.
As the district’s top seed, Simon Kenton will face Williamstown, 0-3 in district play, in the tournament, while Walton-Verona, now the No. 3 seed at 1-2 in district play, takes on Grant County, the No. 2 seed at 2-1.
Next up for Walton-Verona (14-11) is a matchup with Holy Cross in Covington Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and Simon Kenton (12-9) will host Scott Friday in Independence at 7:30 p.m.
MORE PHOTOS: Provided by Charles Bolton
PIONEERS 53, BEARCATS 51 (OT)
SIMON KENTON — 7-12-16-16-2 — 53
WALTON-VERONA — 7-10-19-15-0 — 51
Scoring
Simon Kenton (53) — Bilton 34, Scobee 8, Thomas 6, Marx 5
Walton-Verona (51) — W. Shearer 19, Dryden 17, Gutman 12, D. Shearer 3
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Simon Kenton 2, Walton-Verona 6
Free Throws: Simon Kenton 10/13, Walton-Verona 7/12
Fouls: Simon Kenton 16, Walton-Verona 13
Records: Simon Kenton 12-9, Walton-Verona 14-11