The Christian County and University Heights boys’ basketball teams waited three weeks to settle a game that began on January 9th, with the Colonels winning 84-75 on Wednesday in a hotly contested 2nd Region battle. In early January, a packed house was disappointed to hear the announcement that the game was being postponed at halftime due to condensation on the court resulting in dangerous conditions. No admission was charged for the conclusion, and attendance was capped to avoid over crowding. With the win, the Colonels move into the drivers’ seat for the top seed in the 8th District tournament with a 3-0 record, while the Blazers suffer their first district loss and stand at 3-1. Christian County has won four of five to move to 13-6 overall, with UHA dropping their second straight to slip to 13-6.
A bucket by Colonel senior guard Cory Trice gave them a 10-5 lead with just over two minutes gone. Trice scored on a layup to make it 14-9, but the Blazers answered with 5 straight points from junior forward TaQuon Hollowell to tie the game at 14 headed into the second quarter.
Colonel senior forward Detorrion Ware scored 5 straight, followed by a steal and score by senior forward JaQuon Long gave them a 21-16 lead less than a minute into the period. After Trice was fouled on a breakaway and hit one of two free throws, Blazer junior guard Kyky Tandy scored to cut the Colonel lead to 26-19. A Tandy jumper, followed by a steal and three-point play, trimmed the Colonel lead to 2 at 28-26 with 3:15 left in the half. With a minute and a half to play, Tandy drilled a deep three to give the Blazers the lead at 31-3o, and two free throws from senior forward Malik Lovan put the Blazers up 35-30. No one knew it at the time, but Ware’s putback with :10 on the clock would be the last points of the night, and UHA went into the locker room with a 35-32 lead they would hold for three weeks.
Tandy led the Blazers with 15 in the first half, followed by Hollowell with 9, including 7 in the first quarter. Trice paced the Colonels with 15 points, 7 in the second quarter, with Ware going for 9. Long scored 8, the end of his contribution as he missed Wednesday night’s proceedings with tonsillitis.
Christian County began the night and the third quarter with an inbounds, and Ware wasted little time tying the game at 35 with a three pointer. Tandy answered with a three of his own, and a tense, back and forth battle ensued. Tandy began a personal thirty-second highlight reel, including a monster dunk, a blocked shot, and a coast to coast three-point play, to give the Blazers a 43-41 lead with 5:27 left in the quarter. Junior Fred Tandy drained a three pointer to cut the Blazer lead to 1 at 46-45, but a three by UHA junior guard Drew McGowan gave them a 50-47 lead with 1:50 on the clock. Trice was called for a foul with :32 left, sending Lovan to the line, where he converted both free throws for a 55-52 Blazer lead. With UHA up by 5, sophomore guard Damikeon Mathis hit a huge three pointer at the buzzer to pull the Colonels to within two at 57-55 with one quarter to play.
A jumper by junior forward Eric Brody gave the Colonels a 67-63 lead with 5:13 to play, and Mathis extended the lead to 7 with two free throws. Tandy drilled a three pointer, and McGowan followed with a layup to get UHA within 1 at 69-68 with 3:52 left. Ware hit a three, followed by a Trice layup to give the Colonels their biggest lead at 77-69 with just over two minutes remaining. Christian County took the first double-digit lead of the game on another Ware three pointer with 1:28 on the clock, and the Blazers wouldn’t get closer than 6 the rest of the way. Ware capped off his huge second half with a layup just inside of :30 for the final points of the game, and the Colonels were left to celebrate a 84-75 win three weeks in the making.
Ware and Tandy both put up 35 points, with Ware winning the second-half duel 26-18. Trice was next for the Colonels with 17, followed by Tandy with 10, all in the second half. Mathis and Long had 8 each, Brody scored 4, and senior forward Kolbe Langhi had a bucket. For the Blazers, Hollowell finished with 16, McGowan had 10, and Lovan chipped in 8. Senior Heekwun Dorsey scored 4, and freshmen KJ Crump and DJ Quarles had a point each.
The Colonels return to the court on Thursday, when they welcome the Trigg County Wildcats (11-8) to Colonel Gym. It doesn’t get any easier for the Blazers, as they travel to face the 16-7 Bowling Green Purples, winners of five straight, on Friday.
