While they were only down by one at the half Friday night, you just felt like the UHA Blazers were waiting for some kind of spark. They had opened a bit flat Thursday and could never overcome it in the loss to Lexington Christian, and there just felt like something was a little out of kilter at the beginning of the game with LaRue County.
Whatever Coach Grant Shouse did at halftime, he should bottle it up, market it, and make some money with it. The Blazers opened the second half with renewed energy and fire, and then used a crucial 12-0 run the 4th quarter to knock off LaRue County 68-65 in the consolation bracket quarterfinals of the Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass at Fairdale High School.
LaRue County, which was big and physical, took the game right at the Blazers early. The Hawks jumped out to an 8-2 lead. UHA rallied late in the opening quarter and trimmed the lead to 12-9 after one.
The Hawks kept pounding the ball inside to open the 2nd quarter, and ran the lead out to 20-11. Behind the play of KJ Crump and Amani McGee, the Blazers finished the half on a 15-7 run to cut the LaRue County lead to 27-26 at the break.
When the teams came out of the locker rooms, the game found a whole new tempo in the third quarter. While his shot was not wanting to fall for him, KyKy Tandy used his defense and speed to help the Blazers get things rolling. KJ Crump continued to play big during the 3rd quarter as well. UHA jumped out to a 38-32 lead with 5:50 to go in the quarter.
The Hawks, however, were not going to go quietly. The trio of Dailliss Cox, Anthony Adkins, and Mark Goode continued to give the Blazers fits down near the basket. LaRue battled back to tie the game at 40-40, 43-43, 45-45, and 47-47. KyKy Tandy converted an old fashioned three point play with 1.6 seconds to go in the quarter to put UHA up 50-47 after three.
With the Blazers holding a 52-49 lead, the Hawks hit UHA with an 11-0 run to take a 60-52 lead with just over 5 minutes to go. This time, the Blazers, with their restored energy, answered, and answered in a big way. UHA hit back with a 12-0 run to take a 64-60 lead with 1:45 to go. The Blazer defense finished strong, and UHA did enough at the line to hold on for the 68-65 win.
KJ Crump had a big game for the Blazers with 19 points. KyKy Tandy added 17. Drew McGowan chipped in with 11, including three 3-pointers.
Mark Goode was the top scorer for LaRue County with 21 points.
UHA improves to 8-1 on the season, and moves on to the consolation bracket semifinals Saturday at 7:30pm EST. The Blazers will face Male, who they scrimmaged before the season. The Bulldogs are coached by former Hopkinsville coach Tim Haworth.
