They had to fight their way through a very difficult first half, but you can make it a lucky seven for the UHA Blazers. The Blazers have advanced to the All A Classic state tournament for a seventh consecutive year by handling Livington Central 78-56 in the Boys 2nd Region All A championship game Monday afternoon at Dawson Springs. The win marks the 15th regional title in the last 17 years for UHA.
The Blazers move on despite a brutal first half of shooting. A first half where the 3-point shooting of Drew McGowan may have saved the day for UHA, as the Blazers struggled to find an offensive flow in the early going of the game.
Livingston gave early indication that they were not going to be intimidated by the Blazers. The Cardinals opened the game on a 7-0 run, while the Cardinals zone defense kept UHA out of a rhythm in the first half of play. It took the Blazers more than 3 minutes to get on the board. Drew McGowan’s three made it 7-3 with 4:40 to go in the opening quarter.
The Cardinals got balanced offense in the opening half with solid play from Max Downey, Bryce Stein, and T-Roy Ringstaff. The Cardinals held a 15-11 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
It looked like UHA found their stride in the second quarter, as the Blazers went on a 7-0 run to take a 27-21 lead, and there was the feeling that UHA was about to pull away. However, the Cardinals were going to have none of that. With Bryce Stein having a big second quarter, Livingston came flying bac to claim a 31-28 lead.
A late three by Jaylen Brown and two free throws by KyKy Tandy sent the Blazers to the locker room with a narrow two point lead.
Then came the second half. And, then came a new level of defensive pressure from the Blazers. UHA limited Livingston Central to two field goals in the 3rd quarter and put the game away. With a 40-35 lead, the Blazers went on a 13-1 spurt that effectively sealed the win. By the end of the 3rd, UHA was up 56-38. KyKy Tandy had 8 in the quarter, while Drew McGowan and Jaylen Brown added six each.
The final quarter turned out to be a showcase for Tandy. After struggling with his shooting in the first half, Tandy caught fire in the final quarter, scoring fifteen points, including four deep 3-pointers. The Blazers were never threatened in the final quarter and rolled on out to the 22-point win.
KyKy Tandy led the way for UHA with 31 points, 24 of them coming in the 2nd half of play. Drew McGowan connected for 17. Taquan Hollowell had 11 points. Jaylen Brown added nine, including two huge three pointers.
T-Roy Ringstaff came up with 16 points for the Cardinals. Bryce Stein added 15 down inside for Livingston Central.
The win improves UHA to 17-3 on the season. The Blazers will now head off to Richmond to take on the 10th Region champion in the last game of the first round of boys play, Thursday night at 9:30pm ET in McBrayer Arena.
