The latest Kentucky RPI rankings had the teams ranked #1 and #2, and the game would have been worthy of being a state title game. Peyton Pelphrey’s putback of a wild, desperation three at the buzzer carried Lexington Catholic past Madisonville 67-65 in overtime on the Knights home court in the championship game of the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic.
With the game tied at 65-65, tournament MVP Ben Johnson took a three from out front that missed and kicked off the rim to the right side. Luke Wedding chased down the rebound for Catholic and literally threw up a wild three point shot in the direction of the basket with 2.6 seconds to go. The shot sailed across the rim into the hands of Pelphry, who put it into the basket just ahead of the horn for the win.
The game was tight from the very beginning. Madisonville took an early 8-2 lead less than three minutes into the contest. Lexington Catholic would get as close as a point, before the Maroons pushed the lead back out to 16-11 at the end of the quarter. K’Suan Casey had a big quarter for Madisonville with 7 points.
The teams traded the lead back and forth in the second quarter, with the Knights taking a 31-29 lead at the half.
The third quarter was more of the same, with neither team able to gain much separation. At the end of the quarter, it was Lexington Catholic clinging to a 48-45 lead.
Madisonville rallied early in the 4th, and looked just briefly like they were ready to put the game away, taking a 56-51 lead. But the Knights fought back. Deljuan Johnson hit a shot from the right side of the lane to give Madisonville a 61-59 lead with 21 seconds left. Ben Johnson then got a layup down the right side of the lane with six seconds left to tie the game at 61-61 and set it to overtime.
The biggest moment of the overtime came with 2:26 to go when Madisonville’s Kenny White fouled out. Marquise Parker and Ben Johnson would trade baskets to tie the game at 65-65 with 1:00 to go. The Maroons worked the clock down to the final 25 seconds but just missed a shot in the lane, giving Lexington Catholic the ball on the rebound and setting up the frenetic finish.
The loss drops the Maroons to 11-2 on the season. Both losses have been in overtime, to Collins in the King of the Bluegrass, and now to Lexington Catholic in the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic.
