When the ball won’t go in the basket, it can many times make for a tough night on the basketball court. Whether it was the extra-long layoff due to COVID-19 protocols, or the defense of the Owensboro Catholic Aces, or a combination of both, with the shots not falling with regularity Tuesday night, the Christian County Colonels found themselves on the wrong side of a 64-48 score.
While most teams around the area got the season rolling on January 4, the Colonels had to wait until Tuesday night due to virus protocols to get their season going. On the other bench, Owensboro Catholic had managed to get eight games in already, so the Aces had seen plenty of times to “work the kinks out.”
As the Colonels struggled to find the hoop early on, Catholic jumped out to a 9-2 lead. While their shooting eye was still out of focus, the Colonels battled back using pressure defense and battling on the boards to trim the lead to 11-7 by the end of the quarter.
Christian County opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 12-11 lead and it looked as if the Colonels were settling in for the night. Then, the wheels came off the wagon, so to say. The Aces’ Brian Griffith, who finished the night with 27 points, helped lead Owensboro Catholic on a 15-0 run to go up 26-12 and take full control of the game. The Aces would lead 28-15 going into the locker room.
Bubba Leavell kept the Colonels in the game in the opening half, scoring 8 points over the first sixteen minutes of the game.
Midway through the third quarter, Catholic delivered the knockout blow. Leading 33-18, the Aces ripped off seven straight to extend the lead to 40-18, and effectively end the game. The lead would be up to 24 points at 46-22 when the quarter ended.
Getting some solid minutes from JaSean Riley and Derrell Bateman, the Colonels were able to chew into the lead a bit over the final minutes of the game. However, Christian County could get no closer than the final 16 point margin.
Christian County was led by Bubba Leavell with 14 points. Derrell Bateman and JaSean Riley also reached double figures with 10 points each.
The Aces Brian Griffith was the game’s leading scorer with 27 points. Parker Gray finished with 18 points, while Sam McFarland added 15.
The Colonels open the season at 0-1. They return to the court Friday night when they go on the road to take on Paducah Tilghman.
Owensboro Catholic improves to 8-1 on the season. The Aces are scheduled to be back in action Saturday afternoon at University Heights.
OCHS — 11 17 18 18 – 64
CCHS — 7 8 7 26 – 48
Owensboro Catholic (8-1) – Griffith 27, Gray 18, McFarland 15, Scales 2, Carrico 2
Christian County (0-1) – Leavell 14, Bateman 10, Riley 10, Miles 7, Forte 4, Johnson 3
