Saturday night’s 2nd Region championship game had a familiar theme for the University Heights Academy Blazers this season. That theme, get a lead, see the other team rally, and then find a way to pull out the win.
Saturday night at Madisonville-North Hopkins, the Blazers took a double-digit halftime lead over the host Maroons, only to see Madisonville take the lead in the waning moments of the game. And, with the highest stakes of the season on the line, the Blazers found a way to pick up the win.
Two big late steals led to an Amani McGee go-ahead three inside the final minute as UHA outlasted Madisonville 63-61 to win the 2nd Region championship and earn the trip next week to Rupp Arena for the Boys’ Sweet Sixteen.
The game marked the second time in the past three seasons that the Blazers and the Maroons had met with the title on the line, both of those meetings taking place on Madisonville’s home court. The game also marked the second straight appearance in the title game for Maroons’ head coach Jon Newton, who coached Webster County to the 2020 final, where the Trojans fell to Madisonville.
The ball pressure that has worked so well all season long for the Blazers exerted itself early in the game against the Maroons. UHA used steals and layups to take an early 10-4 lead. D.J. Quarles, Amani McGee, and William Bryan were all involved in the early run.
After a bit of a slow start, Kale Gaither rallied the Maroons. Gaither scored five late points in the quarter to bring Madisonville back. The quarter would end tied at 14-14. Gaither and Zach Tow combined to score all but two of the Maroons points in the first eight minutes.
The Blazers appeared to take control of the game in the second quarter. In addition to the ball pressure defense, the Blazers began to penetrate the Maroons defense and then dish off for easy baskets in the lane. The combination enabled the Blazers to move out to a 25-20 lead.
After the Maroons cut the lead back to 25-23, the Blazers caught fire from deep. UHA would go on a 13-4 run to close out the half and take a 38-27 lead into the locker room at the break. K.J. Crump hit two threes and Gavin Grubbs added another as the Blazers had all the momentum at the break.
Turns out the momentum was short-lived. The Maroons opened the second half by scoring the first ten points to cut the lead to 38-37, and it was “game on” from there. Zach Tow would drain a long three to give Madisonville its first lead since 2-0 at 43-42.
Amani McGee scored six points over the final moments of the third quarter to push the Blazers back out to a 50-45 lead heading into the final quarter.
The 4th quarter saw more of the same. Madisonville scored the first five points to even things up at 50-50. A couple of baskets from D.J. Quarles made it 54-50 with just over five minutes to go in the game.
Much like he had done in the Maroons’ semifinal win against Hopkinsville, Kale Gaither began to make some big plays at crunch time. Gaither would score 8 points as Madisonville took a 60-57 lead inside the final three minutes, and the Maroons appeared to have the Blazers on their heels.
William Bryan would come up with a layup off a Blazer steal to make it 60-59. Another steal would set the Blazers up with another possession. D.J. Quarles drove to the basket, but his shot was blocked. However, off the rebound, the ball found its way to Amani McGee in the left corner for a wide-open three to put the Blazers up 62-60.
Zach Tow would draw a foul down in the lane, but could only make 1 of 2 free throws to cut it to 62-61. After grabbing the rebound D.J. Quarles would make 1 of 2 free throws to push it back out to 63-61. The Maroons would miss a last-ditch chance to tie the game without getting off a shot attempt and the celebration for the Blazers and their fans was on. Appropriately enough, it was a steal, this time by K.J. Crump, that sealed the title for the Blazers.
Amani McGee led the Blazers with 19 points in the contest. William Bryan and K.J. Crump added 13 points each. D.J. Quarles also reached double figures with 11. All four were also named to the All-Region Tournament Team.
Zach Tow, who kept Madisonville in the game early, finished the night with 24 points. Kale Gaither finished with 18 points, eight of them in the final quarter as he nearly again led the Maroons to a come from behind win late in the game.
UHA improves to 15-9 with their 7th straight win and moves on to next week’s Boys Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena, where they will take on the 4th Region champion Bowling Green. That contest with the Purples is set for Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 pm eastern time.
The Blazers and the Purples met back on February 1st, with Bowling Green cruising to an 88-50 win.
UHA — 14 24 12 13 – 63
MNHHS — 14 13 18 16 – 61
University Heights (15-9) – McGee 19, Crump 13, Bryan 13, Quarles 11, Braxton 4, Grubbs 3
Madisonville-North Hopkins (16-5) – Tow 24, Gaither 18, Gaines 14, Cline 3, Cheirs 2
