Holy Cross' Tony Campbell cuts down the nets at Beechwood (Photo courtesy of Bob Jackson)
Northern Kentucky will have two representatives down at the All “A” State Tournament in Frankfort this year.
Holy Cross will be playing in the All “A” State Tournament for the first time in 13 years after beating NewCath 63-46 in the finals of the All “A” 9th Region Tournament at Beechwood over the weekend. In the 10th Region, the Bishop Brossart Mustangs gutted out a 54-49 win over Paris in the semifinals of the regional tournament, before rolling over St. Patrick’s 82-60 in the finals to punch their ticket to state as well.
Neither one of these teams are going down to Frankfort just to make an appearance though.
Both teams are set up with a great opportunity to compete for an All “A” State Title. In addition to being two of the favorites to win the tournament, they are also blessed with a favorable draw.
The two Northern Kentucky representatives, along with two or three other teams, are good enough to reasonably have a chance at winning it. Fortunately for the two NKy teams, the next best teams (Bardstown, Glasgow and Lexington Christian) are all on the opposite side of the bracket, and the only way Holy Cross and Brossart will meet up is in the semifinals, as they are in opposite pods on the bottom half of the bracket.
The Indians play first on Thursday evening with a 5 p.m. tipoff against Barbourville. The Mustangs will take on Louisville Collegiate later on at 8 p.m.
Holy Cross’ toughest matchup on the way to the semifinals would likely be Buckhorn.
Their first round matchup, Barbourville, features a couple of talented guards, particularly Tanner Broughton. Broughton is a point guard that can score, and he pairs nicely with backcourt-mate Josh Hildebrand, who can fill it up from long range. The Tigers play Holy Cross’ style, which is to get up and down and score lots of points, but they haven’t faced nearly the same competition that Holy Cross has. They also have no answer for the Indians’ big man, Tony Campbell, underneath.
Buckhorn will be a little bit different. The Wildcats also boast an impressive record (16-3), but have yet to play much competition. They are led by 6-foot-8 senior center Matt Day, who averages around 23 points a game. Different from Barbourville, Buckhorn likes to slow the game down and win ugly. They’ll be happy if the score against the Indians remains in the 50s. Two more seniors, guard Trevor Easterling and forward Ryan Couch, provide the rest of the scoring for the Wildcats. If you’re able to contain Day a little bit, and hold Easterling and Couch to modest performances, Buckhorn is very beatable. This potential second round match-up will be all about pace, if it comes to fruition.
For Brossart, they should handle their first opponent, Louisville Collegiate. The Titans are having a nice year, but they are another team that doesn’t play any of the bigger schools in their region. They also don’t have near enough size to compete with the Mustang’s 6-foot-9 Joe Jennings, 6-foot-5 Austin Trentmant, 6-foot-5 Drew Burns or 6-foot-5 Alex Trentman. Louisville Collegiate is one of the smallest schools in the tournament with a total enrollment of about 125 students smaller than Brossart’s.
In the second round they’ll likely play an average DeSales team with a 9-10 record on the year. They do play a very difficult schedule though, including all the top teams in Louisville, such as Trinity and St. Xavier. They’re led by senior center Evan Bingham and senior point guard Duncan Cameron. Both players are averaging just over 13 points per game. Cameron is an athletic lead guard and a volume shooter, and hits at a 31 percent clip from beyond the arc. Bingham is a solid post player, but will have a tough match-up against the Mustangs with Jennings and the crew. This second round battle would likely come down to Brossart’s guards giving them enough to overcome Cameron. The Mustangs’ team defense should be able to handle the talented guard, but he will be a difficult one on one assignment for any of Coach Code’s guards.
While it’s been a while since Holy Cross has made the trip to play in an All “A” State Tournament, the Mustangs have been regulars, and won their first All “A” State Title just five years ago in 2007.
This is the first year the tournament will be played in the Frankfort Convention Center. It was previously held in Richmond on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University.
(View Bob Jackson’s Photos from Holy Cross/NewCath)
