Will Nate McGovney be able to get his Camels past Brossart and into the 10th Region Tournament?
Wednesday brings some great matchups as most of the district tournaments really get underway. NKSB takes a look at the top three first round matchups, all being played on Wednesday night.
3. Conner (9-17, 3-4) vs Cooper (13-14, 3-4)
33rd District Semifinals
7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Conner
Previous Meetings:
December 2 – Cooper 54 Conner 39
December 29 – Conner 56 Cooper 48
January 25 – Cooper 61 Conner 35
These two schools were bound to be rivals from the day Cooper was founded. It’s taken the Jaguars a few years to build up their programs, but the rivalry with the Cougars in Hebron has grown more competitive with each year.
Both of these teams play solid defense and make it hard to score on one another, but Cooper’s pressure on the ball has given Conner’s backcourt a lot of trouble. The Cougars have some skill and can knock down shots and score in the half court, but they struggle to take care of the ball against pressure defense. Aaron Morgan and Chris Henderson are both quick point guards for Cooper that are very good at harassing the basketball on defense. Also, Cooper center Louis Maniacci protects the rim well making it hard on an undersized Conner team to get buckets in the paint.
On the other side, Cooper has had their own troubles scoring the ball at times, and Conner has one of the premier defenders in the 9th Region in sophomore forward Drew Barker. At 6-foot-4, Barker has locked up top big men and top perimeter players. He also takes care of some of the ball-handling duties when the back-court is struggling to get it up the floor.
What’s interesting is that these teams are coming off very different performances. Conner lost six of its last seven, before pulling off a strong 49-47 upset over NewCath in the the final game of the regular season. Cooper meanwhile, had beat Boone County 44-41 to capture the two seed for the 33rd District Tournament and then played Dixie tough, before losing in a rather uninspired performance against Scott that saw them fail to get out of the 30s, 55-39.
Cooper will need AJ Collins, Alex Webster and Maniacci to lead them on the offensive end and score some points – something they’ve struggled with as a team lately. Conner needs their guards to handle the pressure and get the ball up the floor to let Barker work in the post or get to the free-throw line, and let Sam Hemmerich get some open looks at the basket. Cody Huff can be the difference-maker in this game. When he’s finishing plays, scoring points and playing under control, it adds another dimension to Conner’s team.
2. Holy Cross (28-2, 2-1) vs CovCath (16-12, 1-2)
35th District Semifinals
6:00 p.m. Wednesday at NKU (Regents Hall)
Previous Meetings:
February 3 – Holy Cross 74 CovCath 68 OT
The first meeting between these two teams is interesting to look back at, because I have to imagine both teams left feeling ok about their chances in this district tournament game on Wednesday that actually matters. On one hand, Holy Cross lost Antonio Campbell to a hip injury in the fourth quarter, and then lose Jake Burger to a foul out in overtime, and still find a way to hang on and win. On the other hand, CovCath didn’t play all that well, found themselves down big at one point, yet still managed to send the game to overtime and kept it close.
The best part is they both were probably holding back to an extent.
These are two of the best young Xs and Os coaches in Northern Kentucky. They scout well, and they game-plan for opponents well. Neither one wanted to tip their hand in the seeding game, when they already knew they were playing each other again in the tournament regardless of the result. Holy Cross Head Coach Erik Goetz basically told us as much in this video interview he did with us following that game: Video – Erik Goetz Postgame.
CovCath proved that they can score against the Indians. Point guard Nick Ruthsatz puts the Holy Cross defense in a tough spot when he breaks their press, as he has a great pull-up jump-shot, but he also found big man Zack Tobler all alone on the block for layups all night last time when Xavier helped up to contest his shot. The Colonels will also have to look for shooting guard Nick Fredrick in transition, as he had some success in the second half last game against Holy Cross’ press which gives up a lot of open threes on the back end.
On the other end of the court, the Indians present a lot of matchup problems for the Colonels. They really don’t have anyone big enough to stop Antonio Campbell in the post, or keep him off the glass (I guess in fairness, neither does anyone else in NKy). They also really don’t have a good matchup for Burger on the wing, whose combination of size, athleticism and skill make him a difficult cover. He dominated CovCath the first time around with 29 points and seven rebounds.
If Holy Cross get any offensive help from their other players, like junior wing Christian McClendon or senior guard Travis Thompson, they could roll. At the same time, CovCath needs Tobler, Fredrick and another player or two like potentially Clint Massie and Connor Cleves, who have given good minutes as of late, to step up and help keep pace with the potent Indians’ offense.
1. Campbell County (16-12, 3-1) vs Brossart (20-7, 3-1)
37th District Semifinals
7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Campbell County Middle School
Previous Meetings:
January 6 – Campbell County 58 Brossart 54 OT
I’ve covered them all in Northern Kentucky, and trust me, as far as rivalry games go, Campbell County/Brossart is as big as it gets. The atmosphere for the first game at CCMS was absolutely ridiculous with a sell-out crowd inside the doors well before tipoff. These two teams got after it and took turns making big plays down the stretch to the roar of the crowd, and Dalton Griffin’s jumper for Campbell that sent it into overtime was one of the craziest moments I’ve witnessed this year. There’s just some genuine, yet healthy, dislike between these two schools.
Last time they played, it was the Nate McGovney show. Campbell County’s standout wing had 26 points and was virtually un-guardable, showing his ability to score from all three levels – perimeter, mid-range and at the rim. However, the other key to the Camels’ victory the first time around was the efforts from Griffin who finished with 13, including the buzzer beater to force overtime, and sophomore Corey Holbrook finishing with 10 and making some big plays. Campbell is tough to beat when they a couple of guys going along with McGovney.
When Brossart’s going good, they do three things well. First, they control the tempo. They make you play their style of game and they control where the scores are going to end up for the most part. Second, and this is in line with the first one, they utilize their size advantage. No Northern Kentucky team can really contend with their size, except for Holy Cross, so the Mustangs have to take advantage with center Joe Jennings and forwards Austin Trentman, Alex Trentman and Drew Burns. Third, they make it really hard to score, and force you to beat them with jump shots. Now this isn’t a typical Brossart team, but when they’ve played their best, they haven’t allowed easy baskets at the rim and have been tough to score on this year.
Nate McGovney is going to be the best player on the court. However, Brossart’s Justin Saunders can be a top level player in the area as well and is capable of putting up big point totals. He scored 16 last time these two met. This game likely comes down to how much help these two standouts get from their teammates. If Brossart’s guards can take care of the ball and control the pace, and they can get scoring production from their bigs, then they should be in good shape. If Campbell County can get scoring from Griffin, Holbrook or even Jared White, to go along with McGovney then they could be in the drivers’ seat. If both scenarios happen, then we’re likely to see another overtime classic between these two.
