Wednesday, March 15, 2000
NCC opens Sweet 16 vs. Male
Look to beat Louisville foe for 2nd time this year
BY MARK SCHMETZER
Enquirer contributor
Coach Ron Dawn was so busy tending to the details of a region champion that he'd barely had time to savor the Ninth Region title won by his Newport Central Catholic team.
But he hadn't gotten so busy that he found himself wishing the Thoroughbreds hadn't won.
“No, I wouldn't trade it for anything,” Dawn said Tuesday night. “The feeling around school and the enthusiasm has been great.”
NCC (30-5), having already won its first regional title since 1984, will take a 21-game winning streak into its Sweet 16 matchup against Louisville Male (26-7) today at 2:30 p.m. at Lexington's Rupp Arena. The winner faces the winner of today's first game between Muhlenberg North (24-6) and Lexington Catholic (29-4) Friday at 1 p.m.
The semifinals are Saturday at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and the state championship game is that night at 8.
“It's been really great,” said junior guard Ronny Dawn, who Monday was named a second-team all-state selection. “I'm not sure if we expected the team to be in the position we are at the start of the season. We thought we'd have a pretty good shot at winning the Ninth Region, but nobody thought we'd win 21 in a row and be 30-5.”
Male is making its first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 1993 and its 18th overall, and the Bulldogs have compiled a 34-15 record while winning four state championships, the last in 1975. They won the Seventh Region championship to earn their berth this year.
The Thoroughbreds hadn't yet started on their win streak when they beat Male, 65-57, in the Fifth Third Bank Kentucky Holiday Classic at Lexington Dec.27.
“We shot the ball well that day, and we'll have to again,” Ron Dawn said. "If we don't shoot the ball well, it's going to be tough. They've changed their lineup some since then, but not a lot. They're pretty much doing the same things now that they did then, from what I hear.”
In the region semifinals, they pulled off a 66-64 upset of Louisville Ballard, the No.1 team in the state.Ballard had beaten Male, 84-79, in the last game of the regular season just two weeks earlier.
The Bulldogs, one of Kentucky's top 20 teams in scoring and field-goal percentage, are led by 6-foot-5 forward Larry O'Bannon and 6-7, 220-pound sophomore center Lavar Carter, Dawn said.
“O'Bannon's very athletic,” Ron Dawn said. “He scores about 18 a game.
“They'll pressure you, full-court and half-court. We've been spending time in practice on that and on helping out inside on defense.”
NCC, which is among the state's top 3-point and free-throw shooting teams, will counter with 6-1 Chris Meyer, 6-foot Danny Mayer and the outside shooting of its three-guard attack: Dawn, senior Tony Bacigalupo and junior Seth Lynn.
The Thoroughbreds planned to hit the road to Rupp at about 8:30 a.m. today.
NCC wasn't leaving until after a pep rally at the school, the highlight of which was expected to be the shaving of principal Carl Foster's head. Foster had promised to do so if NCC won the Ninth Region title.
“He's bringing his own barber and he thinks he's going to get away with just a short haircut,” Ron Dawn said.
Sports Stories
Xavier gets another chance
Huggins: No pressure from past
Bengals' O'Dwyer suspended for bar fight
Heated field to keep grass green
Public should have say on our stadium
Deion needs minor tuneup
Kearns has big-league day
Reese still hurting
Reds Game Report
Advisory group sought for Reds ballpark
