Sunday, March 19, 2000
Elizabethtown wins Ky. boys championship
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Maybe now, Antwain Barbour and his Elizabethtown teammates can get some respect.
The Panthers, unranked all season in the state's weekly high school basketball poll, were virtually ignored as a state title contender when the Sweet 16 began on Wednesday.
No one is ignoring Elizabethtown, or Barbour, now.
The 6-foot-5, 175-pound senior swingman scored 42 points in the Panthers' semifinal victory over Russellville, including the game-winning three-point play with 15 seconds remaining, and added 31 points in the title game as Elizabethtown beat Lexington Catholic 79-69 Saturday to win its first state championship.
“I can't describe this feeling,” said Barbour, who was named the tournament MVP. “We just refuse to lose. We had all the confidence in the world we were going to come back again. Everybody picked up their games.”
Elizabethtown (30-5) trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter of its 88-87 victory over Russellville and by 13 points at halftime of the title game.
But Barbour, who made 45 of his 80 field-goal attempts in the tournament, and fellow senior Chris Williams, who scored 20 points in the championship game and 17 in the semifinal, were not to be denied in the Panthers' first trip to the title game 1972.
“This is something they are going to remember for a lifetime,” Elizabethtown coach James Haire said. “I'm so proud of this team.”
Nathan Sexton added nine points and 20 rebounds in the championship game for Elizabethtown, which outscored the Knights 31-9 in the third quarter to take control of the game.
Matt Heissenbuttel scored 25 points and Will Harris added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Lexington Catholic (32-5), which lost for the first time in 17 games.
Elizabethtown trailed Russellville 69-54 in the fourth quarter of Saturday's semifinal game. But Barbour scored 21 points in the final quarter to rally the team to victory.
Lexington Catholic advanced to the championship game with a 52-47 victory over Scott County, which avenged the Knights' 85-82 loss to the Car dinals in the 1998 state semifinals.
It was the second trip to the final for Lexington Catholic, which lost 59-57 to University Heights in the 1992 title game.
ELIZABETHTOWN (30-5) - Johnston 3-5 3-6 11, Williams 7-14 6-10 25, Pedigo 1-2 1-4 3, Barbour 13-22 4-8 31, Richardson 0-1 0-0 0, Bramlett 0-0 0-0 0, Sexton 4-9 1-2 9. Totals 28-53 15-30 79.
LEXINGTON CATHOLIC (32-5) - Wellman 1-2 2-2 5, M. Heissenbuttel 8-14 8-14 25, Hewitt 2-5 1-4 5, Harris 8-19 2-2 20, Wilson 4-11 0-0 8, Wolford 1-1 0-0 2, Woody 0-4 0-0 0, Morton 1-3 0-0 2, Rose 1-1 0-0 2, J. Heissenbuttel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 13-22 69.
Halftime—Lexington Catholic 38, Elizabethtown 25. 3-point goals—Elizabethtown 8-16 (Williams 5-9, Johnston 2-3, Barbour 1-3, Richardson 0-1), Lexington Catholic 4-24 (Harris 2-9, M. Heissenbuttel 1-2, Wellman 1-2, Wilson 0-6, Woody 0-4). Fouled out—Wellman, Hewitt. Rebounds—Elizabethtown 44 (Sexton 20), Lexington Catholic 29 (Harris 10). Assists—Elizabethtown 8 (Johnston 4), Lexington Catholic 13 (Wellman, Hewitt, Harris 3). Total fouls—Elizabethtown 17, Lexington Catholic 24. A—17,442.
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