Saturday, March 17, 2001
Ky. Sweet Sixteen Roundup
Favored Male struggles into semifinals
By STEVE BAILEY
AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the second straight game, favored Male struggled to play to its potential but managed to move on in the boys' state basketball tournament.
The Region 7 champion Bulldogs (31-3) recovered from a sluggish first half to overpower South Laurel 63-53 in Friday's quarterfinal round.
With the victory, Male advanced to take on Region 4 champion Russellville (24-7), a 72-54 winner over Clay County, in Saturday morning's first semifinal game.
The other semifinal will pit Region 11 champion Lafayette (23-11), a 56-53 winner over Fairdale, against Region 5 champion North Hardin (30-3), a 50-44 winner over Ashland Blazer. The finals will be played at 8 p.m. EST Saturday.
Michael Bush was 8-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, to finish with 23 points, and Larry O'Bannon added 17 points and six assists as Male snapped South Laurel's seven-game winning streak.
It didn't come easy. Although the Bulldogs dominated the opening moments of play, Brad Sizemore hit three straight 3-pointers during a 15-2 run to put South Laurel up 19-14 midway through the second quarter.
Male fought back to tie the game, and Bush hit a running layup at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 29-27 halftime lead.
South Laurel scored the first nine points of the second half to go up 36-29 midway through the third quarter. O'Bannon then scored five straight points during a 7-0 run as Male tied the game at 36.
Tied at 38 at the end of the third quarter, Male ripped off seven straight points to take control.
“When we finally got into an offensive flow, we played better defense,” Male coach Bryce Hibbard said. “They really played our rear ends off.”
Teco Dickerson scored 26 points and Maurice Hampton added 21 in Russellville's victory over Region 3 champion Clay County (25-8).
Dickerson was 9-of-15 from the field and hit all four of his free-throw attempts. Hampton added eight rebounds and five assists as the Panthers advanced to the state semifinals for the second straight year.
Dickerson had 15 first-quarter points as Russellville jumped out to a 22-16 lead. Hampton scored the Panthers' next six points as the lead grew to 28-19 with 3:27 in the half.
Clay County bounced back with a 7-2 run, cutting the margin to 30-26 at halftime. The Tigers scored the first two baskets of the second half to take a 31-30 lead.
Up 54-48 with six minutes to play, Russellville put the game away with an 11-3 run. Clay County shot 47 percent but turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 21 Russellville points.
“Our defense was the deciding factor,” Russellville coach Phil Todd said. “Our full-court pressure led to a lot of easy baskets.”
Jeremy Asher scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Brian Griffin had 14 points and Richard Walker added 11 points and seven rebounds to lead the Tigers, who lost for the first time in 13 games.
Robert Madison had 15 points, and Vernard Hazard and Brandon Riley added 10 each in Lafayette's dramatic victory over Region 6 champion Fairdale (26-8).
The Generals dominated early, jumping on top 16-2 and forcing two Fairdale timeouts less than six minutes into the game.
Coric Riggs' long 3-pointer and powerful two-handed dunk pulled Fairdale to 18-11 less than a minute into the second quarter. Dudley Hall's back-to-back jumpers down the stretch pushed the Generals' lead to 27-18 at halftime.
Down 51-45, Fairdale's 6-0 run tied the game with 31 seconds to play. James Gentry's two free throws put the Generals back on top 53-51.
Riggs stepped on the endline driving to the basket on the Bulldogs' next possession, and Quinton Roberts calmly shot 3-of-4 from the line in the final 12 seconds to seal the game.
“I really wasn't nervous,” Roberts said. “I knew I had to hit them. My teammates were counting on me.”
Riggs scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked four shots to lead Fairdale.
North Hardin also survived a scare against Region 16 champion Ashland Blazer (22-10).
Quinton Smith scored 12 points, and Cedric Burton and Andre Woodson had 10 each as the Trojans took control early then held on to win their 17th straight game.
North Hardin led 17-9 after one quarter and built the cushion to 11 at 25-14 on Woodson's three-point play midway through the second quarter. Ashland hung tough down the stretch, pulling to 27-20 at halftime.
Ashland cut the margin to five several times in the third quarter and to three, 41-38, on Arliss Beach's 3-pointer with 3:50 to play.
Beach and Josh Cook hit consecutive 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds to pull to 45-44. But Larry Fox and Matt DeMasters each made a pair of free throws in the final 25 seconds to seal the game.
“We tried everything but couldn't force them to play our tempo,” North Hardin coach Ron Bevars said. “But we kept our composure down the stretch and didn't panic. We could have folded but instead made some big plays and won the game.”
Beach scored 14 points and Mark Surgalski 10 for Ashland, which lost for the first time in 10 games.
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