Rapid Reaction: Lexington Catholic 59, Covington Catholic 58
There weren’t many games on the schedule Wednesday but one of the few was Covington Catholic traveling to Lexington Catholic in their annual rivalry game. It was a great game that went back and forth all night, ending with Ryan Russell’s made…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThere weren’t many games on the schedule Wednesday but one of the few was Covington Catholic traveling to Lexington Catholic in their annual rivalry game. It was a great game that went back and forth all night, ending with Ryan Russell’s made free throw with a second left in the game. Here’s what I took away from the nail biter at Bueter Gym.
Covington Catholic is probably a little over-rated this early in the year. But they will likely be closer to their #2 ranking by the time the postseason gets here. They really struggled with Catholic’s 2-2-1 press all night long and had 17 turnovers compared to only 7 turnovers for the Knights. After starting the game 10/14 from 3, the Colonels only made 2 of 8 from three as Lex Cath switched to zone and the looks for Cov Cath were not at clean after halftime. The fact that they attempted 22 threes against only 16 twos makes me suspect this team is going to live and die with the three ball. At least to start the year.
Lexington Catholic is probably under-rated this early in the year. Make no mistake, this is a huge win for Lexington Catholic and solidifies them as a serious contender for the 11th region championship (especially after the Henry Clay loss to Douglass on Tuesday). Right now, the Knights really need to develop some more scoring depth as they really struggled to score the ball when Ben Johnson left the game momentarily to get taped after a leg injury. Six players played the vast majority of the minutes for them so depth could be a long term concern.
Ryan Russell has ice water running through his veins. After getting fouled with a second left in a tied game, the Junior calmly stepped to the line and won the game for the Knights. Russell intentionally missed the second, barely grazing the rim and forcing a Cov Cath heave that was closer than any Lex Cath fan would have liked. Russell only played 10 minutes but made the biggest impact when it counted and the play design looked like the final shot was designed for Ryan before drawing the foul. He told me after the game that he was scared to death when he took and made the free throw but you couldn’t tell it at the time.
Grant Disken is the engine that makes Covington Catholic go. The Senior point guard had an impressive game with 26 points on 7/13 shooting (6/9 from 3) and was the clear leader on the floor for the Colonels squad. He also added a team high 7 rebounds and 4 assists. While I was disappointed with a couple of the members of the Cov Cath roster that have had more pub this preseason, Disken was a force on the court and got his Senior year off to a big start.
Ben Johnson was the best player on the court for long stretches. The stat line is not as big as Disken’s but the Junior from Lex Cath dealt with being face guarded all game and missed a few minutes with a minor injury in the second quarter but he finished with 22 points on 6/12 shooting (2-4 from 3) and 8/11 at the line. He added 5 rebounds and 3 assists. From the tip to the final buzzer, Johnson commanded extra attention from the Colonels and still managed to shake loose and lead his team in scoring. Perhaps more importantly, Ben didn’t force any shots like you often see when a player gets frustrated with being face guarded.