National Highlight Reel: Kentucky boys basketball teams play 5 and 4 overtimes

Last week was a mighty long one for high school district basketball tournaments in Kentucky.

For starters, Monroe County (Tompkinsville, Ky.) outlasted Allen County (Scottsville, Ky.), 85-78, in a five-overtime marathon. Mike Fields of the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that the length was believed to have tied the state record for a postseason game that was set in 1994.

Senior guard Keaton Rich paced the winners with 25 points.

Though many will want to witness the replay of the classic contest, it will be a somewhat shortened version, because the digital disk doing the filming ran out of room after the third overtime.



Barely outdone, Warren Central (Bowling Green, Ky.) nipped Bowling Green (Ky.), 81-79, in a four-overtime thriller. Reserve guard Norman Johnson made the decisive free throws with three seconds remaining.

George Fant, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound senior who has signed with Western Kentucky, paced the winners with 23 points and 18 rebounds. Highly-ranked senior Chane Behanan (6-7, 235), a Louisville signee, was heroic in a losing effort with 27 points, 25 rebounds and five blocks.

* Unsigned superstar Trevor Lacey poured in a regional-record 44 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as Butler (Huntsville, Ala.) routed East Lawrence (Trinity, Ala.), 84-40.

Butler coach Jack Doss told MaxPreps, "I can't believe Trevor didn't make the McDonald's All-American team. He's the best there's ever been in this state. He's unbelievable; they've even written songs about him."

Doss said Butler High School will be closed in the spring of 2012 and he will not coach next year.

* A couple of young players to check out in the future: 6-8 eighth grader Horace Spencer II, Klinger Middle School (Southampton, Pa.); and 6-10 freshman Cody Belter, Shelby Valley (Pikeville, Ky.).



* Kentucky scoring leader Hobo McCoy scored 41 points – including the winning three-point play with 2.5 seconds left – as Pike County Central (Pikeville, Ky.) edged Belfry (Ky.), 63-60.

* Division I college coaches are flocking to Sioux City, Iowa, where Sioux City East has some tall timber. Juniors Adam Woodbury (7-1) and Mading Thok (6-11) have drawn at least 31 coaches to games or practices, according to the Des Moines Register.

* Westwind Prep Academy (Phoenix) coach Gary Trousdale wants to transform his Class 2A state champions into the "Oak Hill of the West." A major step was taken recently when 6-5 sophomore point guard standout Chris Thomas transferred from Princeton Day Academy (Lanham, Md.).

* Six-foot-one junior William Stallworth exploded for a school-record 52 points recently as Tulare Union (Calif.) routed Mission Oak (Tulare, Calif.), 95-68.

* Chesaning (Mich.) sophomore point guard Josh Kunik tied a school record with 41 points – including 21 of 22 at the free throw line - during a 95-93 overtime loss to Freeland (Mich.).

* Calvary (Holland, Mich.) edged Potter's House Christian (Wyoming, Mich.), 90-86, in overtime despite Patrick Barnhart's 43 points.



* Washington (Norfolk, Va.) blocked 18 shots – seven by junior center Brandon Self – during a 65-47 victory over Landstown (Virginia Beach, Va.).

* John Valenzuela, age 48, retired as head coach at Madison (San Antonio) with a 420-165 career record to become a full-time minister.

 *Milestone coaching victories: Darin Lee of Collinsville (Ill.) posted No. 500, while Joe Schoenfeld of Elder (Cincinnati) earned No. 300.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}GIRLS BASKETBALL: SISTERS REACH MILESTONES
Cook (Minn.) routed Cotton (Minn.), 76-29, as the Youngstrom sisters both reached significant milestones. Emily Youngstrom, a senior guard, surpassed 2,000 career points, while freshman guard Darby Youngstrom reached an even 1,000. Darby, in fact, had a nice triple-double with 21 points, 10 assists and 10 steals.

* Bracken County (Brooksville, Ky.) defeated Mason County (Lebanon, Ky.), 64-56, as junior Sara Sticklen collected 40 points and 18 rebounds.

* Junior guard Danaejah Grant scored a career-high 41 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lead Piscataway (N.J.) to a 67-45 victory over Cardinal McCarrick (South Amboy, N.J.).



* Central Lake (Mich.) senior center Jasmine Hines continues to break not only the girls but the boys state records. Last week she scored 37 points during a 67-53 victory over Traverse City Christian (Mich.) to surpass the boys career record of 2,841 by Jay Smith of Mio. She now has 2,860.

* Milestone coaching victories: Bill Baxter of El Camino (Sacramento, Calif.), No. 600; Dick Simpson of Brandon/Evansville (Minn.), No. 500; and Sue Ludwig of Westhill (Syracuse, N.Y.), No. 400.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}WRESTLING: BLAIR ACADEMY WINS NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) scored 300 points to win the National Prep Wrestling Championships in Bethlehem, Pa. Wyoming Seminary College Prep (Kingston, Pa.) was a distant runner-up with 194 points.

Charlie Lynch of Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) won the 145-pound title and received the Gerald Leeman Outstanding Wrestler Award. He won five times to finish the year with a 62-0 record.

Matthew Miller of John Carroll (Bel Air, Md.) captured the 171-pound crown. He had pinned every opponent throughout the season until settling for 6-2 and 5-3 victories during the semifinals and finals, respectively.

* Johnson Central (Paintsville, Ky.) junior J.J. Jude won the Kentucky state title at 171 pounds, going undefeated in 52 matches. Last fall he rushed for 3,023 yards - including a state-record 584 in one game – to establish himself as one of the premier two-sport athletes in the nation.



 *Milestone coaching victory: Duane Watson of Allendale (Mich.) notched his 400th dual meet victory.

BASEBALL: HERNANDEZ TIES TEXAS RECORD
Rockwall-Heath (Texas) junior third baseman Jovan Hernandez tied the state record by hitting safely in his 42nd consecutive game (dating back to last year) before going 0-for-4 during a 5-2 victory over Harker Heights (Killeen, Texas). The record was set in 1990 by Jeff Granger of Orangefield.

* Frank Duffin hit for the cycle and drove in seven runs as Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) routed South Broward (Hollywood, Fla.), 13-3.

* Garner (N.C.) senior pitcher Scotty McCreery has made the final 24 in Fox's popular American Idol television show. The talented singer has passed the judges' test; now it's up to the public voting.

*Former Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell is in his first year as head baseball coach at San Dieguito Academy (Encinitas, Calif.).