While the focus of the Second Region championship game was on 2019 region player of the year Kyky Tandy of University Heights Academy, it was Madisonville junior Kenny White who made his case as the preseason favorite for 2010.
The Madisonville junior had 27 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Maroons to an 81-66 win in the Second Region championship game Saturday. It was Madisonville’s 15th region title in school history and first since 2001, snapping a 17-year streak of champions from the 8th District.
Tandy didn’t disappoint, scoring 32 points and pulling down eight rebounds. However, he was 1-of-9 from 3-point range one night after hitting eight in the first half in UHA’s semifinal win over Caldwell County. Madisonville guard J.D. Gilbert face-guarded Tandy for most of the game, limiting his open shots from deep. The Xavier signee hit 9-of-11 shots from inside the arc.
The game was back-and-forth early as UHA jumped out to an 8-4 lead. The Maroons made a more concerted effort to get the ball inside and answered with six straight points to take a 10-8 lead. After a Will Bryan bucket tied the game at 10, Madisonville ran off five straight points to take a 15-10 lead with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
UHA got to within 25-22 in the second quarter, but the Maroons ended the half on a 12-3 run, with Cade Cunningham and Kenny White each scoring five points to take a 37-25 lead into the locker room. UHA, who hit 14-of-28 3-pointers in their semifinal win, made just 2-of-14 in the first half and 5-of-25 for the game.
The Madisonville lead stayed between 11 and 19 points during the third quarter as the Blazers could never make up any ground.
UHA, who came from behind several times to win the All-A Classic State Tournament in January, proved they had one more run left in them. Tandy scored 16 of UHA’s first 21 points in the fourth quarter the as Blazers whittled the lead to 68-61 with 2:50 left.
Madisonville, who resided in the bottom five of the region in free throw shooting for most of the season, hit 9-of-12 in the fourth quarter and 22-of-30 in the game to seal the win.
The Maroons controlled the glass, outrebounding UHA 39-22 which led to 11 second chance points. The Maroons also shot 50-percent from the field, while UHA shot 39-percent.
In addition to White’s 27/17 night, K’suan Casey had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Cade Cunningham added 17 points, and Gilbert scored 14.
In the final game of his high school career, Tandy scored 32 points. He finishes with 3,363 points, which is second-most in Second Region history and will rank in the top 10 in state history once everyone’s totals are confirmed by the KHSAA.
TaQuan Hollowell scored 16 points, and Drew McGowan scored 10 points.
UHA’s season ends with a record of 30-5.
Madisonville improves to 29-5 and will play Lincoln County Thursday in the Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena. Lincoln County, coached by former UHA skipper Jeff Jackson, beat Danville 63-45 to win the 12th Region title Saturday.
