While the Owensboro Catholic Aces may not be familiar to Corbin and The Corbin Arena, they are very experienced when it comes to appearances in the All A Classic state tournament. With their 3rd Region All A championship this season, the Aces are making their 8th straight trip to the tournament.
The last time Owensboro Catholic did not make the All A state tournament was in 2016 when McLean County claimed the title. Over the history of the statewide event, the Aces have made tourney 14 times, including this year. All of those trips to the state tournament have taken place since 2005.
The Aces have never won the state title. They did reach the finals in 2006, losing 53-50 to Bardstown.
Owensboro Catholic has only reached the semifinals in one other year, that coming last season. And you can forgive the Aces if they had no gas in the tank during their 70-46 loss to Covington Holy Cross. The night before Owensboro Catholic and University Heights played the final game of Friday night and played deep into the night, going four overtimes before the Aces finally pulled out a 61-60 win.
Coach Tim Riley has been a big part of the recent success of the Aces’ basketball program. Riley took over the Owensboro Catholic basketball program for the 2015-2016 season. The Aces fell to McLean County by one point in the All A regional that season, but began their run in All A Classic in Riley’s second year.
By the way, while they did not reach the All A state tournament in Riley’s first season, the Aces did go 22-10 and reach the Sweet 16.
Owensboro Catholic and Lyon County are set to square off in the opening round of the Boys’ All A Classic, Thursday morning at 11:30 Eastern in the Corbin Arena.
