After a two-year absence, the University Heights Academy Blazers are headed back to the 8th District championship game. The Blazers used a fast start, ignited by a big first quarter from Matthew Hauret, to jump on top of Heritage Christian Academy early and then roll on to a 74-42 win over the Warriors in Wednesday night’s first district semifinal game.
The win puts the Blazers playing for the district title for the first time since 2021. That season, UHA would go on to win the 2nd Region championship.
Hauret, who had thankfully been uninjured in an auto accident earlier in the week, came out ‘blazin.’ Hauret bagged three shots from behind the 3-point line in the opening quarter as UHA used a 9-0 run to take a 20-8 lead. The Blazers also got big starts from Gavin Grubbs and Kyler Baker as they finished the opening quarter strong to take a 29-11 lead.
The Blazers’ full-court pressure caused the Warriors all kinds of issues with ball security from the opening tip. A pair of threes from Jason Leek and Camden Higgins kept the Warriors within shouting distance.
Heritage settled down some in the second quarter and the Blazers cooled off from the outside. Still, with a balanced team effort on offense and the continued success of their pressure defense, the Blazers were able to extend the lead out to 44-22 at the half.
After cooling down in the second quarter, Matthew Hauret re-ignited coming out of the locker room to start the second half. He knocked down three quick threes in the third quarter as the Blazers quickly got the lead out to 56-25. UHA would push the lead out to 35 points late in the quarter to get to the running clock as the quarter ended with the Blazers up 70-35.
With the running clock and reserves playing out the game, the scoring pace slowed significantly over the final eight minutes of the game.
Matthew Hauret led the Blazers with 22 points, including 5 made 3-pointers. Kyler Baker had a solid night with 15 points. Gavin Grubb also reached double figures with 12, all coming in the first half.
Jason Leek finished his junior year with a 24-point performance for Heritage Christian. Layton Giltner and Camden Higgins added six points each.
Heritage Christian finishes their first season as a full-fledged member of the KHSAA with a record of 16-15, including their first-ever district tournament win over Fort Campbell back on Monday night.
With the win, the Blazers improve to 22-6 on the season and advance to Friday night’s 8th District championship game. That game is set to tip off at approximately 7:30, following the conclusion of the girls’ championship game.
HCA — 11 11 13 7 – 42
UHA — 29 15 26 4 – 74
Heritage Christian – Leek 24, Higgins 6, Giltner 6, Bolinger 3, Wells 3
University Heights – Hauret 22, Baker 15, Grubbs 12, Walton 8, Quarles 7, Northington 4, Pollard 4, Cherry 2
