Blazers Move Past Warriors Into All A Classic Quarterfinals

It’s not often you would classify a basketball matchup between two small schools as a David versus Goliath showdown, but that’s what Tuesday’s 2^nd Region All A Classic quarterfinal matchup was.

University Heights Academy, owners of 26 All A region titles and nine All A state titles, was meeting Heritage Christian Academy, the new kid on the block in just its second season since becoming a full member of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.

Playing on its home floor, the Warriors hung tough early before the Blazers were able to avoid a few stones from the slingshot and win 84-66.

The Blazers advance to the semifinals where they will play Lyon County, who obliterated Crittenden County 90-29. The semifinal will be played on Thursday as the games were moved up a day due to the impending winter weather this weekend.

The Warriors were looking to offset UHA’s advantage of Tylin George and Elijah Walton and came out in a triangle and 2 defense to try and take them out of the equation.

It worked early as the two combined for six points in a first quarter that saw seven lead changes as the Warriors built a 16-12 lead after the first eight minutes.

HCA extended its lead to 18-12 early in the second quarter until the Blazers made an effort to get the ball inside and use their height and athleticism to their advantage.

“We were trying to take their two best players out and mess up their rhythm and I think we were effective at doing that,” HCA coach Matt McGowan said. I thought we could run with them for sure, but we just made too many mistakes.”

George and Walton combined to score 21 of UHA’s 25 points in the second quarter as they built a 37-29 lead at halftime. The Warriors, who hit 7-of-13 shots in the first quarter, cooled off a bit in the second (5-of-12) but turned the ball over eight times which led to 14 Blazer points.

“They came out with a triangle and 2 (on defense). It’s the first time we’ve seen it and we got some open threes early and we took advantage of that,” UHA coach Terry Hayes said. “I kept telling my guys we’re open for a reason so let’s go inside.  We started going inside, started getting the easy bucket, and then we started getting some fast break points so I think that kind of told the tale of the game.”

Heritage Christian Academy would get no closer than seven points in the third quarter as the Blazers were able to get into transition and shoot 50% from the floor in the quarter.

While HCA held a 31-25 advantage on the glass, the Blazers had 13 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second-chance points.

“We didn’t rebound and gave them too many shots. We knew that if we got up as many shots as them, we’d be in a good position,” McGowan said. However, he was prophetic as UHA got up 71 shots to 48 for HCA.

“When we were doing that consistently, we were in the game. Then they turned it on us and consistently got more looks at the basket,” he said.

The game featured two of the state’s five top scorers in UHA’s George (29.2 ppg.) and Jason Leek (32.4 ppg.) of HCA. George finished with 33 points on 15-of-24 shooting. He added eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Leek scored 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting. He was also 8-of-10 at the free throw line and chipped in six rebounds and four assists.

Walton added 19 points for the Blazers – all in the final three quarters. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.

The Blazers also had to use a few different rotations as guard Tra Bell was scoreless in 10 minutes due to a leg injury and reserve Jaiden Miles did not play due to a leg injury.

Heritage Christian Academy was able to knock down 7-of-16 three-pointers and got 10 points from Ethan Miles. Samuel Thompson was strong inside for the Warriors with nine points and 15 rebounds.

The Blazers (3-7) will play Lyon County on Thursday at 6:00 at Dawson Springs High School. Caldwell County will play Fort Campbell Wednesday night in one quarterfinal while Livingston Central and Dawson Springs will play in the other quarterfinal with that date and time to be announced later.

For UHA, Hayes is hoping its tough early season schedule will bear fruit and create a deep All A run.

“I see our team coming together. We’ve come a long way to prepare what we have. We’ve had a very tough schedule at the first of the year but I think it will pay off in the long run. We just have to continue to play with confidence, trust each other, and share the basketball,” he said.

Meanwhile, Heritage Christian Academy (3-9) will host Hopkins County Central next Tuesday. McGowan is hoping his squad can channel their first quarter play for the remainder of the season.

“They’re capable of playing with anybody. We’ve been trying to get that through their heads. They know what they need to do. They need to block out and rebound. If they do that, they’re going to be a dangerous team.”