Colonels ‘Rowe’ Their Boat into District Championship Game

It has been, at times, a difficult season for Christian County head coach Dior Curtis and his Christian County Colonels. But things took a big turn for the better Tuesday night. Led by a stellar effort from NaDarien Rowe, the Colonels rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half and then held off the Blazers in the final moments to take a 69-62 win in front of a raucous crowd at Hopkinsville High School.

The Blazers came out of the gate ready to roll. Elijah Walton and KeShawn Moore helped kick off a 9-3 start to the game for UHA. The lead would grow to 16-5 as Tylin George started to get involved.

University Heights would lead by as many as 11 in the first quarter before the Colonels trimmed the lead to 26-17 after one. NaDarien Rowe kept the Colonels close early with 9 points in the quarter on a trio of 3-pointers.

The Blazers were living up to their name in the opening quarter, getting up and down the court at a furious pace, one that had it looking as if they might reach 100 with ease.

But give the Colonels tons of credit, they got the pace slowed down and worked themselves back into contention in the second.

Rowe stayed hot in the second quarter as the Colonels started working their way back into the game. After giving up 14 to Tylin George in the first, Christian County did not allow him a point in the second.

Christian County opened the quarter with a 10-4 spurt that included a pair of threes from NaDarien Rowe as the Colonels closed to within 3 at 30-27.

UHA got a couple of late baskets from Elijah Walton in the half as the Blazers left the court at the break holding a 36-30 lead. Walton and George combined to score 25 points in the half for the Blazers.

Christian County got a huge effort from NaDarien Rowe, who buried five 3’s and had 17 points at the break.

One of the big differences at the half was free throw shooting. UHA went 7 of 7, all from Tylin George, while Christian County also had seven attempts but made only three.

Christian County was using the long shot of NaDarien Rowe to hang tight in the first 16 minutes. Rowe had the five threes on his own while the Blazers knocked down three shots from behind the arc.

The intensity and the pace picked up as the third quarter opened. Both teams were getting up and down the floor at a frenetic pace at times. But, both were having trouble finding the basket. One long stretch of play early in the quarter saw several trips up and down the floor at a full-out sprint, with no points to show for it.

NaDarien Rowe sparked a 7-3 start to the third for the Colonels with 5 points as Christian County closed to within 39-37 midway through the third.

While the quarter may have been lacking for offensive production, it was certainly not lacking for intensity and effort. Both teams were gettin’ after it and after each other, which may well have been a big part of why there weren’t many points going up on the board.

NaDarien Rowe, who was almost unstoppable in the third, hit a free throw line jumper to give Christian County its first lead of the game at 41-40 with 1:45 left in the quarter. Elijah Walton came quickly back to score for UHA to make it 42-41, but then Rowe knocked down his 7th three of the night to put Christian County back in front 44-42.

Zion Acree then pushed the Colonel lead out to 46-42. But moments later, Acree was called for a foul and then a technical with 4.4 seconds to go in the third. Tylin George made all four free throws, his first points since the first quarter, and sent the game to the fourth all knotted up at 46-46.

The Colonels scored the first four points of the quarter to go up 50-46. KeShawn Moore came back for the Blazers with a three that cut the lead to 50-49.

But then the Blazers went cold. Christian County, getting big minutes from Zion Acree, went on a 10-2 spurt that moved the lead out to 60-51 with under four minutes to go, and UHA appeared to be in trouble.

Buckets from Elijah Walton and Tylin George, after a steal, quickly cut the lead to 60-55 with 2:45 left in the game. Out of the timeout, a George basket, a Walton block, and then George was fouled as he was simply refusing to be denied a basket down in the paint. Suddenly, the Blazers were within 60-59 with 1:29 to go in the game.

Kam Willams hit a shot in the lane and then UHA was called for an offensive foul that led to a NaDarien Rowe bucket and the Colonels’ lead was back to 64-59.

But the Blazers weren’t dead yet. A Tylin George three with 54 seconds left made it 64-62 and it was nail-biting time.

The Blazers came out of the timeout and set up the full-court press. However, the Colonels found a seam in the press and got a layup from Rowe with 40.1 seconds to go that extended the lead to 66-62.

UHA had possessions over the final 40 seconds with chances to cut into the lead, but shots stopped falling for the Blazers and the Colonels were able to do just enough at the line to lock up the seven-point win and advance on to Friday night’s title game and then on to the 2nd Region tournament next week.

A monster night for Christian County’s NaDarien Rowe, who finished with 33 points, including seven made 3-pointers. Zion Acree added 13 points, 11 of them coming at crucial moments in the second half. Josh Bridges scored 7 points and Rahsean Stevenson added 6.

Tylin George led the Blazers with 29 points. Elijah Walton ended up with 16 points in his final high school game. KeShawn Moore also hit double figures with 11.

Under first-year head coach Dior Curtis, the Colonels now improve to 7-22 and now get ready to take on Hopkinsville Friday night for the district championship.

After dealing with injuries and other issues, and then starting the season 4-11, the Blazers end the year at 9-13.

Christian County and Hopkinsville will play Friday night at 6:00.