The Bowling Green Purples’ basketball game against University Heights (Hopkinsville) on Friday afternoon was—in one word—a roller-coaster ride.
The Purples trailed by as much as 25 points during the third quarter before roaring back to make it a six-point game late in the final quarter.
But that’s where the line would be drawn in the sand as that would be the closest Bowling Green would get to completing the remarkable comeback.
Standout guard Dekeyvan “KyKy” Tandy scored a game-high 28 points, and the Blazers nailed a knee-buckling 16 3-pointers to escape Bowling Green with a 83-75 victory in the first game of the “Hoopin’ on the Hill’ round-robin.
“I thought (UHA) shot the ball very well in the second and first part of the third quarter,” Bowling Green head coach Derrick Clubb said. “They got really hot and we were trying to stop the run and we couldn’t.”
Bowling Green had opened up the game with a 15-6 lead and led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter before UHA ultimately went on a 50-16 run to build a 25-point lead thanks to a healthy barrage of 3-pointers.
University Heights (14-6) extended its lead to 56-31 before the Purples went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 56-37 with 2:44 left in the third after a layup by Jaylen Wardlow.
Bowling Green would continue to chip away at the deficit.
The Purples (16-8) trailed by 20 before Isaiah Mason hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it a 17-point game. Mason followed with a layup, and Justice Dingle had an offensive rebound and putback to bring the Purples within 13 points with 40 seconds left in the third.
KJ Crump of UHA then nailed a 3-pointer at the horn to give the Blazers a comfortable 62-48 lead heading into the fourth.
The Purples managed to make it a seven-point game on a putback by Jarius Key before the Blazers responded. UHA’s Taquan Hollowell grabbed a defensive rebound and took it coast-to-coast for a highlight-reel dunk to make it 72-62 with 4:30 left in regulation.
Bowling Green trailed 74-64 before Ziyon Kenner drew a basket and the harm to make it 74-66. Key stuck it back in for two after Kenner missed the free throw to narrow the deficit to just six with 2:13 to play.
Tandy then demonstrated why he is sought after by so many Division I schools, driving down the floor and netting a huge 3-pointer to put to rest any hope of a Purple comeback.
Even though his team fell short, Clubb praised his club for the way they clawed back into the game.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” Clubb said. “They really battled. The last several minutes of the game was a lot of fun to watch and see them go out and compete. They didn’t give up, and I thought we gave ourselves a chance to win in the end. Taking 25 points down to six shows a lot about our kids.”
Tandy led the Blazers in the win with 28 points on six 3-pointers while Hollowell tallied 19 points and seven rebounds.
Crump and Drew McGowan nailed four points apiece for UHA, scoring 15 and 18 points, respectively.
Key topped all Bowling Green scorers with 19 points, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds to record a double-double.
Mason and Jaylen Wardlow each finished with 13 points, but Clubb was particularly pleased with his effort on the defensive end.
“I feel like Jaylen Wardlow got us going defensively,” Clubb said. “Really just being aggressive and driving to the rim.”
Kenner and Trevor Dennis poured in nine and 10 points, respectively in the loss.
Bowling Green will now look to bounce back with Adair County on Saturday evening. It is the Purples’ first meeting with the Indians since Zion Harmon transferred after last school year—the first scheduled meeting between the two schools in the Mustang Classic at McCracken County on Jan. 7 getting cancelled due to wintry precipitation.
“I think we’re excited,” Clubb said. “We like to play good teams and good players. We played a really good opponent (Friday night), and we’ll play another really good one tomorrow. It should be a fun atmosphere, and not everybody gets to play in these kind of events so our kids really appreciate it.”
Meanwhile University Heights will look to extend their winning streak to two games on Tuesday night when the Blazers square off against dynamic scorer Detorrian Ware and crosstown rival Christian County.
