James Haire has seen a little bit of everything during his time as the Elizabethtown basketball coach. He has had great teams and some not so great and if you ask him he’ll tell you that everyone has a certain identity. As one of only two 5th Region coaches to own a State Championship trophy, he also knows what it takes to get there on the final day and how hard it is to win one. Which is why last night’s KHSAA Championship game would feel a little special. Nearly 21-years after winning the school’s only Championship trophy in boys basketball, Haire had to feel confident going into last night’s title game against Highlands.
The two teams had similar styles in which they loved to push the ball up the court using transition defense to score and were both great ball handling teams. Also, they could shoot it from anywhere on the court and LOVED doing it.
Which is why last night’s 79-60 loss to the Bluebirds was so painful. Going into that game, Elizabethtown was one of the hottest teams in the State Tournament winning their three games by nearly twenty points. For a team which had never played in Rupp Arena or played in front of the circus atmosphere which is the KHSAA Boys Sweet Sixteen, they looked like anything but first timers and came out in each game with a sole purpose of getting the job done. The Panthers were experienced in every position with eight seniors and led by superstar guard Jaquais Franklin, shot the lights out early and then used their swarming menacing press defense to create points. Elizabethtown only trailed twice leading up to the Championship game and that was against Knott County Central at the 7:41 mark and again at the 5:01 mark, but that was pretty much it. Against Knott County Central and George Rogers Clark, the Panther shooters got loose early staking the team to an early lead and everytime it appeared like the opponent would have hope and climb back into the game, Elizabethtown would go on another 8-0 or 12-2 run and put the game out of reach. The numbers don’t lie. E-town forced 20-turnovers against Knott County Central, 16 against George Rogers Clark and 19 against Ballard as opposed to just committing 7, 7 and 11 themselves, but the real number that sticks out is points off turnovers. 34 against KCC, 23 against GRC and 20 verses Ballard.
Playing and winning the early game against Ballard, the Panthers didn’t appear to break a sweat putting away the Bruins and had a nice break while Highlands was in a battle against fast shooting Ashland Blazer. Also, Elizabethtown played the early Wednesday morning game while Highlands played Thursday and would have to win four games in three days against tough competitors to pull it off. E-Town seemed to have a slight edge in experience and looked the part.
Then they played the game. Elizabethtown got it started first on Camden Williams layup at 6:41 of the first quarter. That was the last time the Panthers would see the lead. Highlands tied the game on Sam Vinson’s layup and then took the lead on Oliver Harris’ jumper and then went on a 19-11 run to extend the lead to 23-13 after one quarter. That ten point lead was highlighted by three made three’s Zachary Barth (2) and Luke Mueller while Elizabethtown struggled from the field shooting just 5-for-11 and committing six turnovers.
Trailing by just 10-points, the Panthers really needed to adjust and get their shooting eye back, but things got worse in the second quarter. Highlands scored the first four points on three throws by Cole Kocher and a layup by Read Leyton until Elizabethtown hit their first three by Camden Williams to close at 27-16. Unfortunately, Herald answered with a three of his own to push the lead back up to 30-16, until Kam and Khia Sherrard got back to back layups to cut the deficit to 32-20 with 3:31 left until the half. Herald’s would end up having quite a second quarter with four made threes, two were in succession just as the half closed to push the Bluebirds lead to an incredible 47-26 lead over the surprised Panthers. During that half, Highlands made nine three pointers and the ball handlers were expert at navagating through the Panthers full court pressure.
Haire tried to settle his team down and make his team realize that there were still 16 minutes left in the biggest game of their lives. They had overcome deficits before against John Hardin and Bardstown in pressure situations. Unfortunately, Elizabethtown still struggled against the Bluebirds half court pressure and didn’t score in the third quarter until 5:47 after Highlands added on the lead to make it 53-26. The Panthers did outscore Highlands 8-2 on Murphy’s jumper and two three’s by Khia Sherrard and Franklin, but Herald’s fifth three pushed the deficit back up to 58-34 and although the Panther outscored them 11-8 to close out the third, the deficit remained 21-points.
The fourth quarter seemed very anitclimactic as Highlands simply controlled the ball with a deliberate half court strategy while Elizabethtown kept trying to put a run together, but in the end it ended quite suddenly with a 79-60 final score.
For Elizabethtown and James Haire, the dream died on that blue Rupp Arena floor in a game in which Highlands did an Elizabethtown to the Panthers using the same formula in their State Championship victory by getting ahead quickly and forcing bad shots and cruising to a 19-point win. Five players on the Bluebirds finished with five players in double figures starting with Sam Vinson’s 20-points and 14-rebounds followed by Herald’s 17-points (5-3’). Camden Williams finished his career at E-town with a team high 17-points followed by Alandre Murphy’s 13-points. Two stats stood out. Highlands had 17-points off of turnovers while Elizabethtown had just 10. The Panthers who were pretty good at protecting the ball had 13-turnovers to 10 by the Bluebirds and for one of the few times this season, Elizabethtown’s pressure defense was unable to turn the tide of a game in their favor.
While Haire and his team watched the Bluebirds trophy ceremony, he had to be flashing back to their own championship some 20-years ago and what he felt during that time and how he dearly wanted the same thing for his team. The 2000 Panther team had many of the same qualities that this seasons’ team did in that they worked hard, played within themselves and never felt like they were out of a game no matter what the circumstances.
That 2000 team however did not have to deal with a pandemic situation or a lost postseseason from the previous year. That’s something that makes this team memorable. Also, the fact that there are eight seniors who played together for many years before, grew up together and were there for each other til the end.
True. Every team that makes the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen has an interesting story to tell and some are usually more interesting than others. The Panthers of Elizabethtown are just one of many that grace the Kentucky high school basketball universe this and every season around this time. It’s still a great story though. A team which lost a chance to play in their first State Tournament together, still found a way to get back there together and were one win away from one heck of a “Dream Story.”
Maybe it’s not the best ending to that story especially the way the world came crashing down on them in the end, but it’s certainly one worth watching again and remembering how far they came and just where their last game took them.
