By Jim Mashek – Sporting Times
It didn’t take long — two or three possessions for each team, max — for Greenwood High School guard/forward Cade Stinnett to take center stage on Tuesday night in the KHSAA 4th Region semifinals.
Stinnett was using the glass, doing his thing. Attacking the basket and still taking good shots.
Lots of them.
Stinnett, the 6-foot-2, 170-pound junior swingman, scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Greenwood throttled Barren County 63-39 at E.A. Diddle Arena. The impressive triumph puts the Gators (17-12) in the 4th Region championship game against crosstown rival Bowling Green (22-2) on Wednesday evening.
The game will tip off at 6. Greenwood won for the fourth time in six games, but the Gators were blown out in their two earlier games with Bowling Green this season. Stinnett, a quiet but confident player, believes Greenwood is poised for the challenge.
“We’ll be ready (Wednesday). We’re playing our best basketball right now,” Stinnett said.
Hard to argue with that one.
Stinnett and the Gators wasted little time getting Barren County on its heels, with strong execution in the half-court game that the Trojans usually favor. Greenwood was able to establish its fast break, too, which spelled trouble for Barren County.
Greenwood led 19-8 after the first quarter and 43-20 at the break. The Gators were chomping at the bit for another shot at Bowling Green.
They’ll get it Wednesday night.
“The first quarter put us in a bind,” Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said. “We missed some good shots, around the basket, and we got beat up on the glass. Cade Stinnett is a high-motor guy. He does a good job of drawing fouls, near the basket, even when he doesn’t score.”
Stinnett’s performance should get the attention of college recruiters, perhaps at the mid-major level. His basketball IQ is off the charts, which gives second-year Greenwood coach Will McCoy a sense of confidence when putting together a game plan.
In fact, you might say that confidence goes a long way with the Gators. They certainly had it against Barren County.
“Our guys had a nice balance of being locked in, mentally, and pretty loose at the same time,” McCoy said. “The pre-game jitters seemed to go away in the shoot-around, before the game. But if you look at it, this game was won on defense.”
Barren County hit just one 3-point field goal, on 12 attempts, and shot just 30 percent from the field. The Trojans went to the free-throw line just 10 times, and shot just 30 percent from the field.
“In the shoot-around, I felt like we were ready to come out and play our game,” Greenwood swingman Marc Grant said. “You’ve got to feed Cade the ball. We just kind of run the offense through him.”
Grant, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior, is the son of Western Kentucky assistant coach Marcus Grant, who played and coached at Mississippi State. Marc Grant’s kid sister, Lady Gators sophomore forward Kayla Grant, and her teammates will be playing in the KHSAA 4th Region tournament later this week.
Grant and Stinnett have worked on their game together, a lot, over the last two years, after Grant transferred from a high school in Troy, Alabama. Grant turned in a splendid game, too, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Both Stinnett and Grant shot 67 percent from the field. As a team, the Gators hit 22 of 42 shots (52.4 percent) while going 15-for-19 at the free-throw line (78.9 percent).
McCoy said his team understands its roles. Sophomore forward Lofton Howard, who looks like a Division I football recruit, scored four points and had five rebounds in just 17 minutes. Aaron Brown gave the Trojans trouble with his quickness near the basket. Junior point guard Brakton Stinnett — before you ask, Cade and Brakton Stinnett are not related — directed traffic and scored six points with seven rebounds.
“Everybody came through for us tonight,” Cade Stinnett said. “Marc did his job on the perimeter, Lofton sacrificed his body and had some big rebounds. Brakton, you know what he’s going to do .
“You just try to get everybody involved. On any given night, my main job is to get to the basket. Get to the basket and score.”
Senior forward Corbin Murphy led Barren County with 10 points and teammate Mason Griggs finished with nine.
McCoy and the Gators were in a hurry to leave Diddle Arena when it was over, and Bowling Green will have a logistical advantage, having stopped Allen County-Scottsville 53-38 in its semifinal game Monday night.
Seems like the Gators had somewhere to go.
“You always have to play with confidence,” Marc Grant said. “We know what (Bowling Green) can do … they’re a really good team.
“We just have to say, ‘Clean the slate, let’s go win (Wednesday).”
Greenwood will be playing for its first berth in the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen since 2008.
