By ST’s Jim Mashek / Photos by ST’s Marlow Hazard
Bowling Green coach Derrick Clubb relaxed at the podium and may have paid his players the ultimate compliment.
“I liked the way we played, to be honest,” Clubb said after the Purples overwhelmed Allen County-Scottsville 78-46 on Tuesday night in the KHSAA Fourth Region tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena.
“When you’re up, as big as we were, it’s easy for the game to get a little choppy. A little sloppy. But I thought our guys came out and did exactly what we wanted to do.”
Junior guard Isaiah Mason fueled the Purples’ early strike, scoring nine of his team’s first 15 points as BGHS bolted to a 15-4 lead. Allen County-Scottsville never really had a chance to get back in the game, and it was 28-9 after one quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same, and Bowling Green took a commanding 50-20 lead into the locker room at the break.
“Going in, we felt it would be an advantage for us to slow the game down,” AC-S coach Brad Bonds said. “They want to catch, swing it around and take some shots … They did a good job of forcing us to play at their tempo.
“The battle of wills, they won.”
Bowling Green couldn’t match that kind of precision in the second half, however, while coasting to victory. The Purples (25-7) will now face Logan County (28-3) on Monday at 6 p.m. Logan County bounced Cumberland County 79-58 in the nightcap Tuesday.
“I think it was very important that we were ready to play,” Mason said.
Bonds’ squad had a different experience.
“I’m not going to lie to you. We came out, and were kind of stunned,” he said.
Allen County-Scottsville finished its season at 15-16. Mason Shirley led the Patriots with 14 points and Owen Stamper and Charlie Calvert each finished with six.
The Purples had a balanced attack as Clubb emptied his bench down the stretch. Mason finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals, while teammate Conner Cooper had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Turner Buttry and Dorian Morrison each had 12 points for Bowling Green.
“We’re excited about getting another chance to play,” Clubb said.
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