LEXINGTON, Ky.—When fans entered Rupp Arena for the evening session of the state tournament on Wednesday night to watch John Hardin and Pikeville, most were anticipating a semi-blowout win for the Bulldogs.
Instead what they got was one of the best games in Kentucky high school basketball history, and in true Bluegrass State hardwood fashion…it was the underdog who came out on top.
Pikeville senior and Kentucky Mr. Basketball candidate Wyatt Battaile poured in a game-high 30 points and hit a buzzer-beater from the right corner to force the first overtime, and the Panthers knocked down clutch shot after clutch shot in the ensuing extra sessions to record a 72-69 triple-overtime victory in the first round of the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys Sweet Sixteen® Basketball Tournament.
“That’s one of the best games that I’ve ever been a part of,” Pikeville coach Elisha Justice said. “You go into three overtimes and the things that these guys did to put it into overtime…not many guys could’ve stepped up like that. Just amazing plays that these guys made; they fought and never gave up.”
The game was the second-longest in the state tournament’s 101-year history in regards to number of overtimes, tying the 1983 championship between Lexington Henry Clay and Carlisle County. The only one that was longer than both was the 1928 title game between Ashland Paul Blazer and Carr Creek, which went into four overtimes.
The memorability of this game is certainly in Justice and the Panthers’ favor as Pikeville believed that it had a point to prove on Wednesday night against the Bulldogs.
“We knew that John Hardin was the favorite,” Justice said. “Everybody seemed to kind of be marking us off the list, and I told these guys that ‘I have faith in you all.’ And we all believed we could come out and compete, and these guys proved that (Wednesday night).”
Pikeville (25-9) led for the majority of the game before a basket by Malik Wright gave John Hardin a 40-38 lead with 6:28 to go. The lead changed hands multiple times before the Bulldogs took a 52-49 lead on a pair of free throws by Mr. Basketball candidate Mickey Pearson with 18.4 seconds left.
Battaile then drained a trifecta from the right corner, sending the arena—especially those fans from Pikeville—into a pandemonium.
The two sides swapped baskets in the first overtime before John Hardin took a 58-55 lead on a couple of free throws by Pearson with 10 seconds left.
This time Battaile came through in the clutch by distributing the ball, passing it to teammate Evan Rhodes, who was fouled on a 3-pointer from nearly the same spot as Battaile’s buzzer-beater just minutes before. Rhodes stepped up to the line and knocked down all three to force the game into a second overtime.
“I’ve got trust in all these guys and they have trust in me,” Battaile said. “Anybody can step up and hit a big shot. They had a man on me and I didn’t have an open look, and I got total trust in Evan taking those shots and making those free throws.”
The Bulldogs (28-8) once again held a three-point lead late in double overtime, but Christian Billiter delivered the blow that John Hardin would not be able to recover from.
Billiter’s three from the right wing with 11.6 seconds left ultimately sent the game into a third extra frame, and John Hardin would not lead once during the third overtime. The Bulldogs had a chance to tie it late, but went for the quick two and were unable to convert the multiple layup opportunities they had as the clock hit zero.
“We just didn’t execute,” John Hardin coach Jared McCurry said. “I feel like we gave the game away three times when we could’ve won, and being up three points every time…we just didn’t execute. We got to be mentally tougher to finish off a game like that. This is going to be a hard one to swallow.”
The Bulldogs were led in the loss by Malik Wright with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Pearson—who fouled out with 1:37 left in double overtime—finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
In addition to Battaile’s 30-point performace, Rhodes and Connor Roberts added 11 and 14 points, respectively, for Pikeville. The Panthers finished with 21 assists while committing just nine turnovers on the night.
“(Pikeville) played great team basketball tonight,” Justice said. “I know (we) had 12 assists in the first half, and that just shows how much they share the basketball. Just a great team effort.”
Pikeville will now play Warren Central in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. EST. The Dragons advanced with a 68-44 victory over Southwestern in the first game of the evening session.
“Honestly I haven’t looked ahead yet,” Justice said. “All of our focus has been on John Hardin and we knew that if we came out with a win (Wednesday night) we’d have a day to prepare for whoever we got. Our whole focus has been on (John Hardin) and now we’ll look into Warren Central.”
