Using a fast start to their advantage, Bowling Green cruised to a 67-44 win over Allen County-Scottsville on Thursday night to advance to 3-1.
The defending state champions forced the Patriots into 12 first-half turnovers and sprinted out to an early 19-6 lead to dig an early hole for ACS.
“I thought we came out ready to play. I thought we were flying around and causing some havoc,” Bowling Green head coach Derrick Clubb said. “I thought we did a great job with our pressure. We got some deflections and some steals, and then we threw it around for some easy buckets. “
One of those ‘easy’ buckets was an electrifying dunk by senior Jarius Key to put the Purples ahead 9-2 in the first quarter and to force a Patriot timeout.
“No one plays any harder than Jarius Key. That is a talent,” Clubb said. “Sometimes, it goes a little unnoticed for some reason. He goes after every rebound, he goes after every loose ball and he’s just a really aggressive player.”
The teams played to a more even tone in the second quarter, as the Purples outscored the Patriots 13-10.
Despite facing a 32-16 halftime deficit, ACS head coach Nick Chaycowsky knew that it was no time for his team to lay down, as the Patriots (1-3) outscored Bowling Green 11-9 in the third quarter.
“We don’t ever lay down. We will fight until the last second runs off of that clock,” Chaycowsky said. “That is one thing that we preach and will continue to preach, but, to be truthful, we can’t dig ourselves that hole. We should’ve played better in the first half like we did in the second half.”
Adding to that philosophy of not laying down, the Patriots sent the Purples to the line nine times in the fourth quarter, an act of which Chaycowsky explained as giving his team the best chance to get more possessions and a position to win the game.
“We’re pretty good at free throws, so it’s good for us,” Clubb said. “Having composure is an important part of being a good basketball team and we had a chance to develop that a little bit tonight because we were put in situations where we have to be strong with the ball. We knew they were going to foul, so we knew that we had to be strong with the basketball.”
“I think in the second half we did a lot better with our pressure to carry the ball and it gave us some opportunities to score,” Chaycowsky said. “We’ve got to make sure to stay within what we’re doing and not get outside of what we’re doing. I was proud of the aggression that the kids showed in the second half.”
The Purples put three players in double figures on Thursday evening. Eli Thurman led Bowling Green with 16 points while Key tallied 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Trevor Dennis added 14 points for the Purples – nine points off of 3-pointers.
Cayden Ross led ACS with 10 points while Sam Clark and Brett Rippy each added nine points. Owen Stamper and Marcus Carter each grabbed five rebounds for the Patriots
“[ACS] plays a unique style, and I think that style is unusual to us because the type of schedule we play in December, we’re playing teams that come get us,” Clubb said. “They did a great job of really getting inside the lane and giving wide open shots, and sometimes it’s hard to shoot when you’re wide open.”
Bowling Green will face Nashville Ensworth, TN, on Saturday at 4:00 in the Rafferty’s Shootout at South Warren. Allen County-Scottsville will return home to host Cumberland County on Friday evening at 7:30.
Bowling Green 67, Allen County-Scottsville 44
Allen County-Scottsville (1-3)
Brett Rippy 3 1-2 9; Cayden Ross 3 3-5 10; Marcus Carter 3 2-5 8; Owen Stamper 2 0-0 4; Charlie Calvert 0 0-0 0; Sam Clarke 3 1-2 9; Jacob Lightfoot 0 0-0 0; Bryce Carter 0 1-2 1; Camden Carver 1 0-0 3; Philip Kinslow 0 0-0 0; Mason Shirley 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 8-16 44. 3-point goals: 6 (Rippy 2, Clarke 2, Ross 1, Carver 1). Fouls: 22. Fouled out: None.
Bowling Green (3-1)
Kolbe Gray 1 0-0 2; Davion Dice 2 1-1 5; Eli Thurman 5 4-8 16; Jay Buser 0 6-6 6; Isaiah Mason 2 3-4 9; Trevor Dennis 4 3-5 14; Jarius Key 6 3-16 15; Dorian Morrison 0 0-0 0; Beau Buchanan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 20-30 67. 3-point goals: 7 (Dennis 3, Mason 2, Thurman 2). Fouls: 20. Fouled out: Dice.
Allen Co-Scottsville 6 10 11 17 – 44
Bowling Green 19 13 9 26 – 67
