LEXINGTON, Ky.—Warren Central coach William Unseld has expressed multiple times throughout this postseason that he wants his team to play loose and just enjoy the moment.
It took a little while for the Dragons to do that in their opening-round game of the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys Sweet Sixteen® Basketball Tournament as 12th Region champion Southwestern opened up the game with an 8-0 lead, but Warren Central dominated the rest of the first half with a commanding 36-15 run on the way to a convincing 68-44 victory over the Warriors at Rupp Arena on Wednesday night.
“Proud of the kids for how they weathered the storm early,” Unseld said. “I thought we could handle it because we had three seniors on the floor and two juniors who play a lot. I just wanted them to relax and play, and once they started doing that we did a good job of getting some stops together. We also did a good job of making shots.”
Warren Central shot 24-of-43 from the field for 56 percent while netting 10-of-20 shots from three-point range to advance to the quarterfinals of the state tournament for the first time since 2010 after being shown the door in the first round the last two times they made the state tournament in 2011 and 2013.
Warren Central (30-5) trailed 19-13 early in the second quarter after a basket by Jonathan Gallagher at the 6:47 mark before the Dragons turned the momentum entirely in their favor with a massive 21-0 run. Kemal Esmic started the scoring spurt with a tip-in to make it a four-point game before Jordan Cousin came up with a steal and converted a three-point play on the other end to make it 19-18 with 6:07 left before halftime.
Jamale Barber then hit a 3-pointer to give Warren Central its first lead of the game, and he followed the trifecta up with a layup just 20 seconds after to give the Dragons a 23-19 advantage at the 5:20 mark.
Micale Mee hit a trifecta, and Cousin’s 3-pointer just one possession later extended the Dragons’ lead to double digits with 3:33 to go before halftime.
Southwestern (18-15) would be unable to narrow the deficit to single digits the remainder of the half as Central held a 36-23 advantage at the intermission.
“We’ve made big runs all year,” Unseld said. “Once we start guarding and putting defensive stops together…the scoring will come. Also we’ve shot the ball really well here lately, and that continued for us (Wednesday night).”
Warren Central’s dominance continued in the second half as the Dragons pushed their lead out to 49-28 on a 3-pointer by Micale Mee at the 2:08 mark of the third quarter.
Central owned a 49-30 edge heading into the final frame and the Dragons coasted to victory in the final eight minutes—building their lead up to as many as 27 points on a layup by Potter with 2:35 to go.
Potter led the Dragons with 23 points while Cousin added 18 on 5-of-7 sniping from long range. The duo finished with eight rebounds apiece. Mee and Barber added six and eight points, respectively, for Warren Central.
The Dragons keep on rolling through the postseason—just three wins away from a state title. But the message Unseld has for his team remains the same for a group of players that has pushed themselves to practice five days a week since the end of dead period back in July—a team that Unseld knew had potential Potter and Cousin’s freshman year.
“I’m just proud of these guys of getting to experience (the state tournament),” Unseld said. “I think this is my seventh time, so I’ve been here a while. But I want them to enjoy this moment and not put any pressure on themselves. Just go out and have fun: that’s all that matters right now. I tell them just keep shooting the ball and enjoying the ride, because this is special for them.”
